‘Heart of the track’: BMX team Arch Angels pay tribute to former coach Nick Cureton

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IDAHO FALLS – Around the BMX track, he was known as Uncle Nick.

It was a name earned through years of working with riders, coaching them to be the best they could be, and instilling that passion into younger racers as they entered the sport.

“He was the heart of the track,” said Milez Hernandez, a Thunder Ridge High student who’s been BMX racing for more than a decade. “He was a really good guy. I couldn’t see any other person on the track do that, how he sees everything. He was always positive. Never in my three years of knowing him, did I ever see him be negative at all.”

When Nicholas Cureton, AKA Uncle Nick, died three years ago from a stroke at the age of 43, it left a family devastated and the local BMX community in shock. The grieving was immeasurable.

But that’s not where the story ends.

Nick Cureton was a South Fremont High grad, an Army veteran, and an avid outdoorsman. But it was on the BMX track where his impact was boundless.

This past week Snake River BMX hosted an event that drew riders of various ages and skill levels from across the west.

Dozens of riders sprinted and navigated jumps, speeding their way around the course in a fierce competition.

There were plenty of winners, but one team stood out.

The Arch Angels.

The blue jerseys with the winged logo were hard to miss.

The Arch Angels team consists of riders ranging in age from 6 to 35 and features riders from Cureton’s previous team High Speed.

The creation of the team, the name, and the logo were the perfect tribute to Uncle Nick.

“He’s still in my heart,” said KaMel Hernandez, who was part of the High Speed team and her kids raced along with Cureton’s family.

Hernandez said she wasn’t sure about her family’s BMX career or motivation after the death of Uncle Nick.

She said he wrote each member of the team a personal letter after his last season and the message really hit home.

Cureton always preached that the whole purpose of the team was geared toward the kids.

“Every kid learns from another kid,” Hernandez said, noting it was up to the coaches and adults to make it happen and keep pushing forward.

She said there were tough times trying to hold the High Speed team together, but maybe it was time for a change.

The motivation was still there, so why not start a new team?

“We knew we had a team set up, but couldn’t come up with a name,” Milez Hernandez said.

The Arch Angels were born.

“It was meant to be.”

The name was agreed upon by the riders and KaMel Hernandez, who took over leadership of the group.

“Nick really wanted to have a team where everyone is welcome, it doesn’t matter what team you’re on,” Milez Hernandez said. “We will help you no matter what. We want to be the mother team of the BMX track.”

“He helped me through my first year of racing,” added Gavin Robertson, a rider out of Rigby, who said he was nervous before most races as he tried to get acclimated to the new sport.

Uncle Nick was always there and his message resonated.

“We want to be like a big family and help the new riders find their own way and have passion,” Robertson said.

KaMel Hernandez said she’s reminded of the letter she got from Cureton and the motivation to carry on with his legacy.

The riders now call her Momma K.

“There was so much love,” she said “I’m reminded of what I’m doing … It’s for the kids.”

Results weren’t immediately available after Saturday’s races.

It didn’t matter.

The weather was nice, the competition was intense, but still friendly and good-natured.

As teams packed up in the afternoon, the talk returned to Uncle Nick.

“I didn’t have a very good childhood, so when I first met Nick I had problems with trust. I was not the happiest kid,” Milez Hernandez said. “He got me out of my funk. That was the first person I could talk to about my feelings. He was the first person I could actually trust. It was a feeling I never felt before. It was like I woke up from a dream.”

“He was like the one friend at the party who brings up the mood,” Robertson said. “He would not stop smiling or laughing. He would be on the track cheering you on, even if you weren’t part of the team. I wasn’t part of the team for a long time and he would still cheer me on … he even helped rebuild my bike.”

Displayed on the left shoulder of the Arch Angels’ blue jerseys is Nick’s signature and No. 44.

“Before every race I pray at the gate and I do my blessing and tap his signature,” Milez Hernandez said. “It’s a little motivation for me.”

“I think the Angel of the team is the representation of him,” he said. “For me, it’s like a bond with Nick to our team. I think of him as a guardian angel for all of us.”