Clancy BriggsBlog

At Clancy Briggs, our learning environment rewards commitment and development. Our ethos is about meeting your child where they are and helping them to develop. 

There’s no speeding off into the distance and no child is left behind. As long as they keep attending, we’ll keep our focus on their development.

Their cycling career may end up being a hobby - perhaps they’ll enjoy heading off on a mountain bike with friends or commuting to work.  Whatever the outcome, we plan to introduce them to a lifelong love of cycling.

But if they do want to race, we'll be there to support them too with tips from the very top of the sport.

We’ll take the stress out of teaching your child to ride, offering support and advice on all the details such as bike fit and bike helmets.  Before you know it, we’ll turn the kids into bike riders whilst you’ve been able to keep your feet flat on the floor watching proudly from the sidelines.

Our programme constantly assesses pupil development.  We tailor plans to meet individual needs, whether that is learning to balance, introducing pedals, roadcraft or more challenging bike racing skills. 

These sessions use balance bikes and form part of our “Medal for Pedals” programme. 

Many small children will be ready to learn to ride hot on the heels of their own first steps. So from 18 months, we'll be there to guide and support your little one as they start balancing on two wheels and get their feet off the ground.  You will be amazed at how quickly we can get them to start pedalling.   

At that point, they'll receive their Clancy Briggs ‘Medal for Pedals’. A memento of this key milestone that they'll treasure for the rest of their lives. 

At the end of each class, we'll also recognise the achievement of one member of the class who has caught the eye of the coaches by giving one child the Clancy Briggs Bear to take home for the week.

These are aimed at children 7 years and older, who already have a strong grasp of balance, coordination and agility off the bike but have yet to transfer these skills across to be able to ride a bicycle without stabilisers (training wheels). 

In LEARN we aim to teach the fundamentals of bike riding in a more concentrated environment than our balance classes.

We’ll teach them how to confidently put a foot on a pedal and safely set off, come to a stop & ride without any assistance at all. 

Once they’ve mastered the basics, the natural progression from our LEARN classes is onto PEDAL classes, where they can show off their newly acquired skills to a larger group and have fun with even more friends.

In our BALANCE and LEARN classes the primary outcomes are:

• Moving
• Spatial awareness
• Interacting with Space
• Static balance
• Mounting, propelling and steering the bicycle.
• Communication skills
• Observation
• Listening skills
• Teamwork

These sessions are for children up to the age of 16.  Now your child can pedal, it's time to add the layers of skills that will make them happy, safe cyclists, able to get the most from their bike and the places that they ride it. 

PEDAL classes will see your child learning to do more on a bike than they (and you!) ever dreamed possible. 

We have some great equipment to keep the children engaged and to help them learn new skills.

Each week, every class will have a champion of the week with one child in the group recognised for a personal achievement like mastering a new skill, whether at the first attempt or after a longer struggle.

In our PEDAL classes we develop the outcomes taught in Balance & Learn and additionally begin to focus on the following:

• Starting, Stopping and moderating speed.
• Breaking technique
• Ascending/ descending technique
• Bike control
• Group riding techniques
• Basic cycle maintenance

These extremely popular classes are aimed at children aged 10 to 16 years. 

If they're already racing, or thinking about starting, or even if your child’s school is considering developing a race team of their own, our RACE classes will introduce the children to the essential tools used by the best racers at every level of the sport. 

The focus of each RACE session is on skills, so their speed and fitness won't be a barrier as we introduce them to better cornering, bunch riding skills, gear selection, standing starts and tactical tips. 

All of this is delivered in a fun environment that will develop every rider regardless of their ability. 

Each week, every class will have a ‘Champion of the Week’ with one child in the group recognised for a personal achievement. We adopt the Growth Mindset when issuing all rewards within the Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy.

In our RACE classes, we continue to develop the outcomes identified in Balance, Learn & Pedal but we additionally focus on the following.

• Race tactics
• Race skills and techniques
• Competition.
• Advanced slow riding skills and techniques
• Advanced cycle balance.
• Close riding techniques

Our sessions have been created by Ed Clancy OBE and Graham Briggs.

They use the best games, drills, exercises and materials available – aspects of these programmes have been part of their personal development having been themselves coached by World Class Coaches. 

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