Beth Ross, Co-Head Coach, Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team

“I love watching athletes grow in their skills and confidence, learning that they can do what they didn’t think they could! And of course I love having fun riding bikes together outside on dirt!”

Favorite local trail: Bottoms Up, Quarry Ridge

Matt Ginder-Vogel, Co-Head Coach, Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team

“I love watching student athletes build their skills and grow as riders at every single practice, and I love the mountain bike community in Madison.”

Favorite trail: Howlin’ Wolff, Blackhawk

Jason Valerius, Assistant Head Coach, High School, Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team

“I’m a lifelong biker, but my mountain biking journey has been about keeping up with my son. I love our team’s commitment to individual growth and mutual support, and riding dirt with middle schoolers as they tackle new challenges together.”

Favorite trail: Northwoods, Quarry Ridge

Amy Payne, Team Director, Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team

“I started mountain biking as a way to spend time with my son and quickly fell in love with the sport and our amazing MTB community. I love seeing our team ‘gel’ as the season progresses. Shoutouts and power claps build a culture of connection and an identity that athletes carry with them on the trails and beyond.”

Favorite local trail: Twist and Shout, Blackhawk

Jennifer LaMontagne, Team Director, Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team

“I’ve been mountain biking for only a few years, but the journey has been incredible. I enjoy motivating our young athletes as they make new friends, support each other through challenges and victories, have fun outdoors, build confidence, and strengthen their skills — in that order! They inspire me!”

Favorite local trail: Prairie-Dise, The Farm

Mike McGarry, Founder, Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team

Mike McGarry founded the first Madison area NICA team in 2014 with 10 students. Now, the Madison West team has hundreds of riders.

Pod Leaders and Volunteer Coaches

Dedicated volunteer coaches, trained and certified through NICA, lead our teams. Our head coaches and pod leaders have many years of experience riding and/or racing and have Level 2 or 3 certifications. They are supported by Level 1 coaches, who are often interested parents who may have very little mountain biking experience.

We are always looking for help with coaching! If you are a parent of a rider on the team or simply an adult who loves to ride on dirt and wants to help get more kids on bikes, please drop us a line. None of our coaches are professional mountain bikers (in case you were wondering). We will give you the training you need to help out.

Learn more about NICA coaching certifications here. Coaches at each level are also eligible to receive special coach discounts. Learn more about coach benefits here.

Level 1

If you’d like to ride with the team, you must attain this basic certification (mountain bike skills not required). Level 1 coaches go through background checks, as well as training on safety and concussion awareness. Level 1 coaches assist as directed by the head coach and generally participate in practices, gaining skills alongside student athletes.

Level 2

Level 2 coaches satisfy all of the Level 1 requirements but also add CPR, on the bike skills courses, and a minimum of 20 hours riding with the team, gaining valuable experience. Level 2 coaches assist level 3 coaches with advanced tasks, such as leading rides.

Level 3

Level 3 coaches satisfy all of the Level 1 and 2 requirements and have further training and wilderness first aid. Level 3 coaches take on leadership roles within the team and have equivalent competencies to the head coach.

*Many of our coaches serve as Rovers during races; they’re the eyes and ears on the trail.*

Coaching Info

It’s a fair question on the mountain bike team: Who has more fun, the athletes or the adults? The jury’s still out, but safe to say, it is extremely close. We have nearly 50 adults who ride with our athletes at practice. The vast majority are parents, and many are brand-new to mountain biking.

“I’m not a professional mountain biker” -nearly everyone

The most common phrase we hear from new parents or adult riders when they are finding out about the club and becoming a Level 1 Coach is that they are not a professional mountain biker. Of the nearly 50 coaches we have on our team, the number of professional mountain bikers is zero or possibly one.

Our team is about having ridiculous amounts fun on bikes. If you like having fun, have an interest in helping athletes set and achieve their goals, and love to ride bikes, you qualify.

To foster a safe environment for our athletes, we maintain approximately a 1:6 ration–one coach for every 6 athletes. With 200+ athletes on our collective teams, we can use a lot of coaching help.

“I’m not super fast” -mostly everyone

We have riding groups that range from 6th graders relatively new to biking to varsity athletes whovrace for 90 minutes. Just as we match our athletes to the appropriate riding group, we match our coaches to their comfort level as well.

How do I know what to do? -mostly everyone

Our teams are part of the NICA league, which provides excellent structure and training to help keep our athletes safe at practice. You’ll learn about the philosophy of NICA, principles of risk management, and a primer on concussions and how to spot them, via online courses provided by the league, before you’ll participate in practices. You will start by being paired with more experienced coaches and help to sweep (ride behind a group of 6-8 athletes) on trails that you feel comfortable riding. We start to ride trails only after spending extensive time off-trail to master mountain bike skills. Coaches participate in the skill work!

You’ll have an opportunity to take further classes if you have interest to develop more risk management, first aid skills, and on-the-bike skills, as well as how to teach them.