Youth mountain biking team gives kids camaraderie on the trails

Northwestern Montana is arguably one of the greatest places in North America for mountain biking. Luckily, young riders in the Flathead Valley have the opportunity to join the Flathead Composite Mountain Bike Team and hit the trails.

The Flathead Composite Mountain Biking Team, or the Cutties, because its mascot is a cutthroat trout, provides a great way for kids in grades 6-12 to hone their riding skills and make good friends. The team just finished its season in early October with over 20 riders participating this year, with skill levels ranging from beginner to advanced.

Four years ago, when Travis Coleman founded the team, Lynn Foster was one of the original coaches. She also serves as the team director while Sam Kavanagh is the current head coach. This year, the team was 28 kids strong and Foster says they operate at a ratio of two coaches for every eight riders, at a minimum.

“It is a fully volunteer-run organization and parents are always welcome to join as ride leaders or ride helpers. It is open to all kids regardless of their skill level and their ability,” said Foster. “We just want them to show up. And just by showing up, they get so much better so quick.”

In early July, the team begins practicing twice a week for races which begin in late August and run into the first weekend of October. The team travels to Bozeman, Butte and Missoula for races while their home turf is the trail system at Herron Park in Kalispell.

“It’s really a fun community they’re walking into, not just a sport to compete in,” said Foster.

Landon Brown, a junior at Whitefish High School, had been riding for years before joining the Cutties when he was in eighth grade.

“I think the best part is just having other kids and high schoolers that are into riding and then just going to these races and seeing all these schools in Montana that have all these other kids that have the passion for the same sport,” Brown said.

The amount of camaraderie between teams in this sport is greater than in other sports, as the teams spend more time together during the races. Races run back to back, so the second race doesn’t begin until every racer finishes the first one. This affords riders time to get to know each other.

Foster said there are team tents at the races with chairs and barbecues right at the start and finish line so everybody hangs out as a group. The award ceremony happens only after everyone works together to clean up the area.

“It's one of the few sports I've ever seen where you actually get to hang out with your competition,” Foster noted. “We camp at all the races, they play games together, they congratulate each other at the finish line and cheer each other on throughout the race. So, there is a sense of competition but it's the friendliest I've ever seen in a high school sport.”

THERE ARE MORE middle schoolers on the Flathead Composite Team than any other grades and Brown said they are important, not just because they make up a major part of the team.

“Middle school is the biggest part of our team, for sure, and the sixth-grade boys were a fun part of the team this year,” Brown said. “They’re all just a super fun group. Like, whenever I would finish my races, all the middle school boys are done, so they’d all be swarming around and there’s always one boy who’d come grab my bike for me at the finish and they were just all super supportive, and fun to be around.”

While Brown was a skilled rider when he started with the team, racing experience and riding skills are not necessary to join.

“We had quite a few true beginners this year,” Foster said. “They’ve ridden bikes in their neighborhood but hadn’t really done a whole lot on trails.”

The growth that occurs with the young riders is something that drew Foster to coaching.

“I’m madly in love with mountain biking and (coaching) seemed like the best way to make sure that the sport continues on,” she said. “Watching the kids grow is so much fun during the season — watching them start, so insecure and come out of there confident and capable.”

COLEMAN DEVELOPS individualized training plans for the more experienced racers who are serious about competing, like Brown. Foster said Brown is on a “pretty strict training plan” and that following it takes a lot of dedication on his part.

In addition to the extra training, Brown has been gathering some of the other high school boys for training rides to get ready for next year’s season. He said it’s like non-sanctioned NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) practices.

“I think being able to have a group of kids that are super into, not just riding, but racing, is going to make the team faster but also closer together and have that much more fun competing,” Brown said.

Registration for the Flathead Composite Mountain Bike Team begins in May and everyone is welcome to join. Riders do need their own gear, but the team works with local bike shops to get discounts and Foster has some scholarships available.

“The bike really is the most expensive part and it doesn’t have to be crazy expensive,” said Foster. “It is a cross-country mountain bike race, so you don’t have to have a full-suspension mountain bike, it can be a hardtail which saves quite a bit of cost.”

The team draws from every high school in the valley and the end goal is to have mountain biking as a school-sanctioned sport, with riders practicing together but competing for their individual schools. For now, the team is succeeding in building love for the sport and amping up the fun factor.

“It’s a super fun sport to get into,” Brown said. “Being able to be on a high school team with other kids who love to ride their bikes makes the sport… fun.”

For more information on the team, visit https://www.flatheadyouthcycling.com.