Canadian Cycling Association

Canadian Cycling Association 203 - 2197 Riverside DriveOttawa, Ontario K1H 7X3

Tel: (613) 248-1353Fax: (613) 248-9311

BMX for Fun and Skills

BMX for Performance

Competition for FUN and SKILLSHighly competitive athletes, coaches, or parents can become totally focused on winning races. Instead, BMX competitions should refl ect the goals for the athlete’s stage of development. Not every race is about winning, but each competition should have a specifi c purpose tied to the athlete’s needs, whether it is to improve tactical skills, to practice for an upcoming major race, or to per-form. Here are some tips for the “BMX for Fun and Skills” stages:

■ Don’t introduce competition until the rider has developed sound basic BMX skills.

■ Choose competitions which use track profi les suitable for the rider’s skill level.

■ Emphasize the rider demonstrating skills in competition, not winning. For example, “great position out of the start!” or “great pass on that banking!”

■ Avoid chasing rankings or plates.

■ Avoid comparing results to other riders. Compare to previous performances- look for improvement and consistency.

■ Avoid excessive, expensive travel to national competitions until the rider is ready (Train to Train stage and later).

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Canadian Cycling Association www.canadian-cycling.com

Cycling British Columbia www.cyclingbc.net

Alberta Bicycle Association www.albertabicycle.ab.ca

Saskatchewan Cycling Association www.saskcycling.ca

Manitoba Cycling Associationwww.cycling.mb.ca

Ontario Cycling Association www.ontariocycling.org

Fédération Québécoise des sports cyclistes

www.fqsc.net

Vélo New Brunswick www.velo.nb.ca

Bicycle Nova Scotia www.bicycle.ns.ca

Bicycle Newfoundland and Labradorwww.bnl.nf.ca

Cycling Association of Yukon 867 667-8212 (B)

Cycling PEI www.sportpei.pe.ca

Canadian Sport for Lifewww.canadiansportforlife.ca

BMX is really two sports. “BMX for Fun and Skill” is for riders up to about 12 years old. BMX racing is fun, fast and competitive. Winning races at this stage is not as important as developing a solid foundation of BMX skills. The keys are Fun, Friendship, Skills and Learning the lessons of sport.

There is a second sport we call “BMX for Perfor-mance”. Beginning around age 13 or 14, BMXers start developing the physical abilities, competition skills and experience that lead to future World Championship and Olympic podiums. Reaching the top in this sport takes years of hard work and dedication.

There is a secret to success: learning BMX skills from “BMX for Fun and Skill” and develop-ing the physical abilities and competition experi-ence from “BMX Performance” will provide the foundation to reach the podium.

Long-Term Athlete DevelopmentLong-term Athlete Development (LTAD) is a pathway for optimal training, competition and recovery throughout an athlete’s career.

LTAD is divided into stages based on sci-entifi c knowledge about human growth and development. The stages are a guide to cre-ating appropriate sport programs. The prior sport experience of the athlete, combined with his/her individual stage of physical, mental and emotional development, is much more important than chronological age. No matter how “exceptional” the athlete seems, he/she can’t be “pushed” through develop-ment!

It is very important to take advantage of sensitive periods of adaptation as the child grows and develops. The mind and body are most able to develop in specifi c ways at spe-cifi c times. Skills, for example, are learned quickly from about age 8 to 12. Physical strength, power and endurance can be de-veloped after the growth spurt, typically age 12 for girls, 13 for boys.

The “windows” of optimal development are approximately (ages vary from individual to individual):

Development of… Girls age Boys ageFlexibility 5 to 9 6 to 10Speed (leg/pedal) 6 to 9 7 to 10Skill development 8 to 11 9 to 12Endurance 11 to 13 13 to 15Tactics/Decisions 13 up 14 upStrength & Power 13 up 14 upGoal-setting 17 up 18 up

PRIORITY #1 - Skills, Skills, Skills!

BMX skills, including starting, pedaling at high speeds, cornering, passing, and jump-ing, are the foundation of winning BMX. These skills are best developed when the athlete is from 8 to 12 years old. High per-formance in BMX is impossible to reach without these skills!

What does this look like in BMX?

■ Riders using fl at pedals (not clips) for all kinds of skill learning, right through their careers. Using fl at pedals the rider learns correct form for key skills including hops, manuals and jumps, as he/she can’t pull the bike up by the pedals.

■ Participation in other sports to develop well-rounded athleticism on land, in water, and on ice and snow, developing balance, agility, object-control and eye-hand and eye-foot coordination.

■ Riders playing all kinds of coach-led games, on and off the bike, to develop a wide range of skills.

■ A good mix of relaxed fun and intense concentration during activities.

■ Coaches who know how to mix up activ-ities and try different approaches to help riders “get” a skill.

■ Advanced riders helping newer riders out, and being role models for them.

Inside you will fi nd a stage-by-stage guide to Winning BMX. You can fi nd more detailed information in the Canadian Cycling Assoc-iation’s Winning BMX guide. Download it free at www.canadian-cycling.com

WINNING BMX

BM

X fo

r Per

form

ance

Active for Life

BMX for Fun and Skill

Canadian Sport for Life

TRAIN TO WIN age 18+

8+ years in BMX

LEARN TO WIN age 17-21

7+ years in BMX

TRAIN TO COMPETE age 14F/15M to 17 6-9 years in BMX

TRAIN TO TRAIN age 10 to 11F/12M3-6 years in BMX

ACTIVE FOR LIFE/COMPETITIVE FOR LIFE

enter at any ageafter growth spurt

LEARN TO COMPETE age 11F/12M to 14F/15M

4-7 years in BMX

LEARN TO TRAINage 6-9

1-5 years in BMX

FUNDAMENTALSage 4-6

0-3 years in BMX

ACTIVE STARTage 0-5

0 years in BMX

Lear

n to

Tra

inA

ge 6

to 9

1 to

5 y

rs in

BM

X

• K

ee

p b

uild

ing

skill

s!

• S

tay o

n fla

t pedals

(no c

lips).

Use

clip

s for

racin

g a

t end-s

tage, if

lo

ca

l ru

les a

llow

.•

Wo

rk o

n p

ed

alin

g 1

20

-14

0 r

pm

.•

Re

fin

e b

asic

skill

s; a

dd

ga

te

sta

rts, m

anuals

, ju

mps, ta

ctics.

• A

ll tr

ain

ing

ba

se

d o

n F

UN

ga

me

s.

• C

lub

an

d p

rovin

cia

l ra

ce

s.

Win

ning

BM

X: B

MX

for F

un a

nd S

kill

For d

etai

led

info

rmat

ion

on tr

aini

ng a

nd c

ompe

titio

n fo

r BM

X, p

leas

e do

wnl

oad

the

full

Win

ning

BM

X d

ocum

ent a

t: w

ww

.can

adia

n-cy

clin

g.co

m

• U

se

fla

t p

ed

als

(n

o c

lips)

to b

uild

skill

s o

n the “

min

i-tr

ack”.

• W

ork

on

in

cre

ase

pe

da

ling

sp

ee

d.

• F

ocus o

n b

asic

skill

s: sta

rt,

accele

ration, sto

p, tu

rn, hop.

• A

ll tr

ain

ing

ba

se

d o

n F

UN

ga

me

s.

• M

inim

ize u

se o

f pla

cin

gs o

r tim

es

in

com

petition -

inste

ad identify

an

d r

ew

ard

go

od

skill

s.

FUN

dam

enta

lsA

ge 4

to 6

0 to

3 y

rs in

BM

X

STA

RT

LIN

E

Trai

n to

Tra

inA

ge 1

0 to

12

3 to

6 y

rs in

BM

X

• B

eg

in “

bu

ildin

g th

e e

ng

ine

”.•

Ke

ep

fla

t p

ed

als

fo

r skill

wo

rko

uts

.•

Wo

rk o

n p

ed

alin

g 1

40

+ r

pm

.•

Re

fin

e a

ll skill

s; fo

cu

s o

n ta

ctics.

• P

rovin

cia

l ra

ce

s, m

ovin

g to

na

tio

na

l le

ve

l a

t e

nd

of sta

ge

.•

Em

ph

asiz

e c

on

tro

llab

le r

ace

results s

uch a

s tim

es, good

positio

nin

g, good s

kill

s &

tactics.

BM

X fo

r Pe

rfor

man

ceA

ges

12 a

nd u

p•

Bu

ild

on

a f

ou

nd

ati

on

of

win

nin

g s

kills

.•

Develo

p t

op

ph

ysic

al,

te

ch

nic

al an

d r

ace

ab

ilit

ies.

Act

ive

for L

ifeA

ny a

ge•

Sta

y a

cti

ve in

sp

ort

s

th

rou

gh

ou

t life

!•

Co

nti

nu

e r

acin

g f

or

fu

n if

desir

ed

.•

Giv

e b

ack a

s a

co

ach

,

off

icia

l o

r le

ad

er.

PA

RK

ING

LO

T

Fu

n, h

ard

wo

rk,

fair

pla

y..

.head

fo

r th

e t

rac

k!

Neg

ati

vit

y,

cri

ticis

m, an

d

ch

eati

ng

sta

y o

ut

he

re!

BL

EA

CH

ER

S

Pare

nts

help

by:

• E

mp

ha

siz

e fu

n,

fr

ien

dsh

ips, a

nd

ho

ne

st

e

ffo

rt in

yo

ur

ch

ild’s

sp

ort

exp

erie

nce

s. D

e-

e

mp

ha

siz

e w

inn

ing

an

d

“c

ha

sin

g p

late

s”.

• B

uild

skill

s, skill

s, skill

s.

• S

up

po

rt p

art

icip

atio

n in

many k

inds o

f sport

• L

oo

k fo

r N

CC

P-t

rain

ed

co

ach

es.

• H

elp

yo

ur

ch

ild to

ge

t to

pra

ctice

an

d c

om

pe

titio

ns,

e

nsu

re e

qu

ipm

en

t is

sa

fe,

a

nd

su

pp

ort

th

e c

oa

ch

es’

d

ecis

ion

s.

• R

em

em

be

r ch

ildre

n c

an

be

fa

r a

pa

rt in

ma

tura

tio

n:

d

on

’t c

om

pa

re to

oth

ers

.•

Pitch

in

as a

n o

ffic

ial, c

lub

lea

de

r, o

r h

elp

er.

WA

RM

-UP

AR

EA

Ac

tiv

e S

tart

Ag

e 0

-6

• D

aily

un

str

uctu

red

physic

al activity -

at le

ast

6

0 m

inu

tes p

er

da

y.•

Ba

sic

mo

ve

me

nt skill

s o

n

la

nd

, w

ate

r, s

no

w a

nd

ice

.•

Run, ju

mp, th

row

,

ba

lan

ce

, kic

k, sw

im a

nd

rid

e a

bik

e.

• E

xp

lain

th

at th

e “

big

track”

is for

riders

that

h

ave

th

e b

asic

skill

s.

• Lim

it c

om

petition; fo

cus

o

n F

UN

Cana

dian

Cyc

ling

Ass

ocia

tion

Asso

ciat

ion

cycl

iste

cana

dien

ne