[NCNCA] M5 Mentor Program Biographies

[Alan Atha]

I would like to introduce the members of the 2008 NCNCA M5 Mentor Program.
All of these men are highly qualified and experienced, with a passion for
helping.  All mentors are appearing in various Category 5 races during the
2008 season:

Alan Atha – Alan has been racing since 1982 and upgraded to Category 2 a
mere two years later.  He is a USA Cycling Level 1 Coach and Owner of
Cycling Systems – coaching, teaching racing skill fundamentals and tactics.
Alan is the Coach of Team CS, a racing development team.  He is also the
2008 NCNCA Men's Cat 5 Mentor Coordinator.

Shawn Mehaffey - Shawn entered his first race in 1996 and has been involved
in competitive cycling ever since.  He is a Category 3 racer, a USA Cycling
Level 2 Coach, a Cat "B" Road Official and a Cat "C" Motor Referee.  Shawn
has been one of the main mentor organizers at the Early Birds since 2001 and
has been involved with the Women's Cat 4 Mentoring program for several
years.  He has been instrumental in starting the men's Cat 5 mentoring
program this year.

Jess Raphael – This 47 year-old races on the VOS Racing Team as a Category
3, and is very close to upgrading to a Category 2.  He has been racing for
4.5 years with around 300 races in total.  Jess has mentored the Early Birds
for three years and has been a co-instructor at an advanced skills clinic.
He is a co-founder of the Eagle Racing Team.

Ted Brooks – Ted raced in the late 80’s and early 90’s, retiring until about
5 years ago.  A 52 year-old Category 3 racer, Ted is a member of the
Synergy-Taleo Racing team.  He is the 2006 Master's 50+ District Criterium
Champion, and occasionally passes on his knowledge mentoring at the Early
Birds.

Ron Castia – Ron has been racing 11 years.  He races road as a Category 3,
Category 2 in CX and is a Semi-Pro MTB.  He is the President and Founder of
the East Bay Cyclists/Infovista Cycling Team.  At age 40, Ron has had many
accomplishments:  1st at the 24hrs of Tahoe in 2003, 1st at the Sea Otter
MTB XC in 2005 and 1st at the 2002 CCCX Single Speed, to name a few. 

Javier Rey – Javier is a Category 2 racer in semi-retirement.  The current
racing he participates in is chasing his kids, ages 3 and 1 ½ years old.
Javier also mentors and has been a guest speaker at the Early Birds.

Daniel Holloway – Daniel is the current National Elite Criterium Champion.
He races for VMG/Felt as a Category 1 on the road & track, and is part of
the U23 U.S. National Team. 

Matt McNamara – Matt is a USA Cycling Level 1 Coach with a B.A. in Exercise
Physiology and over 20 years of competitive racing, team management and
coaching experience.  He loves cycling, whatever the type!  Matt has won
District medals in Road, Track and Cyclocross.  He feels his greatest assets
he brings to the mentoring program are his handling and pack skills, a deep
aversion to crashing and a knack for finding the front at the right time.
Matt is the owner of Sterling Sports Group, a performance coaching company
located in Sunnyvale.

Roger Bennett – Roger races with the Morgan Stanley/24 Hour/Specialized
Racing Team.  He has in impressive race sheet with wins at both the Merco
Credit Union Grand Prix and the Original Merced Criterium in 2008.

Ron Callison – Ron races with the Valley Spokesmen Racing Team as a Category
3.  He gets great satisfaction out of working with new racers, providing
insight and instruction while teaching safe & smart skills.  Ron has been a
mentor at the Early Birds the past two seasons.  He is very active as
Sponsorship Director for the VSRT, responsible for securing donations each
year for the Wente Road Race and Criterium.  Ron is a past winner of the Mt.
Hamilton Road Race and the Wheels of Thunder Criterium.

We are here to help the Category 5 Men reach their performance potential in
skill learning.  

If you have any questions about the NCNCA M5 Mentor Program, please give me
a call/email.

Cheers,

Alan Atha
USA Cycling Level 1 Coach
ACE Personal Trainer
Coach, TEAM CS
NCNCA M5 Coordinator
www.cyclingsystems.com
415-328-1373