Silver Creek Mountain Biking, or MTB, is a club that provides students from Longmont, Mead, Lyons, Niwot and Skyline high schools the opportunity to practice mountain biking and compete in local tournaments.
Eric Jepsen became the team director for MTB in 2015. At the time, Jepsen’s son was one of approximately ten riders in the program. In the past six years, the team has grown to expect around 70 participants each season.
“It’s so much bigger now... I’ve been reluctant to advertise because (the team) would become astronomical,” Jepsen said with a laugh.
When MTB was a smaller team he could fulfill all the duties of the team director himself, Jepsen said. With his son entering his final year in the program, Jepsen himself is looking to shift roles toward being a volunteer coach. As the organization continues to grow, Jepsen hopes to find someone that will step into the team director position and guide the program going forward.
The responsibilities of the role include communicating with riders and their families about the upcoming season, acting as a liaison between MTB and the Colorado High School Mountain Bike League, coordinating event dates and locations with other coaches and knowing the rules and regulations of the sport. Knowing how to ride a mountain bike, according to Jepsen, is not a prerequisite for applicants.
The position is “a fantastic opportunity to grow and participate in and help lead (MTB),” according to Jepsen.
For Jepsen, serving as MTB’s team director has been a fulfilling experience. “It’s been great,” he said, “it’s been absolutely fantastic. The thing I like most about (MTB) is that it helps kids create a healthy passion for the outdoors and something that’ll last beyond high school.”
In fact, according to Jepsen, due to the cancellation of last season’s events as a result of COVID-19, a handful of graduated students who didn’t get to compete last year have returned to MTB as coaches this year.
“They just missed it so much,” Jepsen said. “They missed a whole year of riding. So now they’re coaching and helping new students who have a passion for (mountain biking).”
Hayden Stearman was a senior at Skyline High School last year when COVID-19 seemingly ruined his last opportunity to participate in and compete as an MTB rider. During that time, Stearman started his own business -- a mobile bike repair shop called Union Cyclewerks. This year, he also became a coach for MTB teams.
According to Stearman, the inspiration to return to MTB as a coach was, in part, getting to share his passion for mountain biking with a team.
“Mountain biking, in general, is such an incredible sport. But riding through the league is really an awesome experience,” Stearman said. “I think helping to show other people mountain biking, which is a sport that I love so much, is just really cool.”
In addition to coaching MTB teams, Stearman realized he had something else to offer the program. As the owner of Union Cyclewerks, he said, “I can support the team on a technical and mechanical level as well.” Stearman offers bike repairs at events attended by BTM and gives discounts to team members.
“(Stearman) goes to show what comes out of this league,” Jepsen said.
MTB is an inclusive program that is always looking for new students to join, regardless of their gender, skill level and financial capabilities.
“We want to be available to everyone,” Jepsen said. “We’re not an elite team; you don’t have to be some killer rider that can knock it out of the park (at races) in order to participate. We’ve got kids that are so unbelievably fast and talented and they get supported just as much as someone who is like ‘hey, I just want to try this out and I don’t even have a bike.’ If you don’t have a bike, we’ll get you a bike. If you don’t have the funds, we have funding sources for that.”
MTB is looking to fill the team director position for the upcoming season. Those interested in joining the league or applying for the open position can reach Eric Jepsen via email.
