Just before Christmas, Fraser from the Club Development team headed along to one of Glasgow Riderz weekly sessions in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome to see first hand the innovative approach the club is taking to delivering a range of different club sessions within the one location.
The support of Glasgow Life, the facility operators, has been essential in making this possible.
The club has a one hour slot on the Track itself, and this is bookended by two 30 minute slots, to give Riderz overall two hours in the Track centre. This structure allows the club to develop Riderz on and off the Track, at an age and stage appropriate level. It is also giving the club the opportunity to develop new Coaches and Helpers as they are provided with the opportunity to be exposed to a range of different sessions and work alongside experienced Coaches and Deliverers.
On this evening in particular, on Track activity is focused on Team Pursuits in advance of an upcoming competition. The Riderz greater focus on the Track is being spearheaded by Neil Macleod, and it is already seeing big increases in the number of Riderz attending weekly sessions, and then going on to compete in Glasgow Track League and other events.
Off the track, roller sessions are taking place for both experienced Riderz and for those just starting out. The space available within the track centre permits a range of abilities to be catered for and distinct sessions to be run. For those not on bikes, a dynamic fundamentals of movement session is being run, which is allowing younger Riderz who aren’t old enough to progress onto the Track as yet with the opportunity to experience sessions within the venue and be inspired by their peers as they ride around them.
The club also recognised that this structure of sessions provides an opportunity to engage with Parents/Guardians in a warm (and dry!) environment, so have also run basic bike mechanic sessions with them in the past to give them hints and tips to ensure that their Riderz wheels keep running smoothly.
Oscar Parker, a member of our Young People’s Panel has been a regular attendee at these sessions over the last few months and told us what he is getting out of attending them:
“I am benefitting greatly from these sessions as they are helping me improve by skills and endurance on the Track. I’ve been able to try out different types of racing that I hadn’t experienced previously. The coaches take the time to explain everything that’s involved in Track, and over time this has built up to give us a good understanding of the range of skills required, how to properly train and the ins and outs of the races that take place.
Approaching running sessions like this should be considered by other clubs too as it is a great way to help them help their members find what type of cycling is right for them and hopefully keep them in the sport for longer!”
We’re really grateful to Glasgow Riderz for allowing us to gain an insight into how they are approaching activity on the Track and wish them all the best as they keep developing this further!
