John Raisch
Wyncote,
Pennsylvania
(215) 704-1556
jraisch@gmail.com
OCTOBER 20, 2016 (WYNCOTE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA)
At Season
Midpoint, SoMont Youth MTB Team Riding High On Early Season
Accomplishments
Team &
Individual Performances Highlight Season So Far After 3rd Race (of 5)
in Pittsburgh, PA.
After competing in
their third race of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League's
inaugural season, the SoMont Cycling Youth MTB team continues to train and
prepare for the final races of the season. Like any other sports
team, the SoMont youth cycling athletes reflect on their past
performances, and discuss what they learned as a team and as
individuals, as they conduct their weekly practice routine.
Elsa, a 7th grader
at Cedarbrook in Cheltenham Township and recent 2nd place podium
finisher in the Boyce Park race on October 16 just outside of
Pittsburgh, summarizes her recent experience saying "Being on
the podium was great. But what was even better was crossing the
finish line on my bike in second place - with my team, my coaches and
my parents cheering me along!"
The 9 member youth
cycling team, comprised of students in Abington, Cheltenham, Lower
Moreland and Springfield townships, practices twice a week and races
in league events every other week. With more than 20 practices and 3
official race events under their belts, team camaraderie is high and
sportsmanship at league events is clear and present.
As testament to
this, Luke, a 7th grader at Abington Jr. High School and
racer/finisher in the first 3 race events, stopped during the Boyce
Park Pittsburgh race to help a fellow racer who had been racing in front of him "A racer in front of me took a pretty bad spill on the trail. He seemed hurt so I helped him up and made sure he was ok. We then continued on, racing together!" said Luke after completion of his
race.
In early 2016, local
Cheltenham residents founded the SoMont Cycling Youth MTB Team, John
Raisch and Thuong Nguyen. The friends and fellow mountain bikers
founded the team based on 5 core principles; ideas they aspired the
team to achieve -- adventure, exploration, excitement, friendship and
fitness.
"We're just
past the halfway point of the season, and these kids have already
achieved so much. I can't be more happy about their accomplishments.
They're a great bunch of kids and I can't wait to see what they
accomplish this year, next year and in the future!" said coach
Thuong.
“We have a
fantastic group of dedicated community based sponsors, coaches,
student-athletes and families. I am so proud of what we’ve
collectively accomplished and I look forward to seeing our team race
and continue to represent our community here in Montgomery County,”
remarked Raisch. However, Raisch is boldly looking beyond this season
further adding, “We are actively recruiting more student-athletes,
preparing for a time when Abington, Cheltenham, Lower Moreland and
other school districts adopt mountain biking as an interscholastic
sport. This wonderful sport promotes physical and mental fitness,
equality, inclusivity, and an appreciation of the great outdoors. We
don’t think it gets much better than that.”
The team races next
on Sunday October 23rd near Altoona PA, then again on Sunday November
6 in Fair Hill, MD for the season finals.
Specific SoMont
Cycling individual accomplishments this season:
- Race 1, September 18, 2016- Marysville Epic, Marysille PA: 5 Top 10 Finishers, 1 podium: 3rd place, Miriam Rose, Cheltenham-Cedarbrook, 8th grade girls classification
- Race 2, October 6, 2016- The Flow at Jordan Creek, Allentown, PA: 4 Top 10 Finishers, 1 podium: 3rd place, Reibert Recinos, Lower Moreland, 7th grade boys classification
- Race 3, October 16, 2016- Boyce Big Ring, Pittsburgh, PA: 4 Top 10 Finishers, 1 podium: 2nd place, Elsa Nguyen Cheltenham-Ccedarbrook, 7th grade girls classification
More About SoMont
Cycling Youth MTB Team
SoMont Youth MTB
team introduces 6th to 12th grade boys and girls to adventure,
exploration, excitement, friendship and good health through the sport
of mountain biking. These characteristics are the bedrock of the
team’s philosophy. Through instructional practice and competition
student-athletes also develop problem solving skills, increase their
self-esteem and see the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle.
The SoMont Cycling
Youth Mountain Bike Team was sanctioned in early 2016 as composite
team in the newly formed Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League
(PICL). It is an independent interscholastic youth mountain bike team
with student-athletes from Cheltenham, Abington, and Lower Moreland
and Springfield areas of southern Montgomery County, PA.
To learn more about
the SoMont Youth MTB Team visit them on Facebook, Instagram &
Twitter or at their website: www.somontcycling.org , www.pamtb.org ,
www.nationalmtb.org
More about PICL,
NICA and SoMont Cycling
Founded in 2009, the
National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) develops
interscholastic mountain biking programs for student-athletes across
the United States. NICA provides leadership, services and governance
for local leagues to produce quality mountain bike events, and
supports every student-athlete in the development of strong body,
strong mind and strong character through their efforts on the bike.
NICA operates in over 20 states, has over 7,500 student athletes and
over 3,000 NICA-licensed coaches across the United States. NICA's
vision is to develop interscholastic mountain biking coast-to-coast
by 2020.
SoMont Cycling Youth
MTB Team is a PICL sanctioned composite team, organized in 2016. It
is an independent youth mountain bike team in the Cheltenham,
Abington, Rockledge, Lower Moreland and Springfield areas of southern
Montgomery County. The goal of SoMont Youth MTB is to introduce boys
and girls (6th to 12th grade) to the sport of mountain biking and to
help them use the sport as a way of developing a new life-long
athletic interest. The team and coaching philosophy is to use
cycling, and the mountain bike itself, as a way-of-thinking to
transport our riders to a sense of adventure, exploration,
excitement, and good health.
###
Pictures from the
Boyce Park race October 16, 2016 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Elsa on the podium
Boys 7th grade staging start - over 30 deep!
Maris takes a fast turn
Crossing the finish line