Team Soldier Hollow is looking for ambitious high school cyclists (grades 9-12) who want to train and race at a high level locally and regionally who will contribute to our growing club and vision of “Developing Champions in Sport and Life.”
Program Goal:
The goal of the entire program is to provide a 5 month base, build, and taper to best prepare athletes for the NICA season later in the year. The first two months are heavily focused on strength training and Level 1/2 training. The following 2 months atheltes maintain a higher load of strength while increasing on the bike training volume and increasing the bike intensity. The final couple of weeks will be a taper to either peak for 12 hours of Mesa Verde in Cortez Colorado or the Pan American Games. Both races are over the weekend of May 12. After that the athletes will recover so they are ready to do it all over again with their NICA team.
MTB and Ski:
Our program starts with an 8 week cross training preparatory phase from January 8 - February 29th. Wednesday and Thursday sessions will be at Soldier Hollow where participants will cross country ski and be led by PSIA Certified Coach Anna Cox. Monday's will be at the Soldier Hollow gym, behind our timing building and will be led by our NASM certified strength coach, Melanie Lake. All practices will start at 4pm and end between 5:30-6:00 pm. We will also have a number of experienced and amazing volunteer coaches with cycling and XC skiing backgrounds join us at every session. This first 8 week block will be all about building general endurance and strength to prepare our athletes for the intense cycling training they will be doing the rest of the year. You will also get to participate in a free XC ski race at Soldier Hollow. The cost to join our cycling focused ski program will be $300 and includes all trail passes, coaching, and ski equipment. Athletes will still need clothing to exercise in during the winter time and are encouraged to have a gps watch with a heart rate monitor. Athletes can also register for a scholarship based on monthly gross household income. There will also be opportunities for Saturday long rides on the trainers at the FitStop with Scott Preston and 2 away weekends to go ride in some warmer weather down South. These dates and locations are TBD and will be updated once they are finalized. Away trips will likely cost extra.
You can register for the XC Ski Program for cyclists through this link.
The program takes a short break from organized training for the first 2 weeks of March before transitioning to cycling specific training.
MTB
The cycling program will run from March 19 through October 20. Practices will be on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from March 19 until the start of NICA practice in June. After the NICA program starts, our program will only meet on Saturday's for long base rides or a race when there aren't schedule PRP's or other NICA activities. Most practices while school is going will run from 4:30-6:30 pm. When school is out for summer most sessions will be in the morning (time tbd). Practice locations will vary but will almost always be at one of the local trailheads in the Heber Valley ie, Dutch Hollow, Soldier Hollow, or UVU to name a few. Training plans will be sent out via email on the Thursday prior to the training week. Melanie Lake will provide strength training for our athletes once a week, and Alexandra Charles will be running most of our cycling training sessions with the help of some of our amazing volunteer coaches.
The goal of the cycling program is to increase participants technical/tactical skills, improve fitness, while promoting a lifelong love of racing and cycling. This will be done using scientifically sound training methodologies that utilize power meters, heart rate monitors, and lactate analysis: Creating a training plan that complements what athletes on the Wasatch NICA team are doing. This way athletes avoid doing intervals or racing five days a week. Utilizing our amazing local trails so participants can be confident riding anything they come across in the future. Participating in a a wide variety of racing so participants are exposed to all sides of the cycling world. Events will include 6 or 12 hour relays, XCO races, XCM, STXC, criteriums, gravel races, and road races.
We are still finalizing the 2024 racing schedule but will post it here when it is ready.
The cycling program will cost $700 and will include a Team SOHO uniform and some race support for away and local races. Athletes in financial need are encouraged to apply for a scholarship through the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation (just select the scholarship option during registration). Participants will need a well functioning mountain bike, helmet, cycling shoes, gym clothes, tennis shoes, and cycling kit to train in. Participants are strongly encouraged to also have a road or gravel bike, a power meter, a gps watch or head unit, and a heart rate monitor. Participants having all of the encouraged items as well as required items will have the best chance of improving and reaching their goals.
If you have any questions about our MTB programs please direct questions to the head coach, Gerrit Garberich. You can contact him via email at ggarberich@uolf.org or via text at 218-839-6340.
Registration for the Cycling program is through this link
Training Camp/Race Dates
These trips are often the highlights of this program. We have 4 trips planned this spring.
Trip 1 - February 15-19 - Scottsdale, AZ or other warm location
The team will leave after school on Thursday, drive down to St. George, stay the night, travel the rest of the way to Scottsdale and ride on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Trip 2 - March 13-16 - St. George - True Grit Race
The team will leave Wednesday after school and head down to St. George to ride on Thursday, Friday, and then race in the True Grit Bike race on Saturday before returning late Saturday evening.
Trip 3 - April 8-13 - Kokopelli Trail and Moab Trip
The team will leave on Monday and return on Friday or Saturday. The plan is to ride from Grand Junction to Moab on the Kokopelli trail and then spend a couple of days riding in and around Moab. The plan is have a couple of campers leap frog the route for camping and cover the trail in three days before camping in Moab or renting a VRBO and riding that area.
Trip 4 - May 9-11 - Cortez, CO - 12 Hours of Mesa Verde or stay home and race Pan Am Games at SOHO
The team will leave Thursday after school, pre ride the course on Friday, and then race the 12 hours of Mesa Verde on Saturday and then arrive back to SOHO late on Saturday evening to get the kids home before mother's day.
Program Goal:
The goal of the entire program is to provide a 5 month base, build, and taper to best prepare athletes for the NICA season later in the year. The first two months are heavily focused on strength training and Level 1/2 training. The following 2 months atheltes maintain a higher load of strength while increasing on the bike training volume and increasing the bike intensity. The final couple of weeks will be a taper to either peak for 12 hours of Mesa Verde in Cortez Colorado or the Pan American Games. Both races are over the weekend of May 12. After that the athletes will recover so they are ready to do it all over again with their NICA team.
MTB and Ski:
Our program starts with an 8 week cross training preparatory phase from January 8 - February 29th. Wednesday and Thursday sessions will be at Soldier Hollow where participants will cross country ski and be led by PSIA Certified Coach Anna Cox. Monday's will be at the Soldier Hollow gym, behind our timing building and will be led by our NASM certified strength coach, Melanie Lake. All practices will start at 4pm and end between 5:30-6:00 pm. We will also have a number of experienced and amazing volunteer coaches with cycling and XC skiing backgrounds join us at every session. This first 8 week block will be all about building general endurance and strength to prepare our athletes for the intense cycling training they will be doing the rest of the year. You will also get to participate in a free XC ski race at Soldier Hollow. The cost to join our cycling focused ski program will be $300 and includes all trail passes, coaching, and ski equipment. Athletes will still need clothing to exercise in during the winter time and are encouraged to have a gps watch with a heart rate monitor. Athletes can also register for a scholarship based on monthly gross household income. There will also be opportunities for Saturday long rides on the trainers at the FitStop with Scott Preston and 2 away weekends to go ride in some warmer weather down South. These dates and locations are TBD and will be updated once they are finalized. Away trips will likely cost extra.
You can register for the XC Ski Program for cyclists through this link.
The program takes a short break from organized training for the first 2 weeks of March before transitioning to cycling specific training.
MTB
The cycling program will run from March 19 through October 20. Practices will be on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from March 19 until the start of NICA practice in June. After the NICA program starts, our program will only meet on Saturday's for long base rides or a race when there aren't schedule PRP's or other NICA activities. Most practices while school is going will run from 4:30-6:30 pm. When school is out for summer most sessions will be in the morning (time tbd). Practice locations will vary but will almost always be at one of the local trailheads in the Heber Valley ie, Dutch Hollow, Soldier Hollow, or UVU to name a few. Training plans will be sent out via email on the Thursday prior to the training week. Melanie Lake will provide strength training for our athletes once a week, and Alexandra Charles will be running most of our cycling training sessions with the help of some of our amazing volunteer coaches.
The goal of the cycling program is to increase participants technical/tactical skills, improve fitness, while promoting a lifelong love of racing and cycling. This will be done using scientifically sound training methodologies that utilize power meters, heart rate monitors, and lactate analysis: Creating a training plan that complements what athletes on the Wasatch NICA team are doing. This way athletes avoid doing intervals or racing five days a week. Utilizing our amazing local trails so participants can be confident riding anything they come across in the future. Participating in a a wide variety of racing so participants are exposed to all sides of the cycling world. Events will include 6 or 12 hour relays, XCO races, XCM, STXC, criteriums, gravel races, and road races.
We are still finalizing the 2024 racing schedule but will post it here when it is ready.
The cycling program will cost $700 and will include a Team SOHO uniform and some race support for away and local races. Athletes in financial need are encouraged to apply for a scholarship through the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation (just select the scholarship option during registration). Participants will need a well functioning mountain bike, helmet, cycling shoes, gym clothes, tennis shoes, and cycling kit to train in. Participants are strongly encouraged to also have a road or gravel bike, a power meter, a gps watch or head unit, and a heart rate monitor. Participants having all of the encouraged items as well as required items will have the best chance of improving and reaching their goals.
If you have any questions about our MTB programs please direct questions to the head coach, Gerrit Garberich. You can contact him via email at ggarberich@uolf.org or via text at 218-839-6340.
Registration for the Cycling program is through this link
Training Camp/Race Dates
These trips are often the highlights of this program. We have 4 trips planned this spring.
Trip 1 - February 15-19 - Scottsdale, AZ or other warm location
The team will leave after school on Thursday, drive down to St. George, stay the night, travel the rest of the way to Scottsdale and ride on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Trip 2 - March 13-16 - St. George - True Grit Race
The team will leave Wednesday after school and head down to St. George to ride on Thursday, Friday, and then race in the True Grit Bike race on Saturday before returning late Saturday evening.
Trip 3 - April 8-13 - Kokopelli Trail and Moab Trip
The team will leave on Monday and return on Friday or Saturday. The plan is to ride from Grand Junction to Moab on the Kokopelli trail and then spend a couple of days riding in and around Moab. The plan is have a couple of campers leap frog the route for camping and cover the trail in three days before camping in Moab or renting a VRBO and riding that area.
Trip 4 - May 9-11 - Cortez, CO - 12 Hours of Mesa Verde or stay home and race Pan Am Games at SOHO
The team will leave Thursday after school, pre ride the course on Friday, and then race the 12 hours of Mesa Verde on Saturday and then arrive back to SOHO late on Saturday evening to get the kids home before mother's day.