When 14-year-old Skyrah Wilmer joined the Sedona Schools Mountain Bike Club two years ago, her experience in the sport was limited. She had ridden with an elementary school team in the past but that didn’t feature a lot of extreme trail riding. Wilmer’s skills have naturally grown a lot over the last two years.

However, her growth with mountain biking is in more than just her technique.

Like anyone new to a sport, Wilmer struggled in the beginning. Those struggles, as Wilmer remembered, were accompanied by a lack of confidence.

“I didn’t feel like I was good enough to be on the team,” she said. “I looked at everyone else and they were already doing really good. So I kept telling myself that I should be better, that I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t know what I was doing and that I’d never make it. That was my big problem — confidence.”

While Wilmer’s confidence in herself struggled in the early going, the confidence her teammates and coaches showed in her did not. One thing she remembered them saying to her was to not worry about comparing herself to others by focusing too much on things like race results and whether other riders could make it up challenging hills. Instead, the focus became more on setting and achieving personal goals.

Eventually, the confidence that others showed in Wilmer when she was on a bike turned into self-confidence. That’s something that her coaches have noticed as she’s become a better rider who’s willing to take on greater challenges.

“It’s been exponential growth for sure,” coach Eric Mace said. “She used to just stop short and walk up all of the little steps that were more than four inches high. She’d go down hills very slowly because she was scared. Now she’ll go down the hill with the right amount of speed so that she can coast up the other side.”

Wilmer’s third year with the team will bring greater challenges. As a freshman, she’ll not only face tougher competition but tougher rides, as freshmen ride for two laps during the meets.

Wilmer acknowledges that she still struggles on the trail sometimes. Now, though, instead of worrying about struggles, she understands that it’s part of having goals, that meaningful goals should be something that are struggled with in the early going.

“Everyone has bad days,” Wilmer said. “I think I know that now, that it’s OK if I don’t want to go down some giant drop that everyone else does. That’s alright. Maybe I’ll do it next time. If I’m not having a good day I know that it’s just that day and tomorrow is a new day and can do it a different day — just know that the one thing doesn’t determine how I’m going to ride for the rest of the day or the rest of the year.”

Her coaches have seen the changes and are happy that Wilmer decided to fight through the early struggles and remain with the team.

“She’s great to have on the team — always positive, upbeat, cheery and fun,” Mace said. “And she always tries it. Or if she doesn’t try it, she says, ‘I’ll try it next time.’ She always has a plan.”

In addition to her own individual goals, Wilmer hopes that other beginning riders will see the progress that she’s made and use her as an example to guide them through whatever early struggles they may encounter.

“I would tell them that it gets better,” Wilmer said. “It might be tough right now but in a year or two you’ll be able to do everything. You’ll be good, you’ll be a better rider and a better person. I’d just tell them to stick with it and know that they can do it.”