About
Wildcat Composite Devo MTB is a middle school mountain bike club for girls and boys in grades 6–8 that focuses on cross-country mountain biking with a premium on fitness and endurance. Riders take part in Sunday rides, skills clinics, preseason rider clinics, and optional NICA/NorCal races, and each member completes one session of trail maintenance on a local trail. The program also offers a GRIT (Girls-only) campout at China Camp.
• Ages: 11–14 years old
• Schedule: Rides three times a week between November and April, with regular practices on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and rides from December 3 to mid-May every Wednesday and Thursday for 1.5 hours after school plus Sunday rides from 9:00–11:30 AM
• Price: $175/yr club dues; $110/yr dues to NICA/NorCal, payable on their web site
The club was started in 2013 and was founded in 2014, with archives listing September 2025 and © 2026 Wildcat Composite Devo MTB. The head coach is Cort Cooper, and the coaching staff is all volunteer with various levels of training from NorCal. Membership in NICA means the coaching staff have training in coaching, risk mitigation, and first aid, have completed background safety checks, and are trained in managing risks and reinforcing safe riding principles, and parents who ride along must complete 3–4 hours of NICA training and screening.
The stated goals are to have fun, challenge themselves, improve conditioning and skills, build grit, and be an active member in a community of caring, supportive folks, and the program states that it loves mountain biking and views it as a way for youth to have fun while maturing their bodies, judgement, and character, and building grit. The club is a member of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and the NorCal league, and NICA/NorCal provides supplemental medical and primary liability insurance while also requiring background checks and safety and skills training for coaches.
Each member is required to do one session of trail maintenance on a local trail of about four hours door-to-door, and the club hopes many young riders will continue with a high school team in the East Bay after building a foundation in the club. Their youth come mostly from Berkeley, El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond, and Kensington, and they participate in optional league races, with five NICA/NorCal races scheduled from February to May at various venues and a year-end party in late May.
Required equipment for each ride includes a helmet, a good mountain bike, gloves, eye protection, cycling shorts, a team jersey provided every other year as part of dues, a windbreaker if needed, food and water, and basic repair items like a spare tube, air pump, and multitool. Members must be in grades 6–8, know how to ride a bike (off-road experience is not necessary), be motivated and respectful, and regularly attend at least one practice a week, with twice a week strongly recommended. The club can provide a loaner bike at a nominal charge for those in financial need, limited scholarships are available for both club dues and NICA/NorCal dues, and the insurance policy allows a prospective member to ride as a guest for one session.
The program tracks team participation using TeamSnap and requires members to keep their availability up to date. Parents may ride along if they complete the required NICA training and screening, and the club accepts and encourages riders who prefer a slower pace, even though many riders end up on the podium in local races.
Last updated June 17, 2026.
• Ages: 11–14 years old
• Schedule: Rides three times a week between November and April, with regular practices on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and rides from December 3 to mid-May every Wednesday and Thursday for 1.5 hours after school plus Sunday rides from 9:00–11:30 AM
• Price: $175/yr club dues; $110/yr dues to NICA/NorCal, payable on their web site
The club was started in 2013 and was founded in 2014, with archives listing September 2025 and © 2026 Wildcat Composite Devo MTB. The head coach is Cort Cooper, and the coaching staff is all volunteer with various levels of training from NorCal. Membership in NICA means the coaching staff have training in coaching, risk mitigation, and first aid, have completed background safety checks, and are trained in managing risks and reinforcing safe riding principles, and parents who ride along must complete 3–4 hours of NICA training and screening.
The stated goals are to have fun, challenge themselves, improve conditioning and skills, build grit, and be an active member in a community of caring, supportive folks, and the program states that it loves mountain biking and views it as a way for youth to have fun while maturing their bodies, judgement, and character, and building grit. The club is a member of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and the NorCal league, and NICA/NorCal provides supplemental medical and primary liability insurance while also requiring background checks and safety and skills training for coaches.
Each member is required to do one session of trail maintenance on a local trail of about four hours door-to-door, and the club hopes many young riders will continue with a high school team in the East Bay after building a foundation in the club. Their youth come mostly from Berkeley, El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond, and Kensington, and they participate in optional league races, with five NICA/NorCal races scheduled from February to May at various venues and a year-end party in late May.
Required equipment for each ride includes a helmet, a good mountain bike, gloves, eye protection, cycling shorts, a team jersey provided every other year as part of dues, a windbreaker if needed, food and water, and basic repair items like a spare tube, air pump, and multitool. Members must be in grades 6–8, know how to ride a bike (off-road experience is not necessary), be motivated and respectful, and regularly attend at least one practice a week, with twice a week strongly recommended. The club can provide a loaner bike at a nominal charge for those in financial need, limited scholarships are available for both club dues and NICA/NorCal dues, and the insurance policy allows a prospective member to ride as a guest for one session.
The program tracks team participation using TeamSnap and requires members to keep their availability up to date. Parents may ride along if they complete the required NICA training and screening, and the club accepts and encourages riders who prefer a slower pace, even though many riders end up on the podium in local races.
Last updated June 17, 2026.
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