Overview of Kids MTB Coaching
Due to demand, our offering for the younger ripper is ever increasing. The information below will give you an overview of our offering to help you decide which session is suitable. If none of the below is suitable or not on the dates that you want then why not book some private coaching for your little ripper? These sessions will be bespoke to your child(ren) and will develop their skills/techniques at a pace and level that is suited to them.
Holiday Sessions
These sessions are delivered on a Wednesday every school holiday and are open to children aged 5-11. These two-hour sessions offer MTB coaching, so a child should already be able to ride their bike proficiently, know how to get on and off their bike and brake safely.
There are 2 levels of coaching – Beginner and Intermediate
- Beginner level is for children who are new to mountain biking, they learn how to corner, where and when to brake, ride singletrack and tackle easy features
- Intermediate level is for children who can ride a blue graded mountain bike trail like Verderers at the Forest of Dean, and are looking to further develop their MTB skills.
- Term Time drop in sessions – these sessions are for beginner and intemediate riders, and are run on some Saturdays during term time.
Fodders
Academy
These hugely popular 5-hour holiday sessions are for the more advanced ripper (usually aged 10+) who are confident in tackling red-graded features such as berms, table tops and steeper descents. We focus on these type of features really honing the technique. There is a maximum of six participants for the session. These intense days look to developing the overall young mountain biker, it is the the ulitimate day for your biking mad ripper!
Gravity Youth Camp
Gravity Youth is for secondary school-aged riders who want to develop all aspects of their MTB racing including race preparation, sessioning sections, fitness, nutrition, first aid and trailside repairs. It mirrors the monthly Pedalabikeaway/WyeMTB Youth Race Team coaching sessions. It will be attended by advanced level riders who can confidently and competently ride DH tracks and want to or are currently racing Enduro or DH.
Girls Only
Sessions
A few years ago we found that our club was mainly attended by boys, so in order to address this inequality, we started offering monthly girls only sessions. The result is that many of the girls who attended these sessions became full members of our club and we are almost at a 50:50 ratio! The sessions are run in the same format as the Little Fodders MTB club, delivered by female coaches and of course, have only girls attending. We run it at beginner and intermediate level, the descriptors being the same as the Holiday Sessions, and for girls aged 5-11.
Kids MTB Races
Several times a year we run a Kids MTB race at the Forest of Dean. It is open to all mountain bikers aged 5-14, who fancy giving racing a go!
It has live timing and podium finishes, with two race categories. But more importantly, the emphasis is on fun.
Birthday
Parties
What better way for your Little Ripper to celebrate their birthday than having a bike-based birthday party! The birthday boy/girl along with up to 7 of their friends can have a 2-hour session with a qualified coach playing bike games and learning some new skills. These are offered on weekday evenings (depending on the time of year) or on Sundays. Cost is £90.
Little Fodders
MTB Club
This is our flagship offering. If you have ever been to Pedalabikeaway on a Saturday morning you will be amazed how many children are around! This is because every termtime weekend we have up to 75 children attending our MTB club. This club is open to children from the age of 5 up until about 13 and offers structured and progressive sessions delivered by qualified British Cycling MTB coaches. Children will go from learning the basics – cornering and effective braking to sessioning the tricky sections of the downhill trails. It is a members only club, and we currently have a waiting list.
