Tuscazoar hosts NICA bike race as youth mountain biking grows across Ohio

The Ohio Mountain Bike League of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association bike racing league is growing each year and so is the local team based at Camp Tuscazoar, the Tuscazoar Composite Sasquatch, which started with just three members five years ago. 

"We ended up with 27 student athletes on our team this year, so we’ve increased from 17 last year and we're still looking to grow,” said Denny Simon, Tuscazoar Composite team coach. 

Most of the team members are from Tuscarawas and Stark County, but they also have members from other counties including Harrison, Carroll, Guernsey, Summit and other members from Northeastern and Central Ohio.

OMBL NICA organizer, Jen Malik, is excited about the future of mountain biking as a sport but it also comes with some challenges. The last race event of the year, held at Camp Tuscazoar, on October 5 saw 261 riders participating. Malik thinks it’s possible the league could have about 320 riders next year and it’s a number that will keep growing. 

Malik likes the Camp Tuscazoar location.

“We're lucky here, this venue can grow with us. At some of our others, we will have to find new places to go,” Malik said. “I guess it's a good problem to have, but definitely a challenge as we continue to get bigger.”

Because of the growth of the Tuscazoar Composite team, the group actually split into two teams this year. Coach Simon expected both groups to finish near the top of the league standings for the season depending on the results of the race.

“The kids did great, and they've all had a lot of fun. The important part is most of them are out here riding with their family members, with their moms and dads and brothers and sisters. So, it's a great lifelong sport,” Simon said.

NICA is open to fifth through 12th graders, who can try the sport before they join.

“We offer try it out opportunities for anyone interested in seeing what it's about. You don't have to commit right away,” Malik said.

The Tuscazoar team girls have their own coach and sometimes hold their own practices.

"In the very beginning, it's very basic skills, as far as just even how to use your brakes and maneuver your bike and keep your bike upright, how to shift your bike,” said Sandy Lockhart, girls coach. “And then we start slowly, working on the trails, we work on starting and get them used to being in a crowd, riding and then going on trail. We're in the field at the very beginning, and then we move to the mountain bike trails once it's safe."

There is much to learn including how to go over roots and through rocks. 

“Because Tuscazoar is kind of hilly, climbing is also another thing we work on, with shifting your gears and how to ride in a pack, how to pass on the trails, how to be comfortable just going through the single track, versus a lot of kids only know how to ride on a towpath,” Lockhart said. “So, mountain biking is a little different in that aspect too."

Jaxson Brown of New Philadelphia has been on the team for three years. He became interested in biking at a young age.

“It started when I was a kid, me and my dad used to go ride all the time, and it was just really fun,” Brown said.

Brown feels his training has done much to get him ready for the race at Camp Tuscazoar.

“I love this course. It's one of the most fun courses we compete on,” Brown said. ‘We have a lot of climbing on this course. It's really, really intense, the climbing we have to do here today.” 

While he’s out on the course, Brown just tries to pass as many other riders as possible and keep his speed up. 

“Honestly, what I enjoy about being on the team is just the community we have and the organization that brings kids to be able to mountain bike,” Brown said. “I just really love NICA. It's one of the best organizations for kids around this area. It really brings us together, and they're just so welcoming.”

The goal is not just to introduce riders to a lifelong sport.

"It's my goal to make these kids our future Tuscazoar riders that end up taking care of this camp, and they're on the board of directors in 20 years. That's the whole plan here, just to get them involved in Tuscazoar, so this always remains a mountain bike destination," Simon said.