iRide Coordinator Ben Chaddock joined Head Coach Julian Base and apprentice Zayne Heyes to catalogue events in Squamish this week. “The skill level was of course exceptionally high for some students, one rider just came back from the Sea Otter Classic” reports Ben, “but iRide’s focus is on the 75% of the students at the intermediate level, and there were some great efforts made by these students to catch up the top riders.”
Head Coach Julian quickly adapted his style for this event.
“It is really important to adapt your coaching strategy for each collection of age and ability. Here in Squamish the kids were at the field over 30 minutes before school started, just riding and playing on their bikes. So with this level of skill and maturity, I can let them go a little bit more in the session and keep it super fun. Do I dare say… closer to organized chaos than 100% control – like we do at other schools.
“There is a smooth walking path under a tree cover that runs along the edge of the school grounds so I started with a warm-up lap out there. Then we work on the skills of the day with a LONG obstacle course. I plan to have about 10 of the 25 kids waiting in line at the beginning of the course at any given time to provide some rest time. After this we start the game of the day; some days it is foot down or Shark Island, other days something else.”
When asked what is the best part of iRide while watching students slowly balance on Shark Island, teacher Charlene Verbeek replied simply “Look…the kids outside having run, learning to ride their bike well.”
Events at Squamish wrapped up April 23rd with the help of top U23 track rider Zayne Heyes. “I’m having a blast in Squamish with Julian. Given the skill and maturity of these students, I can really challenge them and provide insight from my own racing experience.”
The iRide program in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor is part of iRide’s 2015 partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada. All events in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor are provided by RBC Canada with the intent of providing a safe and fun environment and inspire youth to enjoy exploring the world on their bicycle.
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