Novice Mentor (Multiple Openings)
The objective of the program is to help each new Novice racer to have a positive experience, develop a relationship with their mentor (you), earn their Expert license, and become a long-term racer and involved member of OMRRA.
A successful program to introduce and mentor new racers to OMRRA is vital to the health of the organization. As a mentor, you have the opportunity to help shape a positive experience for new racers so they will come to value their OMRRA experience as positively as you do, and become a lasting part of the OMRRA community. Thank you!
With these goals in mind, mentors should plan on:
Thursday New Racer School Classroom
- Meet your Novices, learn their faces and names, and welcome them to OMRRA.
- Attend a brief mentor meeting which will occur after the NRS presentation begins (you can stay or leave after the brief meeting)
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- Novices will be encouraged to pit with or near their mentor on Friday and during the first weekend. Be prepared to point out your intended pit location on a map, which will be shared with the Novices.
- Review the drills for Friday’s on-track sessions
Friday New Racer School On-Track
- Assist Novices in setting up pit space near (or with) you. Direct your Novices to bike and gear tech.
- Facilitate on-track drills, observe the riding of your Novices, and document their performance each session. Give Novices feedback on their performance, and attend classroom sessions. Encourage controlled, safe, predictable riding. If you have concerns about a Novice, provide feedback and assistance in helping them overcome their deficiency, and communicate early with the Head Novice Instructor about the situation. The goal is to assist all Novices towards meeting our NRS graduation requirements.
- Address Novices by their names, be friendly and encouraging, and help ease their nerves as appropriate.
- Review test results and clarify any missed questions with each Novice.
- Introduce your novices to trackside vendors.
- Award graduates with their certificates and licenses at day’s end.
At The Track Mentorship—each race weekend
- Check in with each of your Novices daily at least once. Provide encouragement and share advice when appropriate. Encourage them to ask questions, be a good listener when they do. You are encouraged to have your Novices pit near you to facilitate this.
- Assist your Novices in filling out their graduation form. They should be adding their results and lap times daily on this sheet, which you will need to remind them of and possibly assist them with.
- Assist your Novices in finding volunteer opportunities and in filling out their volunteer form. Help steer them to appropriate opportunities for their skills and desires. For example, in getting to know your Novices, finding out what they do for their work may be helpful in linking them to skill-specific volunteer opportunities where OMRRA may be short-handed (graphic design, construction, event planning, etc).
- It is important to convey to them the vital role of volunteers within OMRRA. By being a mentor, you are modeling how to contribute to OMRRA’s volunteer needs. THANK YOU!
Mentorship Between Races
- Send a group email to your Novices the week following each race. The email might include:
- Encouragement and reinforcement of any positives you saw in your Novices during the weekend.
- Offer constructive guidance in any areas your Novices may be lacking.
- Follow up on their progress on their results and volunteer forms.
- Include some piece that encourages dialogue within the group—maybe sharing one thing they learned that weekend, or a question they have, or setting a personal goal for the next race weekend, progress towards graduation, etc.
- Your first email should list contact info (phone and email) for each mentor for the group
- Send a group email the week or two prior to the next race. The email might include:
- Reminder to sign up on Track Intelligence
- Reminder and guidance about finding volunteer opportunities, and in documenting their results. This would be a good time to give a shout out to a Novice within the group that is setting a good example for the rest of the group.
- Share some relevant bit of wisdom for them to keep in mind
- Encourage them to ask any questions they might have
- If you have any concerns about any of your Novices, be in communication with the Head Novice Instructor.
Novice graduation
When a Novice is ready to graduate, you should:
- Verify he/she has successfully completed the Novice Graduation Form
- Sign the form, and instruct the Novice to email a copy or picture of the form to [email protected]
Your work is vital in order to provide meaningful mentorship to our Novice racers. With two mentors per group of 2-6 Novices, the workload can be split up between mentors, so neither mentor gets overwhelmed. We understand that your time both at the track and away from the track are severely limited, but a few hours each month should be sufficient to fulfill these requirements.
Your commitment to this role can have a huge impact on the type of experience Novices will have with OMRRA, which will be a benefit to the entire organization.