# Coach for 11-year old.



## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

My son wants to start racing. I've never raced. What should I look for in a coach for him? Does he need one? Any recommendations? How much should it cost?

I'm willing to ride with him and make sure he does what he's supposed to do.


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## kreuzberg (Feb 1, 2009)

Good lord.
Just have him ride. He doesn't need to do intervals, or have any pressure on him. For probably the next two or three years.


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

kreuzberg said:


> Good lord.
> Just have him ride. He doesn't need to do intervals, or have any pressure on him. For probably the next two or three years.



Normally, I would agree with you. But this kid sets goals, then he breaks them up into bite-sized peices and goes after them. If he races and he isn't successful it will really bother him, and it was his idea to race, not mine. That's why I was asking about the coach, because I don't want to burn him out, or have it not be fun. I think coaching a kid this age is somewhat of a delicate thing. But he really wants to be competitve. I don't want pressure on him, just someone other than me giving him good advice, help, and tips.

He's ridden over 10,000 miles in the last three years by my estimate, and has done 2 centuries, and will do two more this year. He has time goals for the century rides when he sets out, and he gets upset when he falls short of his time goals.

In short, this isn't a normal kid, and I can't help him get faster than he is. That's what he wants to do. He has no interest in football, baseball, or most of the usual kid activities. He sees himself as a cyclist.


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## TheDon (Feb 3, 2006)

Just have him ride. Don't waste the money on the coach. If he's putting miles on his legs that'll be enough for now. It's just like running, in middle school he wouldn't be doing much besides running 5 days a week with maybe some interval training and a race every now and then. Keep it easy, keep it fun. No need to have any real complex training program.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2009)

Look for a juniors program in his area, that'll give him some teammates and other kids to enjoy the sport with and all the positives that brings. There will be someone directing that and hopefully their heart is in the right place with an emphasis on introducing kids to the sport and having a good time.


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## BryanSayer (Sep 22, 2009)

The single most important thing to do with an 11 year old is have them properly fitted on their bike. And repeat about every six months.

And I mean a full fitting where his body is checked for structural abnormalities and his riding is checked. And particularly any foot abnormalities that might require adjustments.

And he needs to join a club.


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## osmiumtiger (Oct 18, 2009)

I agree on joining a club. If he joins a club he'll be able to ride weekly with better riders which, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to get better. Good clubs will have all kinds of information on local races and reimburse their more competitive members. As an added bonus, clubs will usually allow you to get a discount on the sponsors merchandise. A club membership can run from $50 - $150 a year.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Keep it simple. Log lots of miles, make sure he can spin at high cadence since they have a gear limit, learn how to take corners, etc.


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## StillRiding (Sep 16, 2006)

If there's BMX racing in your area, take him to the track or club and get him involved with kids his own age doing their own thing. Let him find his own way into competition.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2009)

StillRiding said:


> If there's BMX racing in your area, take him to the track or club and get him involved with kids his own age doing their own thing. Let him find his own way into competition.



It sounds to me like the child is already asking to race. I don't think taking him to a competition that he asked to be a part of is going to hurt him.


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

StillRiding said:


> If there's BMX racing in your area, take him to the track or club and get him involved with kids his own age doing their own thing. Let him find his own way into competition.


He did that for two years. He was very successful. Now he wants to race his road bike.

I've looked for a good juniors program for him, but I have been unsuccessful to date.

Thanks for the advice about the coach. I won't go that route yet.


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## tommyrhodes (Aug 19, 2009)

I was traveling the northeast playing soccer when I was his age. My sister was traveling the country (and canada) playing soccer at that age. Neither of us would have been succesful without coaches. 

Just make sure he knows he does not HAVE to use a coach. As long as it's his choice to get serious about it then I see no harm. In fact, I think an 11 year old setting his own goals and figuring things out on his own is potentially more damaging than if he had a highly trained coach. No offense dad, I just assume training a kid is far different than training adults....


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## rcharrette (Mar 27, 2007)

*Mentor*

What he really needs in a mentor to show him the way at this point more than a coach (my opinion of course). I started racing road as a junior and I found just hanging with the big guy's, riding with them and having fun trying to keep up was all the training I needed! Find a club or shop that has rides and get him involved. He'll make friends who will push him and he'll have a blast doing it. Give that a season then look into the coach.
Here is a link to the Junior program in Durango:
www.durangodevo.com
Good luck, that's cool your kids into it:thumbsup:


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## Speedi Pig (Apr 18, 2004)

I may get flamed for this, but here it goes. If he wants to ride and race, fine. Let him do it to a level that is fun. I don't think a coach is really needed at this point. I would also encourage him to play or at least try other sports.

He's 11 now and has averaged 3,000 plus miles a year since he was 8 or 9!? I know adults who are competitive at the cat. 3/4/masters level and don't do much more than that. Two centuries already with two more planned? As a parent, aren't you within your rights to set limits? There will be plenty of time for him to train his tail off later.

If the young man does have talent, it will become VERY obvious when he hits puberty. Until then, don't push him at all, and don't let him push himself too hard. Otherwise, he will never see his full potential.

Good luck.


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## kiwisimon (Oct 30, 2002)

Keep his gear ratios low as pushing too tall a gear could adversely affect his still developing joints. Putting him into lower aged group races will give him a taste for it. He can set his goals as times around a training course you can both ride. You probably have another 4 or 5 years left until he will drop you so enjoy them. Ride safe. gearing guidelines here https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2706


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

Speedi Pig said:


> He's 11 now and has averaged 3,000 plus miles a year since he was 8 or 9!? I know adults who are competitive at the cat. 3/4/masters level and don't do much more than that. Two centuries already with two more planned? As a parent, aren't you within your rights to set limits? There will be plenty of time for him to train his tail off later.
> 
> If the young man does have talent, it will become VERY obvious when he hits puberty. Until then, don't push him at all, and don't let him push himself too hard. Otherwise, he will never see his full potential.


He rides with me, but I ride more than he does. I discussed his riding with his doctor, who also happens to be an avid cyclist. According to the doctor it isn't a problem, the more the better. We keep him on a bike that fits, and I make sure he has good shoes that fit. 

He rode one century when he was 9, one when he was 10, and has two planned for this year. He hasn't done one yet this year.

I don't know how much talent he has, but he enjoys riding. He's almost as fast and has almost as much endurance as I do.

He hit puberty a year ago.


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## PhysioJoe (May 6, 2008)

Wow, I feel like you described me perfectly at that age! I had a cyclecomputer around age 8 or 9 and kept all my mileage in a notebook, and started doing mountain bike races when I was 12. I never got into any other sports, besides dancing ballet for 5 years. I didn't race on the road til I was 15 or 16, but the approach for juniors is the same anyways. Basically, let him lead! Which it sounds like you are doing. My parents never pushed me, yet they were almost always willing to drive many hours (and sometimes through many states) to take me to do the races I wanted to do.

I think the hardest thing about being a junior, and wanting to race, is the small field sizes. It can get a little old racing against the same few kids all the time. After he gets used to racing, try to find an event or two that might have bigger fields- if he enjoys competition, racing with more kids his age should be even more fun for him.

I'm 23 now, and still loving racing! If you guys are ever near Ohio, give me a shout. 

PhysioJoe


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Look for a juniors team that will give him a lot of support.

But, do NOT coach him for at least a few more years. Hell, even most international pros that started at 10 didn't get coached until high school.


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## BryanSayer (Sep 22, 2009)

What he DOES need, and this is why I mentioned the fitting, is to AVOID an over-use injury. Not necessarily a coach, but at least someone to tell him what NOT to do.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Your Future Domestique*

Been there, done that, the first time he is strong enough to take a nice long pull at the end of a century and then drop your butt for the town line sprint you will smile with shame and pride. My son started riding at 7 and now races in college. We have had a blast riding and racing together and it has been fun watching him develop as a race (and a man). 

Lot's of good advice so far so I will just share some rambling thoughts and comments.

Racing - BMX There just is not that much road racing for juniors, particularly at that age. From a competition standpoint one of the best things he can do is keep racing BMX so long as he enjoys it. BMX racing builds a great foundation for road racing in a fun setting where he may not even notice the skills he is developing. Handling, crashing, pack skills, positioning, intervals, competetive spirit...

Racing - Time Trials He needs to learn to time trial. Let's face it, with the small size of junior fields and the vastly different skill levels many times a race will split up anyways so he will either be off the front, time trialing to the win, or off the back, riding by himself to finish. In addition, if he moves on towards the national level a lot of the selection criteria hinges on time trial results duirng team testing. Yes, time trials are boring and hurt, but it will be a skill that he will need in his quiver.

Racing - Track If you are near a velodrome look into their programs for juniors.

Racing - Juniors Junior road races are few and far between. Even if you travel a lot there will be few junior fields in which he can enter at that age and the fields will be small. As he progresses and gets older look at getting into the Cat 5, 4... fields where he will be able to experience pack racing and have others who push his limits.

Equipment He will need to realize you cannot buy speed. Plenty of adults have yet to figure that out and it is definitely true at the junior level. Get crash worthy, long lived equipment that is affordable. Buy good (decent, not expensive) components that can be moved from one frame to the next as he outgrows them. Then you are just buying a (used) frame once or twice a year. In addition, stripping and building up the next frame will teach him a lot about mechanics and how his bike works. Pay attention to the fit and have someone that does not ride with him every week look at his fit a couple of times a season.

Gearing He has to learn to spin. The junior gears will be plenty big starting out but as he approaches the elite level the pack will split based on those able to spin those who cannot. A computer with cadence would be a good idea and work on hitting some set cadence levels 95-100-105-110-115-120 - do them on rollers and really smooth out his stroke.

Riding Group riding is the key to making him a racer. As long as he can hang with the B group he will gain a lot from regularly participating in group rides. Pack skills and positioning. Informal town line sprints. Loads of mentors and advice. Potential sources for bike parts and frames. 

Mentors He needs to find a small handful of mentors to groom him. These will be the people that teach him how to race, first on those informal town line sprints and then as he progesses at training races and real races. Note that some of the mentors may not currently race but still possess all the knowledge he needs to absorb. These mentors will take him out on bumping drills - pushing him into snow banks for fun. The mentors will teach him tactics and sneaky tricks like how to gutter the people on your wheel or how to block without getting caught.

Coaching I gather you already know this but as his dad you can't be his coach. Not sure he really needs a formal cycling coach and unless you got really lucky I doubt you could find one with the experience to properly coach a kid his age. He can probably gather some training drills out of book and the interwebs but so many of those (and coaches) focus solely on intervals and forget about the many other aspects of racing. From a coaching standpoint you might look to your local high school, particularly the track or swimming coach. The school coach may lack cycling experience but they understand kids and the way their twisted little minds work. It will give him someone to talk to about goals, training plans, life balance, victories and defeats... I think the face to face aspect of a local school coach he can talk directly to is far more important than a far away cycling coach at this level. A good group of mentors can take care of the cycling side of the coaching.

Camps/Tours Look for some training camps. This will be a good chance for him to get a lot of personal attention and ride with other kids. He should come back with a whole lot of things to work on. In addition he will make a lot of contacts that will serve him well in the future. A week long tour is a good way to have fun while knocking out some training miles.

Contacts Start keeping a list of contacts he meets in cycling. As he travels and the kids he races against get older it is good to be able to touch base with someone you met a few years ago. 

Fun *Keep it fun!* Everyone should be a kid at least once and if they are lucky they wont outgrow being a kid.


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

Keeping up with Junior said:


> Been there, done that, the first time he is strong enough to take a nice long pull at the end of a century and then drop your butt for the town line sprint you will smile with shame and pride. My son started riding at 7 and now races in college. We have had a blast riding and racing together and it has been fun watching him develop as a race (and a man).
> 
> Lot's of good advice so far so I will just share some rambling thoughts and comments.
> 
> ...


 
I was going to say the exact same thing...


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*.....*



brianmcg said:


> I was going to say the exact same thing...


First!


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