Name: Rochelle Bartschi
Age: 44
Position: Head Coach
Current ride: Raleigh Talus 4 Hardtail
Hometown: Kearns, Utah
I started my love of riding bikes as a roadie. I’ve ridden as a Ride Ambassador for Little Red Riding Hood for ten years and also participated a few times in the MS 150 Ride and Wonder Woman ride.
Mountain biking took me by surprise! I started riding with our team five years ago and have found myself leaving my road bike behind more and more when I choose how I want to ride. The mountains provide a fun challenge that is exciting!
My goal as a NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) coach is to help get more kids on bikes. It is such a great life-long skill that you can do with your family! I love exploring new trails and teaching kids to overcome challenges, either by working on an obstacle over and over again, or pushing endurance with longer, faster rides. I realize that kids with no background are coming into our sport, so we teach skills to help the kids learn how to be safe, but have fun at the same time.
Race days are the best! Kids from our team have made friends from other schools and it is fun to cheer each other on. Sportsmanship really abounds in the high school mountain biking world and kids from all abilities can compete. The real joy is seeing kids improve over the season.
A new initiative in NICA over the past few years is GRiT (Girls Riding Together). Our team needs strong girls who are willing to be part of our team. We look forward to having GRiT team events throughout the season!
West Granite Composite would LOVE to have you join our team!