Former Sammy rider now coaches

Hundreds of IU students spend their college careers pedaling a bicycle — opting for a spandex outfit and part of a semester with less alcohol in their systems than their peers.

Zach Osterman was one of those students. The 2009 IU graduate raced for Sammy Cycling for four years. When college ended, Osterman decided the Little 500 wasn’t going to end as well, so he became a coach for Sammy Cycling.

Osterman is not the only coach to make the switch from being on the bike to training those on the bike. Black Key Bulls’ Ren-Jay Shei, although a senior, made the switch to coach after he became a Category 2 rider, making him ineligible to race as an amateur.

On the women’s side, Delta Gamma’s Lauren Half graduated from rider to coach. Former Cutters rider Jason Fowler has coached his team to four straight Little 500 championships.

Although Osterman doesn’t have any championships titles to his name, he does have the experience.

“I don’t have massive tactical whatever, but I’m just someone who understands what it’s like to ride,” Osterman said. “No matter how much you train, there comes a point when the race gets to you, and I always preferred having someone in the pit who understands what I was going through.”

While Osterman was a rider from 2006-09, Sammy was coached by a riding alumnus. The difference between then and Osterman’s coaching style is the knowledge and understanding of the intense work it takes to ride in the Little 500.

“For us, a long ride used to be 45 miles,” Osterman said. “Now, it’s 75 miles.”
Sammy Cycling is not exactly a powerhouse team. Last year the team finished 30 out of 33 teams, so Osterman doesn’t just stand in the pit spewing winning approaches to his team.  

He said he doesn’t want his team going in thinking they have no chance of winning but that for two hours they will give their all.

Osterman also evaluated the strategy of champions.

“Too many people train not to lose and to be there in the final lap,” Osterman said. “But Cutters train to win. They put massive expectations on training. It’s nothing secret. They train hard, and they want it. Now, my team is still kind of young. We just have four guys all of about equal pace and ability.

“My motivation for them is to just surprise people, to always have a plan in the back of their minds — you never know when they will break a certain way. You gotta be a little lucky sometimes.”