Junior Mentorship

Our Philosophy
The Junior Mentorship Initiative is our commitment to help kids who love cycling find the means, the equipment, and the guidance required to get them into the sport for life. QCW Cycling truly believes that a crop of powerful juniors can be found in our under-served Philadelphia neighborhoods, ready to blossom and take the team to the next level. Hence we make a financial commitment to each JMI rider and partner them with a coach and mentor for training and guidance.

Unlike other sports—where parents can sit and watch from the sidelines—competitive cycling requires not only miles and miles of open road but also support from experienced cyclists who would ride side-by-side with the young athlete. The JMI program gives our existing adult riders the opportunity to expand their personal commitment to cycling by working with young talent, developing personal and mentoring relationships, and by breaking down long-existing barriers between communities and people. This has cemented our reputation as one of the most inclusive clubs in the Mid-Atlantic, and we are proud of our accomplished Junior racers.

How It Works
Most of our JMI kids come through the Cadence Cycling Foundation (CCF). Kids from area schools or organizations like Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW) get involved in the CCF. The CCF use coaches and equipment teach kids how to race bikes. Some don’t even know how to ride, so all the kids are completely new to the idea.It is the kids who race well, are responsible, are willing to do additional training and race in a more competitive fields who are passed on to QCW.

Once we have a kid join our team. The cost of membership, racing license, uniforms, transportation and race fees are free. They are free as long as they meet their training obligations.We also have a few kids who heard about our team and asked to join. We simply include them on the training schedule and if they perform well and meet all their obligations over a 4 month period, we start to support them as well.

2010 Season in Review
Our Junior squad competed in 22 junior and senior level events in 2010. In those races our squad earned 24 top-ten places, and made a big impression wherever they showed up. We had several stand-out performances this year including a 3rd place in the PA State Road Race Championships by first year QCW Junior Team member, Leroy Hayes. Hayes’s result put an excellent punctuation mark at the end of the season which saw numerous top tens from our squad of talented and dedicated youth.

The greatest improvements this year were put in by 15-year-old Josh Case of West Philadelphia who had a pair of 2nd place finishes at the Tour de Marlton in central NJ and at the Bob Rodale Criterium in the Lehigh Valley. Josh was narrowly beaten in each of these events by racers twice his age and nearly twice his weight. Josh put in numerous 60-mile days and helped coach newer riders as they learned the ropes of bicycle racing.

Growing the program
Our Juniors are set to explode onto the racing scene in 2011. With the experience of a solid 2010 campaign, team captains Josh Case and Leroy Hayes are looking for bigger results and are hungry to race. Our boys are looking for the ever-elusive wins, and are bringing the rest of us along for the ride. They know that hard work, dedication and teamwork are necessary for the wins to come, and they’re ready for it!

We are looking to enlist more adults to become involved with the QCW Juniors team. Thanks to the work done by QCW Cycling, our squad entered 22 races, built two complete bicycles for our neediest juniors, and provided free cycling kits and racing licenses to nine of them. Please consider helping these fabulous young men reach their goals by contributing to the program with your time or with donations.

QCW Cycling Junior Team Goals

  1. Upgrade two junior team members to Cat 3 ranking.
  2. Upgrade four junior team members to Cat 4 ranking.
  3. Race the Junior race at the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship.
  4. Complete 20+ race days in 2011.
  5. Field a full team for the state races: State Criterium, State Time Trial, State Road Race.
  6. Experience and race the track at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center.
  7. Become role models for young cyclists in Philadelphia.