The transition is underway to warmer and longer days, and some southern states are moving into their racing seasons. The Coaching Development and Education Program is also warming up. As we move towards the season growth phase of spring, it’s a good idea to start examining how you, as a coach, differentiate Development and Education. These have traditionally been combined in our program, but as our program name now states, they will begin to be separated moving forward.
The first small but critical step is primarily language. We’ll stop using the terms instructor and educator as we move lecture content to an online format and begin focusing on Coach Developers. We’re in the process of finding and training a new generation of Coach Developers as our limited numbers pre-pandemic have impacted our ability to grow and expand our offerings. You can read more about their involvement in the program below.
During the next month, take some time to think about Development and Education. Please read on for what else is happening. If you have comments, questions, or thoughts, feel free to contact coaches@usacycling.org.
Coaching Renewals
It's license renewal season, and there are a few key items to remember:
- No CEU reporting required
Licenses renewed prior to 11/15/2022 will expire on 12/31/2022 (most current license holders)
As of 11/15/2022, coaching licenses no longer expire at the end of the calendar year. Instead, they are a rolling 12-month license. That means they will expire 12 months from when they are renewed.
If you're looking to purchase or renew your professional coaching liability insurance through USA Cycling, you must have a current USA Cycling coaching license to do so.
We look forward to having you as part of our evolving program for 2023!
Pilot Coaches Connection Hour
Looking to connect with other coaches? Need to bounce a coaching idea off someone else? Just want to talk shop with people who understand the trials and tribulations of being a cycling Coach? Join us for a pilot session in March. This will be a low-key engagement. We’ll take a few short minutes for program updates then the floor is open. If the group is large enough, we’ll break into smaller groups.
Wednesday, March 15, 2:00 p.m. MT
Fast Talk Labs - Back in 2023!
In 2022, Fast Talk Labs and USA Cycling partnered to bring cycling coaches the best in coaching education and training science FREE of charge. For 2023, USA Cycling-licensed coaches will continue to receive access to:
The Craft of Coaching with Joe Friel, Modules 1-9
Six additional Craft of Coaching Modules are scheduled for 2023
Additional coaching content created in conjunction with USA Cycling
New for 2023, Fast Talk Labs will begin hosting the online portions of the USA Cycling Education Curriculum. This curriculum will continue to expand as Fast Talk Labs continues to grow. Look for more on this exciting addition this spring!
Also, this February, Fast Talk Labs will unveil an improved user experience on their website. It will now be easier than ever to find answers to your questions or that perfect piece of content you’ve been looking for to share with an athlete.
Can’t get enough Fast Talk Labs?? For a limited time, USA Cycling coach members will receive 50% off of Fast Talk Labs Unlimited Membership. Log in to your fasttalklabs.com account and then visit join for your discount (no coupon code required).
This newFast Talk Labs Unlimited Membership gives coaches access to:
Full library of training and sport science knowledge base
Polarized Training Guide with Dr. Stephen Seiler
Hundreds of new and upcoming guides to training, sport science, nutrition, and more
Athlete Development
The USA Cycling Athlete Development Pathway has been revised and relaunched. Special thanks to all the coaches who are working to get USA Cycling's Regional Development Camps off the ground in 2023. USA Cycling is excited to see these pathways grow and become more solidified in the coming years. As a coach, you never know when you may come across someone seeking info on these pathways. As a result, it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with these pathways and the different ways in which athletes can engage with them.
If you are interested in helping at a camp, see the section below.
Stay tuned as more plans come into place for the future and additional opportunities for USA Cycling Coaches to engage with the Athlete Development Pathway.
2023 Clinics
There’s been a temporary change among our coach developers, which has led to a delay in solidifying clinic plans for 2023. Online coursework for Levels 2 and 1 is continuing to come together through Fast Talk Labs. This should be launched early this summer. Consolidating a bulk of our educational content to an online format allows clinics to have reduced lecture time and maximize the time engaging with Coach Developers and attendees.
July - Location TBD
Currently Level 2 only
Late October - Bentonville, AR
Level 1 and Level 2
Tentative dates, locations and prerequisites will be available in a later newsletter and posted at the link below.
Coaching Employers Meet-up Series
USA Cycling would like to help our coach employers engage with each other to talk about issues, ideas, and generally create some industry cohesion. If you've got the time, we've got the zoom meeting to join. We'll have intros and then let the conversation take over.
At this time, these sessions will be limited to companies that employ two or more coaches as part of their day-to-day business.
#1
Thursday, March 9, 11:00 a.m. MT
#2
Wednesday, May 24, 11:00 a.m. MT
#3
Friday, August 18, 11:00 a.m. MT
#4
Thursday, November 16, 11:00 a.m. MT
Want to put all four sessions on your calendar? Download the calendar invite below!
Potential Coach Developers Wanted
Thanks to those who have responded! Look for more from us soon as we continue to grow the pool of interested individuals.
As we look toward the future of the program, we'll be formalizing training and a development pathway for Coach Developers. These individuals will run coaching education clinics in their region and eventually work with interested coaches on moving through various coach development pathways. This aspect of the program will be in its very early stages in 2023. It will be almost exclusively volunteer as it begins and will have limited engagement.
Initially, we are looking to create a list of potentially interested individuals that meet the following criteria:
USAC Level 1 Coach
10+ years of Coaching Experience
MS Degree or higher in one of the following areas:
Exercise Science (or related field)
Sport Psychology (or related field)
Pedagogy
An alternative to a Masters Degree is a Teaching certificate, at the elementary level or above, and experience in business operations.
A desire to help build future generations of coaches to grow our sport
To put your name on the list, click the link below.
Junior Development Camps
2023 will see the revival and expansion of Junior Development Camps. A number of USA Cycling coaches are currently hard at work organizing camps. If you have a general interest in being involved, please use the following form to be added to a list of potential coach resources. There is a significant need for female coaches with these camps, so please help us spread the word and get more female coaches to help rebuild our development pipeline.
