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A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
From Grassroots to Gold: Building the Foundation with USA Cycling's Gordon Harrison
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Before Gordon Harrison was Sport Development Director for USA Cycling, he was building grassroots programs across a handful of different sports, from the Learn to Skate program with USA Figure Skating to development at the Florida Panthers' practice facility, plus stints in soccer and baseball. That cross-sport background shapes everything he does now: get the fundamentals right early, and everything that follows, from the Olympics to a lifetime of recreational riding, gets better.
We sat down with Gordon to talk about the USA Cycling Regional Development Camp and Education Summit coming to Bentonville August 7-8. He breaks down what a solid cycling foundation actually looks like: balance, power, cornering, and braking. Riders build those skills hands-on across Bentonville's world-class trails and skills park, working drops, turns, small jumps, and line selection, then head into the classroom at Thaden School to reinforce it all with race strategy sessions and direct access to USA Cycling staff. Rich Drew leads the coaching alongside a team of instructors, and athletes even learn to service and clean their own bikes.
The event isn't just for athletes. Parents get their own education track, with speakers from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USADA giving families a real look at the system their riders are entering. It's co-ed, open to all disciplines, and includes lunch both days plus a Friday night dinner.
Gordon also talks about why Bentonville, with its accessibility and trail infrastructure, made sense as a host for this kind of event, and what it means for the sport to bring athletes, parents, coaches, and commissaires together in one place.
Registration is open now at USACycling.org — search Regional Camp to reserve a spot.
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Welcome And Meet USA Cycling
SPEAKER_00Welcome to a new American town. This is the Bike Edition. I'm your host, Matt Ross. We have a special guest from USA Cycling today, Gordon Harrison. Gordon Harrison is the Sport Development Director. So, Gordon, welcome to the podcast and tell us a little about your role at USA Cycling.
SPEAKER_01All right. Well, thanks for having me. Good to be here. So, yeah, my role, I previously worked in different sports, and I was responsible for the growth and development at the grassroots level. So USA Cycling has brought me over here to do something similar. So I'll be doing a lot of camps, clinics, uh, and some grassroots development slowly over the years.
SPEAKER_00What does your past entail? So I think uh when I first met you, uh I knew you came from the skating world. So that was a a big sport. And then what else?
SPEAKER_01Correct. Before I was working for USA figure skating. Uh so I was responsible for the Learn to Skate USA program there. So very large program, a lot of ranks around the country. Uh, I've worked for the NHL for a little while, uh, for the Florida Panthers. Uh, I was responsible for their development at the very low level, non-NHL, uh at their practice facility. Uh, always been involved in sports, though, baseball, soccer, uh, all those sports, and now cycling,
When To Start Athlete Development
SPEAKER_01my new passion.
SPEAKER_00So we're gonna follow the pathway of development here. So, at what point in time, if someone knows they like a sport, is a good time to start developing them into an athlete or giving them the foundation. What have you found?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, I think in all sports, it's very similar that we really want to start with the foundation. As soon as you get that passion for the sport, you really want to start learning those fundamentals that'll carry you through the sport. And it it doesn't really matter what the sport is. Uh each sport has its, you know, key fundamental pieces that translate that sport, you know, in cycling. It could be balance or, you know, power, you know, bat cornering, breaking, all those things. Uh and then there's all those fine details that go into it. This is why I would not teach it because that's not me.
SPEAKER_00Um so many details, right? Yeah, so much involved with the skills.
SPEAKER_01Really, uh, we found in all sports, if you can get that solid foundation at the beginning, it leads to a more positive experience throughout that athlete's uh time in the sport, whether that's up till the Olympics or for the 50 years of doing it as an adult.
SPEAKER_00Oh, so true. Well, the good thing about cycling is it's a pastime that someone can pick up, they can leave, they can come and go. So as long as they like the sport, we're gonna do our best to keep them in it. Well, Gordon, we understand that the fundamentals of every sport is paramount to success or just in fact
Inside The Bentonville Camp Plan
SPEAKER_00enjoyment. So for all your parents out there, if you want to do an activity with your kids, um, feel free to join us on what Gordon's gonna talk about now because there is a very special opportunity when USA Cycling is in town, and Gordon's bringing in development camp, which is an educational summit to Bentonville August 7th through the 8th. So this August there will be a development camp with USA Cycling, and it's also an educational summit, and it involves the entire family or parents and athlete, student athlete. So, Gordon, tell us what that looks like, um, the camp that you're bringing here. What is the camp? What's it all about?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, it's gonna be a two-day camp, like you said, really focusing on the fundamentals for the athletes, the skill development, trying to give them a solid foundation going forward for the, you know, hopefully the rest of their cycling career. As well, we're gonna be having some parent education because we feel like parents are obviously the biggest supporters of their children. Being a parent, I'm my child's biggest supporter in our sport.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh, we feel that it's a good opportunity while the athletes are there doing their skills and being out on the bikes. We have the parents in the classroom giving them uh some information on the pipeline, the development, how to get from A to B, and just general knowledge. We have some special speakers coming in from the US OPC as well as USADA. So that's the anti-doping agency, if you're familiar with the acronyms, and the uh U.S. Olympic Committee.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Well, let's figure out a little bit of uh what it looks like as a parent, because you guys are the Federation, you're the governing body, and like you mentioned, some folks may not know the next steps. They may be um wanting to support the student athlete, but not know where to go, how to take it, what the time frames look like, what events to register for. And uh basically at this educational summit and the development camp, the parents can learn the system, right? And actually save a bunch of time and frustration and money.
SPEAKER_01Correct. Yeah, that's our goal. Uh in any sport, it's difficult for people to find information. Uh I found this in the ice world, here in the cycling world. The information's there, but I find a lot of times parents just aren't sure where to look. So hopefully by letting here for these speakers, they'll be able to, you know, be better prepared going forward.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and they're also going to meet other parents that have the similar kind of passions and uh following around the circus, as I call it. But let's look at like what a NYCA student athlete um can gather or gain from this experience. So NICA is typically in the spring or the fall, depending on where they live in the nation, and it's limited. So the the time frame is is about two months of interaction riding the mountain bike. With USA cycling and with this camp, um, you guys are going to show them a pathway that if they can or want to, they can ride many more months.
SPEAKER_01Uh correct. Yeah, we want to definitely highlight our calendar for them so they're easily prepared to choose the path of least resistance, I guess, for themselves. Uh so if they're happy racing those couple of months a year, awesome. We'll give you some better skills to go back and take your home and work on. And if you want to do additional things, great. We'll show you the way to do that.
SPEAKER_00Well, the best thing is uh USA Cycling has been really involved in Bentonville for many years, and there's a really good bond. So talk about what a cross-country skills camp can provide these students or these student athletes that
Skills Training And Classroom Learning
SPEAKER_00register for the camp. What would some of these skills be?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Well, the great thing about being in Bentonville is we have access to everything that you can think of.
SPEAKER_00So Keys to the Kingdom.
SPEAKER_01That's right. So these athletes are gonna have access to um, we're gonna be out at the skill park where they're gonna be able to work on you know drops and turns and braking and picking better lines and things like that when they're in races, as well as be able to work on on the ground themselves and uh use it, utilizing some of those small blocks and jumps and things like that. So mixed with that and some trails in the area, it's gonna be a perfect opportunity to just kind of put everything together.
SPEAKER_00Especially the time of year. So you're setting up these participants for something wonderful. So in addition, there's basically at the Skills Camp you've got the classroom setting. So there's a lot of opportunities to learn the actual technique or to dissect down into detail off the bike. And I think that's a pretty important part. Where are you doing your classroom settings for both the parents and the participants?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're gonna be utilizing the fade-in school as kind of our home base for everything. It's great. One, school is out, so we have a lot of space to use there. Um sorry, kids going back to school soon. But you know, we're we really have access to you know the classrooms there, the the larger meeting spaces, which allows us to accommodate everybody into one place so we can have lunch there, uh, can come get out of the heat for a minute, and then yeah, it gives us the perfect space to kind of just break everything down.
SPEAKER_00And what does the classroom setting entail?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the classroom settings will be a little different for both tracks. So the athletes will be able to work on yes, the stuff off the bike, maybe race strategy, things like that. They'll be able to speak to a couple of um our special guest speakers, some of our staff from USA Cycling, uh, parents, they're gonna have a large uh different variety of topics to choose from.
SPEAKER_00Who are they gonna meet at this camp? Um, and for the coaching side of things, how does that work? So is there a master coach? Do you have multiple coaches? Um, what is the format?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're gonna have one coach who will kind of be overseeing everything uh with the athletes, and that'll be Rich Drew, uh, from the Ride Series there. He's gonna be the one um uh helping the kids out when they're out on the bikes. Uh with him, he's got some of his uh other instructors that he works with, and they're gonna be handling that. For our parents, we're gonna have a different set of coaches and staff uh and special presenters that are really gonna you know give them a different variety of topics to talk about and listen to.
SPEAKER_00Oh, excellent. So you got one of the best coaches in the biz. In fact, he actually coaches the USA Cycling Athletes along with Jill Kittner and others. So this is the best of the best that you're bringing here for coaching. Love it.
Travel, Meals, Coaching, And Inclusion
SPEAKER_00Um for those that are traveling in, I think if they fly into X and A, it's super easy. So from downtown to X and A, it's less than 15 miles. Um you guys are going to be able to have a place in a facility where they can put their bikes together, where they can actually service and clean their bikes at Thayden. So they're getting top shelf service, basically like having a Swanier or a mechanic once they come to this camp.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're really excited to be utilizing the facility there.
SPEAKER_00And then nutrition-wise, do you guys uh top them off and refuel them?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're gonna have uh lunch provided each day. Uh and then on the Friday night, we're gonna be having I'm calling it a welcome party, but we've already been there for a day. So we'll have a a dinner Friday night for everybody to kind of get together, talk about the day, and look forward to the the next day.
SPEAKER_00Man, that's gonna be great. And and this is basically the great thing about mountain biking is the female participation is way higher than it used to be. So I think that attributed to uh Kate Courtney's success. Um before that, Georgia Gold advocated strongly for female cyclists. So I think uh do you already have a bunch of females registered for the camp? And is it looking like a good mix of both males and females so that they can kind of compete against or ride with or train with um like elemented racers?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, it's looking really good on our balance between male and female riders. So yeah, we're excited about the growth of the female side of the sport, and I think it's gonna be a great opportunity for those, you know, girls to beat the boys, boys to beat the girls, girls to have a little fun together.
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, that's one of the cool things about the sport in general, especially when you start traveling.
Registration Details And Final Invite
SPEAKER_00So for all of you NICA student athletes out there or parents, um this camp is wide open. So you can visit, and Gordon's gonna tell us where to go to register for it. But it's August 7th and 8th. So where do they go to register? How do they register?
SPEAKER_01Uh yes, to register, you're gonna come to USACycling.org, click on the link to the regional camp, uh, and from there it'll take you into Bike Reg where you'll be able to register for your camp.
SPEAKER_00Wow, this is super cool. So great timing. I think this, uh especially in Bentonville, it's a wonderful time to be riding mountain bikes. The fall, the temperatures are starting to finally be enjoyable, and the trail's top-notch. So we're really excited that you're bringing this development camp here, Gordon. Is there anything in closing that these parents may want to uh hear from you, the the organizer and the promoter of the camp?
SPEAKER_01Uh I mean, we're really excited to be doing camps like this. Uh, I think it's been a while since USA Cycling has done something uh at this scale, so we're pretty excited to be bringing it back. Benville's the perfect location. Obviously, we've got all the venues and things like that, but also cycling is such a huge part of the community there. So if you're coming from out of town, you're gonna be thrown right into this amazing town that can ride your bike downtown, you can ride into the trails. It's just like the perfect location. So we're really excited to be coming there, and uh, I think it's gonna be a great time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you said it like what a great place to develop your skills. And for all the locals, they're still gonna be working with coaches that they haven't worked with before, riding trails, doing elements of the fundamentals, and all the way up to jumps, berms, all the fun stuff that the kids want to do as well. So even if you're a local, August 7th through the 8th, follow Gordon's pathway here and come join our camp. Well, Gordon, thanks for joining us today, and we look forward to seeing you August 7th and 8th for the USA Cycling Regional Development Camp and Educational Summit.
SPEAKER_01Thanks. Can't wait to be there. See you soon.
SPEAKER_00That's a wrap for this edition of a new American Town, the Bike Edition. Lots of information there. So come visit this camp. It is August 7th through the 8th. You can sign up. You can get information through Visit Bitonville or USA Cycling. And I'm your host, Matt Ross, signing off.