South Bay Composite & Eastlake High School Mountain Bike teams, SoCal League, is a group of student-athletes in grades 4th through 12th, that ride and race cross-country mountain bikes on varied terrain with an emphasis on fun, skills, competition and safety.
Although most of these athletes are from high school and middle schools in the South Bay area, the South Bay Composite Bike Team takes in student-athletes from any student living south of Interstate 8.
Team Director Allyn Olsen said the teams are in the middle of their 17th season and compete as part of the SoCal League.
“We encourage all our kids to try racing, but they are not required,” she said. “The races for middle school are about two 5-mile laps cross-country style. High school can be anywhere from 12 to 21-laps. With cross-country style racing, the terrain is rolling hills, some rocks, dirt, some climbing. We practice around a lot of trails in Chula Vista and Bonita, around the Otay Lakes area, San Miguel, Rice Canyon Snake Trail. We teach the kids a lot of different skills like bike handling, control, speed, breaking, cornering.”
Olsen said the group was started by a group of Eastlake High School teachers who really saw the need for another way for kids to get outside.
“Everyone can race. So, it is a little bit different than all-sports and team sports in that everyone gets to ride at their ability level,” she said. “We have about 40% girls, which has been a huge growth for us. […]
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