GS Andiamo is a well-organized development program run by volunteer coaches and supporters with well over 200 years of combined experience in the sport of cycling. We are now in our 7th year and we are focused on using the fundamental tenants of long-term athlete development to help young athletes build life skills through the sport of cycling. We do not press kids to compete. Rather we strive to help young riders use bikes to explore their world and develop their own identity in sport. A key outcome goal of our program is for our athletes to become active for life, which is developed from a platform of physical literacy through participation in our quality programs.
GS Andiamo cycling club, our racing team (Team California Juniors), along with various school-based clubs and NICA teams we support provide avenues and infrastructure for those who express interest in recreational riding as well as competition in a variety of disciplines. Our long standing partnership with the Fast Freddie Foundation http://fastfreddiecycleclub.com/ has provided us an additional opportunity to build out a pipeline program for the most driven athletes to continue when they go to college with Team California (www.teamcabike.com), which is run by AJ Kennedy and Freddie Rodriguez. We constantly work to increase the number of non-competitive and competitive sporting opportunities for our ridership at all levels to heighten enthusiasm and engagement. Our programs are designed to be much more than simple development programs but rather we seek to engage athletes and have them embrace cycling as a lifestyle. This is achieved by providing appropriate levels of training and skill development along with learning opportunities that enable them to be leaders and role models. A key part of this is that our athletes have fun while riding and competing effectively and safely, on the road, track, as well as dirt. These programs are systematic, building riders confidence and skill so they achieve their own personal goals and remain enthusiastic about the sport regardless of their capacity.
GS Andiamo Junior Cycling is a USACycling Center of Excellence and we have won four USACycling club of the year awards for the depth and breadth of our programs. We offer well over 100 days of programing each year including coach led rides, skill building sessions, clinics, workshops, camps, as well as competitive races, and international race opportunities. We take our role as a Center of Excellence seriously and our club acts as a community leader. We not only promote the sport for our own athletes but also work collaboratively with others in the local, regional, and national cycling communities. Evidence for this is the numerous ride and race clinics that we host during the year with most of these activities being open to riders regardless of their club affiliation. We have developed strong ties with many other Junior programs throughout Southern California and beyond. We have an ongoing partnership with the City of Redlands and the Redlands Unified School District, which affords us access to facilities that provide a safe environment for young riders to learn and grow in the sport. Ultimately, these partnerships allow us to keep our fees reasonable for participants, which further reduces the financial barriers to participation. Over the past several years we have also built relationships with adult-oriented recreational clubs in Redlands (Ride Yourself Fit and Redlands Water Bottle Club) as well as racing teams (Team Redlands and Citrus Valley Velo), members of which are becoming mentors and taking active roles in our club. As a testament to this interaction, through GS Andiamo Junior Cycling we are cross listing a weekly Women’s Ride with the Redlands Water Bottle Club, which brings together more advanced junior riders with adult riders. This free coach-led ride empowers the women of our community to be more confident and skilled regardless of their age or ability.
We take community volunteerism seriously, and keep those efforts focused on having positive impact through the sport we love. GS Andiamo youth members, coaches, and parents provide service for the Burrage Buddies program through the Rochford Family Foundation. This program provides after-school enrichment activities for underserved kids through the local YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs. GS Andiamo provides coaches and mentors for the burrage buddies cycling programs throughout the year. http://burragemansion.org/enrichment-workshops.php. Members of GS Andiamo also take significant roles in the Redlands Bicycle Classic, which is the longest running stage race in the United States and currently the largest race on the West Coast. We worked collaboratively this past fall with the velodromes, coaches and other clubs in Southern California to develop the Sure Start Track Program, designed to introduce new riders to the joys of riding and racing on the velodrome. Sean Wilson serves as the current Coach Representative to the USACycling road sport committee and has founded the Youth Cycling Association, which is designed as a networking platform for youth-oriented coaches, cycling clubs and teams to share best practices and provide new opportunities and resources to facilitate recruitment and retention of athletes as well as provide developmental pathways for developing juniors and U23 / collegiate athletes.
