Coaching Between the Tape: Castle Hill Superflow Behind the Scenes
Castle Hill…. You aren’t Stromlo tech but you certainly live up to your reputation! Myself, only having ridden there 4 times in the lead up I was very excited to race there! Well, so I thought… I was feeling really confident and by far my favourite place to ride in Brisbane! What others don’t like or aren’t good at, I like. Jump and flow trails? yeah nah, I’d rather reorganise my sock drawer.
What was going to be an unreal weekend turned south very quickly for me personally. It all started Wednesday, the week of the race. Wednesday evening while at coaching I was catapulted over the bars at a speed not much quicker than walking. My history in sports and crashing far too regularly as young teen I have somewhat become a professional at crashing so during the crash I tucked n’ rolled. Remember that grasshoppers! I bounced straight back up and I thought as I shook my hand “damn that hurt”. I kept riding for another 5mins or so then stopped back near where I crashed ready to put the boys through some short, sharp efforts ready for Sunday. A few minutes after I stopped the pain was no longer inconsequential and my hand become frozen. I did however continue to run the session through the trusty iphone stopwatch! Thankyou to my assistant coach who helped tail the group back to the carpark where we finished off the session while I sketchily rode back along the fire road one handed! Fast forward to the following day after spending an insane amount of time in the ER and one x-ray later I was told I had a suspected fractured scaphoid but they weren’t sure, so to be cautious they put me in a half cast. My ambition to race = gonskies mate! But nonetheless, I was going to show up for the juniors regardless of my arm.
Once again, the juniors lined up for the schools comp on Friday.. I’m glad I took up MTB only 2 years and 4 months ago and not as a kid. These kids are FAST! We had some super strong performances by both boys and girls from Ride Technics securing multiple podium results across different categories. It’s great to have another form of competition utilising the same format as Superflow for schools to allow their students to compete in such a unique event. It really creates more opportunities for kids to participate in the sport of MTB creating more of a inclusive environment no matter the skill level.
We now transition to Sunday!
The morning of, hand in a cast. I arrived 20mins before their first runs. From 8:40am to just after 3pm I was on the other side of the tape on the main fire road, walking between trails and chatting to parents and every RT rider as the climbed back up to do another race run, discussing all things how they’re feeling, if they’re struggling with any race lines and general moral support. I felt incredible happiness and proudness to show up for them to support each and everyone of their racing endeavours. We did a few enduro training sessions in the lead up to this race but it wasn’t until the day of the race where I really saw a change in their mindset really shifting into a space of self-belief. It was something quite special. During the day too, some couldn’t wait to tell me how their run went which really took me back in the sense of great appreciation. Above caring about each rider individually with their riding in whatever capacity that looks like, whether it’s technique adjustments, line choices or one of the many other things associated with riding performance I also put great importance on developing a greater personal connection as I believe that is, if not more important because they feel seen, supported, inspired; developing trust. That is what I love most about my job.
All juniors showed tremendous effort during the day. Once again, putting on a real display of brilliant riding. Together, as a team, they secured another clean sweep, multiple podiums and wins across both boys and girls in addition to the other riders showing grit and tenacity displaying excellent riding with excellent results.
A kid won't always remember what you taught them but they'll always remember how you made them feel.
It’s more than just results. It’s about attitude, building confidence, growth and backing yourself every run believing in your abilities.
Bikes. Bravery. Breakthroughs. - Zack Wilson
#ridetechnics #mtb #enduromtb #bikelife #mtbpassion #mtbcoaching #mtbcoach
