In our “What inspires you to coach? Series”, #bicp Instructor Trainer, Scott Givens ( @pedaltherapy ) sent this great account to us:

I like telling this story to explain why I love coaching:

I was working with a woman who was vacationing from the cold winter of her home town in Canada. We were enjoying going over skills in the warm AZ sun, and the desert was popping with colors from a recent rainstorm, along with primo trail conditions. It was a great scene.

While working on basic descending skills, she was repeatedly descending a small hill trying to break her habit of tensing up and white knuckling down it. She was doing almost everything right – head up, weight appropriately distributed for the slope, hips off the saddle, good momentum, modulating her brakes – but she still wasn’t comfortable. As I was scanning her body and position for what could be wrong, I noticed her feet. Her heels were level, if not a little tilted up. On her next attempt, I reminded her of the dropped heel position we practiced earlier, and how that allows her to brace against descending and braking forces. Her next attempt was filled with shrieks of joy and exhilaration, instead of nervousness and anxiousness. The small wash at the bottom of the descent was filled with whoops and hollers: “YEAAAAHHHH! That was SOOO easy, and it felt GREAT!”

It was a win-win, obviously for her she had that classic “ah HA!” moment, and fear was turned into confidence. Selfishly, for me, it’s a wonderful feeling to find that one little switch, that one little tidbit, trick or change, that completely changes a rider’s perspective. Knowing that all the hours spent training and teaching as a coach paid off, and you’ve impacted a positive change on a rider that they’ll likely remember for a long time, is such a gratifying feeling.

#pedaltherapy #ridewithconfidence #neverstoplearning #bicp #inspirethestoke #morepeopleonbikes #bikesbikesbikes #coaching Photo credit: @pedaltherapy

Thanks, Scott, for really showcasing that ✨ MAGIC! ✨

🎉 We want to hear from you, what inspires you to coach! Submit them in the comments below or email alison@icp.bike (include any photos you wish) and we’d love to showcase your inspiration!🎉