ST. LOUIS — One way to beat the dog days of summer is to find the closest pool or lake and take a swim, but not if you're a St. Louis City Composite Otter.
Led by coach Eric Frazier, kids ranging from Sixth to 12th grade gather around for two hours of some fun in the sun twice a week on a bicycle.
"It's great actually, it's really fun," first-year rider Woody Jackson said.
The Otters is a race team part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association better known as NICA. It's the only youth cycling league in the country. For most of their riders, this was the first time biking on a team.
"I was very scared, but once I joined this community it was very easy to start," Drew Dannon said.
Ranging from beginners to advanced competitors, the Otters welcome everybody.
"No mountain biking experience necessary, we teach everything you need to know to mountain bike," Coach Frazier said.
Mixed in with the fundamentals and skills training, Frazier and the other volunteer coaches make sure the kids have a lot of fun.
"There's lots of games you can play, like soccer on bikes," second-year rider Lucy Dirnberger said.
Coach Frazier said their goal is to help build character and grit in their kids, while also motivating them to chase new goals, including the Olympics.
"It actually does kind of motivate me a little more to try harder because maybe I'll be in the Olympics someday," Maeve Toolan said.
"Their not just mountain bikers in the Olympics, there's road racers, and track racers as well, that also came out of NICA," Frazier said.
If the Olympics doesn't work out, Jackson says NICA has still inspired him to do big things in the biking world.
"I think it's going to be really fun for me and I think I'm going to make a lot of money out of it," he said.
To get involved with the Otters, you can visit the Facebook page by clicking here.