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i9 Sports introduces Albuquerque parents to a new and positive type of sports program

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By Nichole Harwood 

Albuquerque’s i9 Sports introduces parents to a different approach to youth athletics, putting fun over competitiveness. 

CEO and multi-unit franchise owner Roger Linn said the focus on fun is crucial, as it shapes a child’s view on sports as they get older. With nine current locations in Albuquerque, i9 Sports works hard to reclaim sports from over-competitive parents by creating an unabashedly recreational program.  

 

“I think the number one takeaway is to remember that we always put a heavy emphasis on fun first. Because if you’re not having fun, then you’re not going to enjoy sports for the rest of your life,” Linn said.

 

Making fun a priority for children lays the foundation for i9 Sports and is an underlying principle that is followed by both the children that attend and the coaches that teach. Ways in which fun is encouraged is through the business’s Buddy Program and Coaching Program. When signing up online, children can request to be put on a team with buddies and request specific coaches. These options help to lay the groundwork for a more comfortable experience for children by allowing them to play with friends. 

 

Along with the requests for coaches and buddies, Linn said that no child is ever left out. i9 Sports does not hold any tryouts, and children are not ever in danger of ‘not making the team.’ By allowing each child a chance to play, i9 Sports encourages inclusivity in all of its activities.

 

“Each week, our coaches go over the sportsmanship lesson of the day with their team, and at the end, they award a teammate the sportsmanship medal for the day,” Linn said. “Kids will also take home the ‘sportsmanship of the week’ winner sign home for that week and bring it back for someone else to take home next.  Kids look up to these life-lesson messages, and for us coaches, it allows us to teach the kids the important aspects of good life skills, and sportsmanship.” 

Linn emphasized that i9 Sports is not political and that they do not play favorites with any of the teams.  

 

“We want everyone to have an equal opportunity to try different positions and to have a fair rotation because we feel as soon as kids hit high school it is politicized and we just want to give the kids a really good base and a love for sports early on,” he said.  

 

i9 Sports provides a variety of sports for boys and girls ages three and up in today’s most popular sports such as flag football and soccer. A full list of their sports programs for each location can be found online. i9 Sports provide a spring, summer, fall, and winter season for parents to sign their children up for their favorite sports program. Due to Covid-19, there has been a delay in the spring program, but Linn said they are on track to continue the summer program, even if it has been pushed back a bit. Parents can sign their children up for the programs online or over the phone. 

 

Linn said he wants parents to know that whatever the program they sign their child up for, they can be reassured their child will always be able to play. 

 

“Sports themselves are naturally competitive, and so we don’t need to put any extra emphasis on that,” Linn said. “We would much rather hear that a team played everyone equally versus a coach playing for the win.” 

 

Linn said families looking to get their children involved in a variety of sports while being in an inclusive and fun environment are a perfect fit for i9 Sports. 

 

“We’re not going to be your most competitive sports team, but I think we provide access to a very good beginner and intermediate program,” Linn said. 

 

 The name “i9 Sports” means “i to the 9th power.” This is broken down to symbolize nine critical differences in the i9 Sports approach to youth athletics, with each number representing an integral part of i9 Sports. These nine crucial differences in their approach to youth sports are imaginative, innovative, interactive, integrity-driven, impassioned, inspirational, instructional, insightful, and inclusive. 

 

“These are our core principles and values that we embody and take to heart in all our programming,” Linn said. “In times like now, where we have the Black Lives Matter movement and other social topics surfacing such as LBGTQ, we want people to know that we are fully inclusive. We want everyone to come out and have a good time while knowing that no one is going to be excluded from our program.” 

Taio Taylor: Albuquerque’s 10-Year-Old BMX Idol

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By August Edwards

Taio Taylor will be making a name for herself and Albuquerque at the BMX World Championships, held in Belgium this month. At 10-years-old Taylor has a golden, athletic spirit.

Taylor said what inspired her to start this sport was seeing Caroline Buchanan race at 7 years old.

“The next day I had my bike ready and my helmet and I wanted my dad to take me to Alameda Park so we could practice. Then we went to the actual BMX track and that’s when we really got started,” she said.

Taylor is on the Duke City Development (DCD) team where she enjoys competing with friends and family. She stressed that racing with her family is an important part of her experience with BMX, and the competition is the most fun part of the sport.

Of her experience as a BMX rider, Taylor said qualifying for World Championships has been the one to stand out the most.

“It was super windy during that time, so me and this girl had to keep competing with our elbows. And we both made it to Worlds Championship, so I’ll probably see her there,” Taylor said.

Taylor expressed that though it feels amazing to have made it, she is a little scared of the potential of falling at the track she’ll have to face in Belgium.


“When they hit the ground it’s not nice, it’s rough, but for some reason, they just don’t give up. She has the scars to prove it,” Robel Taylor, Taylor’s father, said, vouching for her toughness.

“BMX is a contact sport, so they allow you to bump arms, elbows—all of those things. For example, once that gate goes down, the aggressive racers try to take that inside lane and also try not to let someone take their lane. So what happens is that people meet up going as fast as they can around these obstacles, and their elbows hit and then boom you have a big turn so then you have to negotiate that, and whoever gets that turn best is probably going to get the lead right there,” he said.

Taylor explained her practice routine with DCD begins with getting warmed up and then proceeding to do straights.

“Once we’re done with all of them, that’s when we’ll move on to the gates and that’s when we do races to the first turn, and usually, we’ll do pump laps with no pedals, where you’re pumping the bike,” she said.

Watching his daughter on the track is inspiring to Robel Taylor.

“The sport of BMX is teetering on athletic ability and courage. She mentioned being scared—everybody is scared, it’s a scary sport. Especially after you’ve taken a spill and you know that it sucks and it hurts, then it gets in your head. So, what I had to teach her is to have a short memory. Do you lose a race? Short memory—it’s all good, it’s over, let’s go have an awesome lunch. Or, you fell, I know it hurts right now, let’s just try to let that go and get through it,” he said.

Despite her nervousness, Taylor is excited to enter the World Championship.

“When you see the first red light that’s when you go because that’s when the gate folds down…It is scary because sometimes the gate doesn’t work exactly how they want it to. There was one time where it went dink! And I hit it too fast and I went over my handlebars. I felt like I was in slow motion,” Taylor said.

Taylor has the mindset of a disciplined athlete. She is a cheerleader and practices back handsprings wherever she can. She has purple roller skates that might be a permanent fixture when she’s not on her bike.

“What would you tell little girls if they were interested in this sport?” Taylor is asked by her father.

“That if you just keep doing it, it’s not as scary as you think it would be,” she responded instantly.

When her father asks her advice for little girls that are frightened of the sport Taylor is quick to supply an answer.

“I would help her get set up, like putting her bike on her gate, and maybe if she’s comfortable enough put both feet on her pedals for balancing, and I’ll tell her when the gate’s about to drop when she can go,” she said confidently.

These answers Taio gives with no hesitation, for it is not only the competition of the sport that she loves but the comradery that comes from it.

Photos Courtesy of stores.inksoft.com/taio/shop/home

Michelle Waterson | 2017 ESPN Body Issue

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Albuquerque’s own UFC superstar athlete Michelle Waterson is featured as the cover athlete in the 2017 ESPN BODY issue featuring many of sports top athletes.  The issue hits stands July 7th.

Waterson joins the likes of New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, and Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, along with many others in the 2017 issue.  Big names in the past that have been featured include Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, Miesha Tate, and Cris Cyborg.

ABQ-Live the Magazine featured Waterson in an interview before her big win against Paige VanZant this past December.  Watch some behind the scenes footage of her cover shoot with ESPN below.  

UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson poses for the 2017 ESPN the Magazine Body Issue. ESPN The Magazine: photo by Eric Lutzens

ESPN The Magazine: photo by Eric Lutzens

 

ABQ Live the Magazine: photo by Kori Kobayashi

 Copies of the Michelle Waterson issue are still available for purchase.  Make your order HERE

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ESPN The Magazine: photo by Eric Lutzens

 

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Heart + Soul Racing Team

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Abq-Live drops the training wheels and takes a ride with Heart + Soul Racing Team to find out more about spring activities on two wheels.

heartandsoul-mockup

Jake Rehfeld

For people who don’t know much about the sport, what would you tell them to get them to watch or start riding? Downhill mountain biking (or just mountain biking in general) is one of those sports that can be for just about anyone. Whether you’re just looking to relax by the river or scare the pants off yourself, there’s something for everyone when it comes to mountain biking.

What got you into downhill riding? I started riding bicycles and dirt bikes at a young age. My friends and I always enjoyed building sketchy ramps and seeing who could go the farthest. It was inevitable that I found downhill biking. I’m just a 6’3” child at heart.

What keeps you in shape to keep up with the sport? Along with a good diet, the best way to keep in shape is to honestly just ride your damn bike every day. I’ve yet to find a more fun or more exhausting workout than riding my bike around the foothills, BMX track or Bike Park for a few hours.

Who, in your opinion, is the best downhill rider out there? The best downhill rider isn’t always the guy standing on the podium every weekend. It’s the guy (or girl) who handles the ups and downs of racing. It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you handle the result that makes you awesome.

What size bike did you start on? Like everyone, my first bike was your standard “training wheel special” from the local sporting goods store. My first downhill bike, however, was a Jamis Dakar BAM 2.0 that my mom had bought me from Fat Tire Cycles in Albuquerque, NM. We broke and welded that bike every which way until that bike was just done for. I’ll remember that piece of crap until the day I die. I loved that bike!

How old were you when you started racing and what motivated you? I started racing mountain bikes around the age of 18 or so. Sometime during my high school career I gave up the BMX bike for a 26” dirt jumper and my love for the sport began. My first ever “downhill” race was a Super D event in Colorado that some of the older guys dragged me along to. I’ll forever be grateful and stoked that I had such an awesome group of mentors that got me into the sport and were there for me step-by-step.

What do you ride now? My current downhill bike is a Transition Bike Company TR500. My dirt jump/4X bike is a Deity Components Cryptkeeper. I’m still running 26” wheels on my downhill bikes, despite the fact that most people have hopped on the 27.5” bandwagon as of late.

What riders got you stoked and influenced you the most? My friends and teammates get me stoked to ride every time. Whether we’re pinning race laps or sending huge booters, the people I ride with are always there to support and motivate each other to do our absolute best.

Describe the feeling you get mid-air? The feeling of being mid-air is unlike any other. It is what many of us live for. It’s what brings a lot of us back to the bike time and time again. It can be the most relaxing yet exciting, surreal yet vibrant, and terrifying yet awesome experience you will have. The quest to get more and more airtime is never ending. It’s more addicting than heroin.

How much do you ride a day? That all depends on life. Work and everything else going on in your life seem to have this negative effect on the amount of saddle time you get but always know that the time will come to ride. Whether I’m able to ride every single day in a month or only a few times, I love each ride more than the last and look forward to it each and every time.

What’s the number 1 rule of downhill riding? The number 1 rule of downhill mountain biking is to know how to push your limits. So many people get broken by trying to go too fast, too soon. Knowing how to safely push your limits, while still progressing is a formula that many (including myself) struggle with figuring out.

What has been your proudest moment? My proudest moments in downhill would have to be helping get others into the sport. I love downhill with my entire being and if I can get just one other person to love the sport as much as I do, I’d call that a success. I won national champs for my age group one time too, that was pretty cool.

What do you do in your down time when you’re not practicing? I love anything outside. During the summer, my activities are mostly bicycle-oriented but during the winter I love to snowboard. Having an equally exciting yet different sport is important, not only for cross-training but also to keep things fresh and fun all year long.

Your worst wreck? I’ve had a few bad crashes in my day but most recently was an incident involving a full moon, an icy ski hill, and a broken full-face helmet. Need I say more?

3 songs that you would find in your riding playlist? I listen to a lot of upbeat and fun music when I ride. Slayer is awesome, but sometimes that stuff gets me “too” pumped up and I can’t concentrate. Music that keeps things fun and exciting yet still relaxing is the key for me. The right music can often make the difference.

Favorite place to ride? I’ve had the opportunity to ride my bike all over the world, but one of the strangest places I’ve ever ridden was in Seattle, WA. There’s a bike park built under the freeway to keep it out of the rain. It is definitely an interesting spot to ride. My favorite place on Earth to ride my mountain bike would be up at Angel Fire Bike Park. I’ve been riding and helping up there since I can remember and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Any pre-competition rituals? Before a race, I’ll usually just listen to some music and try not to get too nervous. I’ve been racing for a long time, but the nerves are inevitable. It’s all about who handles those nerves the best.

More Questions!

Lyra Helms

Is it true you never forget how to ride a bike? I forget how to ride a bike the second I realize I’m crashing.

What is your favorite type of riding? The fast kind.

Describe the feeling you get mid-air. “Oh Shit.”

What has been your proudest moment? Becoming part of the Heart+Soul crew.

3 songs that you would find in your riding playlist? Phantogram—Black Out Days, Yeah Yeah Yeahs—Runaway, Feist—How Come You Never Go There

Any pre-competition rituals? Just a slight panic attack on the chair lift.

Michael Moss

What’s the number 1 rule of BMX? Keep the rubber on the ground.

Your worst wreck? National state champs 2014, knocked myself out, and had an AC separation, but it’s all good.

Best place to eat after a competition? Slice parlor!

What is your favorite type of riding? I love dirt jumping. Nothing beats flying through the air!

Ian Supple

For people who don’t know much about the sport, what would you tell them to intrigue them to watch or start riding? This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many aspects that personally attract me to the sport. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a rush, it’s exciting, intense, and the feeling I get when I’m about to drop for a race run is something I have a hard time putting into words.

Is it true you never forget to ride a bike? Very true… may have to shake off the rust if it has been a while, but I can ride a bike better than I can walk haha.

What riders got you stoked and influenced you the most? My friends and teammates get me pumped about it for sure, we all see each other on a regular basis and there is always talk about the last race, the next race, etc. It’s rad.

Favorite place to ride? Anywhere! but Angel Fire is definitely up there.

What do you do in your down time when you’re not practicing? I’ll either be training, hanging out with my dog, having a beer with the guys, or just doing anything outside. I always try to stay active!

Photography by Kori Kobayashi

 

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