Last week iRide’s Vancouver coach, Wes Ochitwa, teamed up with National and Provincial Team BMX Coach Adam Muys to welcome Jordan Barr and his class of students back to the Abbotsford BMX track for their second year. The Abbotsford Middle School students enjoyed transport via First Charter Bus Lines and access to BMX-specific rental bicycles during their 2 hour training session.
Wes reports:
This was my first trip to the indoor facility in Abbotsford. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the facility and now I understand why! A great place for building community, skills and fitness in a safe yet exciting environment.
For our special iRide field trip, Adam and I combined the iRide cirriculum with introductory BMX skills typical to a club session. The bus arrived right on time with 22 grade eight and grade nine students, ready to rip. Students buddied up to share a special BMX racing bike, courtesy of the Abbotsford BMX club, and warmed up in the outdoor parking lot. After assessing their skills, Adam moved the session indoors and the fun began!
Starting with the pumps at the end of the track, students learned how to use their body to absorb the terrain and stay on their bike! Over the course of the session, the students swapped bikes with their buddy and as a team slowly made their way through a full gamut of skills, progressing closer and closer to the start line. Adam was great at monitoring student progress, giving feedback, and helping them ride stronger and with more confidence on each successive lap. The session finished with students riding the full track, including a rolling start from the start platform and a game of foot-down.
At the end of the session Adam led the students through a Q&A session and included some stories from his personal BMX history and experience. The kids were super enthused, and seemed like we had a couple keeners that wanted to sign up to the BMX Club right there. Great Job Adam!
iRide programs continue this spring in March and a few openings are still available. iRide is also currently accepting bookings for the 2016-2017 autumn session. To learn more, please visit the iRide page here.
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