Leadership
Training
ATTEND THE LEADING ADVENTURE SUMMIT
APRIL 26-27, 2025
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN
Leadership
We take youth development and leading outdoor youth adventure seriously. Any volunteers, on the bike or off, who will interact with youth in any of the Adventure Team communities will:
- Pass a nationwide background check.
- Complete all seven online training modules.
- Pass with an 80% or higher on each module quiz.
LEADING ADVENTURE SUMMIT - April 26-27
Keynote: Leading By Example, Todd Poquette, 906AT Founder, Director of Adventure. A conversation about leading through action, not words, and an exploration of what Todd believes sets 906AT apart. It will challenge the way you think about building community.
Adventure Team: an approach to childhood mental and physical health., Dr James Reinhart will review data on trends in physical health (obesity, asthma, etc.) mental health (anxiety), emotional health (peer interactions, dealing with adversity, school participation) and some reasons behind those trends. He will also discuss the known beneficial impact of exercise in general, sports, and getting outdoors. Finally, Dr Reinhart will feed the trends and benefits of exercise through the specific individual progress, perseverance, collaborative approach of Adventure Team and look at some of the feedback 906 has gotten on impact from kids and parents. Add some of the specific benefits of biking (and/or running) in terms of lifelong health and wellness.
Connecting with kids at Adventure Team. Julie Cunningham, Educator and Area Lead; Cori Nordyk, Clinical Social Worker. will lead a discussion on why it pays to make meaningful connections with kids at Adventure Team and leave with some skills that you can practice. The skills may include: getting to know your riders, communication – what your body language conveys, assuming competence, providing autonomy and providing validation. Time for Q&A will be provided.
Real-world scenarios: Kids at Adventure Team. Julie Cunningham, Educator and Area Lead; Cori Nordyk, Clinical Social Worker. You will be invited to put the skills you learned in the Connecting with Kids morning session to work. You will receive scenarios and decide in small groups how you would like to respond. All participants will be encouraged to reflect on differences in personal responses versus small group scenario responses.
2024 Impact Survey Results. Laurie De Young, Adventure Team Lansing Area. Last year parents of Adventure Team youth participants and 906AT event participants were invited to participate in a survey on how 906AT has impacted their lives. The response rate was high and lessons learned will be shared, as well as a look at how we can use this information to grow.
Enhanced First Aid. McKenzie Suarez-Stankiewicz, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Third Year Student. The whole group presentation will begin with a primary/secondary assessment of an injury. This will include how to approach a child that is injured and what to look for immediately. The second part of the presentation will focus on small “breakout” groups. Volunteers will rotate through topics which include: berry/plant safety, how to apply a splint/what to do with a fracture, how to treat heat related illness and EpiPen training. The training will conclude with scenarios based on the breakout group experiences.
Day 1, April 26
Location: Barrel and Beam in Mqt
Breakfast (7:30 – 8:30 AM)
Keynote: Leading By Example, Todd Poquette, 906AT Founder, Director of Adventure. A conversation about leading through action, not words, and an exploration of what Todd believes sets 906AT apart. It will challenge the way you think about building community.
2024 Impact Survey Results. Laurie De Young, Adventure Team Lansing Area. Last year parents of Adventure Team youth participants and 906AT event participants were invited to participate in a survey on how 906AT has impacted their lives. The response rate was high and lessons learned will be shared, as well as a look at how we can use this information to grow.
Connecting with kids at Adventure Team. Julie Cunningham, Educator and Area Lead; Cori Nordyk, Clinical Social Worker will lead a discussion on why it pays to make meaningful connections with kids at Adventure Team and leave with some skills that you can practice. The skills may include: getting to know your riders, communication – what your body language conveys, assuming competence, providing autonomy and providing validation. Time for Q&A will be provided.
Adventure Team: an approach to childhood mental and physical health., Dr James Reinhart will review data on trends in physical health (obesity, asthma, etc.) mental health (anxiety), emotional health (peer interactions, dealing with adversity, school participation) and some reasons behind those trends. He will also discuss the known beneficial impact of exercise in general, sports, and getting outdoors. Finally, Dr Reinhart will feed the trends and benefits of exercise through the specific individual progress, perseverance, collaborative approach of Adventure Team and look at some of the feedback 906 has gotten on impact from kids and parents. Add some of the specific benefits of biking (and/or running) in terms of lifelong health and wellness.
Lunch/Break (11:30 – 12:30)
Food Truck
Real-world scenarios: Kids at Adventure Team. Julie Cunningham, Educator and Area Lead; Cori Nordyk, Clinical Social Worker. You will be invited to put the skills you learned in the Connecting with Kids morning session to work. You will receive scenarios and decide in small groups how you would like to respond. All participants will be encouraged to reflect on differences in personal responses versus small group scenario responses.
Enhanced First Aid. McKenzie Suarez-Stankiewicz, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Third Year Student. The whole group presentation will begin with a primary/secondary assessment of an injury. This will include how to approach a child that is injured and what to look for immediately. The second part of the presentation will focus on small “breakout” groups. Volunteers will rotate through topics which include: berry/plant safety, how to apply a splint/what to do with a fracture, how to treat heat related illness and EpiPen training. The training will conclude with scenarios based on the breakout group experiences.
Break (4:30 PM)
Evening Volunteer Panel (6:30 – 8:00 PM), Lauri De Young, Randi Pueschner, and Todd Poquette. Answer your questions and lead an entertaining and informative discussion about all things Adventure Team. This is always one of our favorite parts of the leadership summit.
Day 2, April 27
Locations: Barrel + Beam & Base Camp in Mqt
Breakfast (7:30-8:00 AM)
MTB Mechanics 101 (Barrel + Beam) (8:00-11:00AM).
Coaches have been asking for this. This is an introduction to becoming a mechanic, lead by mechanics. You’ll go home with a renewed understanding of common MTB problems and how to repair them. This will be a combination of instruction and hands-on work in the field.
Lunch (11:00 – 12:00 PM)
On The Bike Skills for AT Leaders (Base Camp) (12:00-2:30PM).
The day will start with a boxed lunch from 231 West at basecamp, and then we’ll dive into training. After breakfast, we’ll start with a 45 minute walk through of basecamp. It’ll be a quick review of the equipment, the rules, why it’s set up this way, and we’ll answer questions.
Next, it’s time to get on the bike. Instructors will take you through every skill you will teach this summer. This is a deep dive into each skill. We’ll talk it, walk it, and then let you try it. This is not a ride. Expect to get a lot of reps riding over obstacles, and getting out of your comfort zone. We piloted this last summer and it was very well received.
END (2:30 PM)
Select one of the volunteer roles (on the bike or off the bike). If your community rides one day a week, we ask that you attend all of the rides unless you’re on vacation. Pick a day or do both if your community rides twice a week. The commitment is up to you, but we’ll count on you to be there every week once you pick a day.
You can be experienced or brand new. We’ll train you. We need leaders willing to show up and be role models for the kids. If you’re inexperienced but love working with kids, we’d love to have you on our team.
906AT offers volunteers online training modules to prepare you to coach this summer and you can attend the in-person Leading Adventure Summit for additional hands-on experiences. The Summit also provides OTB (On The Bike) skills for Leaders, so you know how to teach the skills we focus on with youth riders.
Adventure Teams develop youth resilience and community. We do not race. We do not keep score. We do not group by skill. There is no clock. Our staff and volunteers will meet youth and volunteers where they are. You have one mission, should you choose to accept it. Get a little better every day. It’s You vs. You.
We work hard to keep out-of-pocket costs for volunteers low. If cost is a concern, please get in touch with us for more information.