Welcome to Talks with Travis!

Travis Brown, Level-2 Instructor Trainer,  will be hosting conference calls about topics that will help you hone your skills instruction. Our development as an instructor doesn’t stop when you pass your certification course. Getting better at teaching and connecting with your participants is ever-changing. It can take time to develop the tools for becoming an incredible instructor. Through these meetings, we will be giving you some shortcuts to accelerate your growth and establish a strong community of Mountain Bike Instructors.

Wednesday, December 6th- Deep Dive- Pedal Position

This week we will be doing a deep dive into one of our ten fundamentals; Pedal Position. The pedals are the platform that we use to stay balanced and in control while riding. We will examine preferred pedal position over a variety of terrain, ankle positioning, and what we want to look for and recommend to our riders. This is a concept that changes based on a wide variety of factors, join us so you can make sure you’re providing the best feedback for your riders!

Using Videos for Coaching We talk about when to decide to use videos, how we can manage the group and important functions to look for in the device you use to get videos. Tons of great tips!

Wednesday, December 20th-Professionalism in MTB Coaching

How we present ourselves to our participants is incredibly important.This week we are going to be exploring the idea of professionalism in the coaching industry. Get ready for a fun conversation about how professionalism in the mountain biking world differs from other careers and what we can do to be professional and lighthearted. See you there!

Load, Stomp, Lunge This week we built a deeper understanding about three specific moves that we use in intermediate and advanced skills; the load, stomp and lunge. Each of these moves will have their purpose out on the trail and knowing how they change depending on the terrain or rider skill level will be highly beneficial for you and your riders!

How to Ride a Bike This talk focuses on new curriculum that can help you increase your impact on your community! We go through venue selection, lesson plans, and lots of tips to set you up for success.

Emotional Coaching

How we can care for our participants to build trust and confidence.

Building Post Clinic Motivation

Inspire your participants to keep riding after the clinic!

Skill Breakdown-Roll Down Lunge

Hone your understanding and error detection for this essential skill!

Recurring Clinic Model

Learn about this 5 week course for beginner riders.

Riding Etiquette 

How can we keep everyone happy while on the trail? Well, most everyone.

EGO in the MTB Community

Let’s talk about Ego.

The good and the bad.

Spring Preparation 

This talk focusses on the the tasks to take care of to be ready for the spring season!

Flat and Clipless Pedal

Talk about how pedal choice can impact how and what we coach.

Trailside Maintenance 

Learn about the solutions to the most common problems we run into out on the trail. Flats, chains, and tools.

Garage Skills

Learn about some skill to work on in the winter in your garage!

Social Media for MTB Coaches

Johanna Yates joins us to share tips for utilizing social media!

Incident Management with Scott Givens

Scott shares a major incident that occurred in a clinic and how he managed it!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Mackenzie Fuqua, DEI Coordinator for VMBA joins us to talk about DEI in the MTB world.

Load, Stomp, Lunge

Build a deeper understanding of these moves to progress you and your participants riding!

Skill Breakdown- Rock Dodge

Get your riders progressing faster with a better understanding of the Rock Dodge!

Skill Breakdown- Cornering

Get a better understanding for Level 1 cornering by practicing error detection!

Gettin’ Ready to Level Up

Learn some strategies for preparing for your next level of certification!

Curriculum Development

Some tips, tricks and templates for developing new courses!

Measuring Success

Different metrics to determine the success of your program.

DIY Skill Features

Learn to make a few skills features for Level-1! Skinnies, logs and drops.

Adaptive Coaching

Mark Berens an Adaptive Instructor Trainer joins to talk about Adaptive coaching!

Starting a Coaching Business

Angela Brooks shares her tips for getting a coaching business going!

Post Incident Best Practices

Learn some things to consider when managing litigation after a crash.

Incident Management

Jay Thomas of Roots MTB shares what to do when accidents happen!

Team Teaching and Co-instructing

Instructor Trainer Catherine Neff and I share tips for teaching with other coaches.

Guiding V. Skill Instruction

Find the balance between creating experiences and improving riding with Mike Holme!

Working with Adults

How do we teach differently when coaching adults?

Working with Kids

Kids can be a joy and challenge to work with, find the best tips here!

The 10 Fundamentals

Shaums March leads an in-depth discussion about the 10 Fundamentals!

Instructor Teaching Tools

Let’s talk about ramps, cones, and stuffed animals that elevate your clinics.

How to Ride a Bike

Add this offering your coaching! Get more folks working on pedaling a head start!

Map and Compass Pt. 2

We dive into declination, taking bearings, and Triangulation

Skill Breakdown- Rear Wheel Lift

Talk through our Rear Wheel Lift and practice error detection and correction.

BICP Curriculum Update

Get up to date on the 2023 BICP Curriculum changes! Drops, jumps and more!

Skill Breakdown- Small Circles

Review of our Small Circles skill with error detection and correction practice.

Hosting a Course

Get the details about how to get a course in your area.