November 11, 2008 – Hardwood Ski & Bike would like to welcome former Team Ontario MTB Coach Kevin Simms to assume the role of Head Coach for the MTB Development Program at Hardwood. Kevin, along with Jack Sassville of Hardwood and the support of Barry Near at Trek Store have joined forces to form the most extensive Mountain Bike Development Program in Ontario. The facilities, coaching experience and terrain available at Hardwood are ideal ingredients to make this program a significant “˜hub’ for cycling development for a variety of athletes.

The 2009 season will see programming at a variety of levels. Program diversity will vary from Cycling Basics to High Performance. Athletes and parents can decide on the development stage necessary to experience success next season. Applications are currently being accepted for the 2009 MTB season and can be found on the Hardwood Ski & Bike – www.hardwoodskiandbike.ca.

– Bronze – Introduction to MTB, Technical Training, Group Riding
– Silver – Technical Training, Race Preparation, Learning to Train
– Gold – Prep for Competing, Fitness Testing, Individualized Training
– High Performance – Structured Yearly Training, Power Profiling, Fitness Testing
– Girlz Squad – Introduction to MTB, Technical Training, Group Riding
– Masters – Technical Training, Race Preparation, Learning to Train
– BMX – Introduction to BMX Training & Racing

Programs will be based at Hardwood Ski & Bike, using the Trek Store Wednesday Race Series as a weekly gathering. As well, program participants will be involved in a multitude of “˜training camps’ throughout the year. These camps will provide fitness testing, off season training and technical riding for athletes.

Training and coaching for competitive level programs will begin next week and continue after that with monthly training camps, while programs for younger athletes will begin early in the spring. Staffing for 2009 has begun and with the current coaching ratio’s, there are a limited number of spots available at each level for 2009.

Kevin Simms can be reached at Hardwood (Nov.12-13 this week between 3:00-5:00) or by email ksimms@csolve.net . Please feel free to contact Kevin for details on any of the programs or if you might have questions about your son/daughter’s program. The Trek-Hardwood Development Program is looking forward to working with any athletes as they prepare for the 2009 MTB season.