TAMJD Archives - Team Athletic Mentors

Getting to Know New TAMJD Rider Nathan LaGest

February 13th, 2025 by JoAnn Cranson

My name is Nathan LaGest. I live in Ortonville Michigan, I’m 15 years old, and a sophomore at Oxford High School. I enjoy school and I do well with over a 4.0 GPA. I have been in competitive cycling for 8 years and started because I was looking for a new sport after participating in motorcycle racing, soccer, and baseball. I love the sport, the fun technical features, the beautiful scenery, constantly pushing my limits, and being out in nature. I raced and rode as an independent rider in MiSCA for the first two years of cycling. I then joined the Lake Orion Dragon Cycling Team when I was in fifth grade which I have been on for 6 years. I raced JV 9-10 this past season, finishing fifth overall, and I plan to move up to Varsity in the coming season.

This will be my first year as a TAMJD rider. I joined because I wanted to grow and push myself as a racer as well as expand my cycling disciplines. This past season’s races were extremely successful and I improved drastically. This team will definitely help me to grow and expand on those successes. I have exclusively been mountain bike racing and I wanted to try new types of racing such as gravel and road.

This team will give me a great opportunity to expand into these types of racing and see what types of other cycling opportunities are out there. Some of my goals this year are to try new varieties of cycling and find some that I enjoy and hopefully perform well in. I also want to improve and grow in mountain bike races as well. I want to be a top 10 Varsity rider in the MiSCA race series and get a podium in Peak to Peak as well as a sub-two-hour time in the Iceman.

Some of my favorite places to ride are new and unique trails that are different from what you would normally ride on and push you out of your comfort zone a little bit. I loved all of the trails in Pisgah, North Carolina because they were so different and unique from where I had been in Michigan with lots of elevation and beautiful scenery.

The same goes for races as I just love new trails and terrain. My favorite race this year was the first MiSCA race which was Merrell Trail because it has a wide variety of fun and flowy stuff with some good climbs and an awesome mangy and rocky section called Sawtooth towards the end of each lap.

One of my favorite group rides I have done was going to Mohican with some of my friends on the Lake Orion team and riding the trail. I like it just because it’s a really fun trail with lots of elevation and some fun sections that get rocky and challenging.

One of my favorite things about cycling is that you can see all the work that you have put in throughout the season and see how it pays off. Also, I love how it is a great environment to really push yourself and see what areas you can improve on to change your weaknesses into your strengths. Lastly, I love being outdoors and getting to experience nature while getting in a good workout and having a good time. One of the
biggest things that I’ve learned about myself while racing is that goals that seem unfeasible or far away at the time are by no means impossible and that if you put in the work and do your best you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.

The only other sport I do outside of cycling is diving. I compete and train throughout the winter and I love it. It is really fun and you learn to push past your fears and limits as you improve over time. Last year as a freshman I received my Varsity letter and rookie of the year award and plan to make it into State Finals this coming year. I also participated in the school marching band for a year and had a great time.

In addition to sports, I am a member of the Oakwood Student Ministries youth group and have been involved in the program since I started middle school. Through this group, I have been able to go on missions trips to Chicago and Kentucky where I have had an amazing time helping others and sharing my faith.

I am really excited for this coming year as an athlete on TAMJD and I look forward to all of the opportunities and challenges that I will face and hope I will be able to push myself to new heights and achieve my goals.

Athletic Mentor’s Junior Triathlete Development

October 28th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Dawn Hinz

Team Athletic Mentors > Athletic Mentors > Mentors

What is in a name? What does a name mean? What are the core values that drive that name?

Team Athletic Mentors is composed of almost 100 individuals who are determined to achieve two main purposes. Sure, we’re athletic, meaning we value the health benefits of staying fit, healthy and competitive throughout all stages of life. But even more than that, we are there to guide people, not just to be healthy and active but in any way we can support a mentee to grow and succeed in life, especially sharing endurance sports with youth.

We had the privilege of spending a weekend with our Junior Development Triathletes and were able to share a few life lessons with them along the way.

Our first night was spent preparing for a local triathlon race that would start early the next day. First we met at a local grocery store to return pop cans from our fundraiser. Since sports and life aren’t free, we encourage our young team mates to work to support their goals. Afterwards we traveled to the house we would be sharing for the weekend. The teenagers took turns laying out their race supplies for Coach and discussing their race plans for the next morning. Finally, we shared pizza and cleaned the kitchen before heading to bed. Each teenager was responsible for waking up and being ready to leave on time. Life Lesson #1: Prepping the night before makes the morning easier.

After arriving at the race site, each young athlete collected their race packet from check in before proceeding to set up in transition for the Shermanator Sprint Triathlon. Coach and Crew were nearby to answer any questions and give words of encouragement to ease the natural pre-race jitters. As other athletes were warming up for the swim it was realized that the timing chip adhesive was not holding. Rapidly, Coach and Crew helped each junior to secure their timing chip. Life Lesson #2: Work the problem. Life will not always be smooth. One must adapt and problem solve.

Each Athlete had a great race – pushing themselves to their best on that day. Sean was leading out of the swim but was passed by fellow adult teammate, Jeremy, on the bike. Sean kept chasing Jeremy on the run and was able to narrow the gap but was just shy of the win. Still, he walked away with 2nd Overall and a very nervous Jeremy knows that Sean is only getting better. Brie was able to put in a solid performance all around and came away with 1st Overall Female. Kellen was also solid all around and was actually faster than Brie but a tough age group meant he secured 3rd. Not to be outdone, our youngest team member, Kinley, raced the Super Sprint Triathlon, securing 6th Overall and 2nd Overall Female in her race. Most of all, it was noticed that each youth were excellent sportsmen, commending and cheering others while accepting praise with grace. As a celebration our juniors pushed Coach into the lake, the quintessential “ice water over coach’s head” but triathlon style.

After the race was over and equipment packed away, we returned to the house for lunch and quiet time before going out for a shake out ride. This weekend wouldn’t be all work and no play. Our generous hosts, Joe and Chelsey Cekola, took us out for a boat ride and we all took turns tubing. You just can’t beat the smile these kids had! Life Lesson #3: Make time for work and for play. It is not ideal to be one sided.

All this activity definitely worked up an appetite. Next the juniors would be guided through preparing a farm to table dinner. Fresh vegetables washed and seasoned for roasting. Potatoes were peeled and cut to make mashed potatoes. Small batch brats from Coach’s farm were grilled to perfection. The parents joined for this meal and really enjoyed seeing the juniors take on this responsibility. Life Lesson #4: Food takes work. From growing, to preparing, to clean up.

When dinner was cleared and the kitchen clean, we enjoyed watching Track and Field from the Summer Olympics. Future goals were discussed as well as the kind of effort it would take to achieve those goals. Life Lesson #5: One cannot control the outcome only the effort one puts in.

We woke the next morning to a mirror flat lake and a perfect sunrise. We set out to conclude our time together with an epic swim across the lake. Each junior wore an open water swim buoy and was escorted by a safety boat. Coaches also joined them in the water. The water was warm, inviting and clear. It was an excellent day for a swim. Life Lesson #6: Pursue epic accomplishments but do so with regard to one’s own safety.

Finally, it was time to say good-bye. Each junior packed and cleaned their rooms. They carried the used bedding up to the washer before being picked up by their parents. Without prompting they thanked our hosts. Life Lesson #7: Leave a place as good as or better than you found it.

This weekend was full of life lessons, friendship, fun and athletic pursuits. Mentoring was present throughout all the athleticism and that is really what Team Athletic Mentors is all about.

The Aftermath of an Injury and Recovery

August 28th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Cate Wittman

Any athlete that has experienced an injury understands how it can be hard to bounce back. Often, you lose a lot of ability due to the rest and recovery process. It’s normal to feel like things are out of your control and there’s nothing you can do about it, but it’s important to keep calm. The main thing you can focus on is what is in your control; things like staying healthy with nutrition, keeping your physical ability in check with stretches and/or walks (if possible), and most importantly, resting! While recovering, it’s easy to forget the fact that you have to let your body rest and get your health back before pushing yourself again.

My experience with injury:

Summer of 2022 I was racing Ore to Shore in Marquette, MI and dislocated my shoulder in the race. I had to be in a sling for a month and was off the bike for three months. I found myself feeling like I could never get back to what I was capable of. My ability and strength on the bike was diminished greatly while in recovery and I could feel it. After a little while, I got professional help with physical therapy and allowed myself to rest. With this time, I reflected on my biking and created goals for myself when coming back. I made sure I was ready physically and mentally to start from the ground up and had to be willing to put in the work to reach my goals. I reminded myself what I was working for and why I am willing to push through these hard times.

After the injury:

Coming out of an accident/injury can be scary. You may feel unsure of how active your future might be and frantically try to get back to how things were before, but slow down. Take time to reset and take a break from the usual of pushing yourself to your hardest. Your body needs to heal fully before you can excel again, or you’ll do more harm than good to yourself. Make sure you’re prepared to put in work to get back to where you were; one thing that could help is creating a plan to achieve your new goals.

Recovery:

It can be difficult to manage resting and keeping yourself healthy when in recovery. Make sure to ease back into what you were doing before. Training can look like doing yoga one day and intervals another. Allowing your body to settle back into harder workouts is important so you don’t overwork yourself as you try to get back to how things were before the injury; things like easy days and active stretching will help you fully recover. Another thing to keep in mind is listening to your body and how it reacts to these workouts, especially on more intense days. If your body isn’t up to sprints, you probably are rushing into things too fast. Take as much time as you need; patience is how you excel in the long run.

Being able to find your confidence and ability is key to achieving great things. Getting comfortable with what you used to do isn’t easy; it takes time, patience and practice in order to be great. No matter what, you always have to believe you can do something in order for you to be able to do it; so make sure you believe in yourself and your ability to improve so you can be better. Today, I am on the bike again after learning how to be confident with my riding and my training.

Welcoming JD Rider Ozzy Tobiczyk

June 7th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Ozzy Tobiczyk

Hello, my name is Ozzy Tobiczyk and this is my first year on the TAMJD team. I am 14 years old and a 9th grader at Milford High School. I have been riding my bike ever since I could walk. Living in Milford, Mi has given me access to so many mountain bike trails, it was only natural to get into mountain biking. I joined the Huron Valley United Racing (HVUR) team in 5th grade and raced my first MiSCA race in 2020. I was hooked from that point on. What I love about cycling is the scenery on the rides, jumps, and having a fun group of people to ride with. This year I will be racing varsity on HVUR.

I joined TAMJD because I wanted to push myself, become a better rider, explore all types of cycling, and have fun while doing it. I have learned a lot about how to properly fuel myself before a race as well as how to mentally prepare for a race this past year. I know I have a lot more to learn and that is another reason why I joined TAMJD.

My goal for this season is to be in the top 10 in Varsity and to get first place in my age group in Iceman and Peak to Peak. I am really looking forward to racing more gravel races. I am also starting to learn road racing techniques and have been racing in the Waterford Hills Summer Road Racing Series on Wednesdays. I had the pleasure of going to TAMJD training camp in Brevard, NC during spring break this year. It was so much fun. We had been training all winter to climb Mt. Mitchell which was about 44 miles up a mountain and 44 miles down. I think my top speed going down was around 49 miles an hour! It was awesome and I loved the views! I also really liked spending time with my teammates and going into town. We rode the mountain bike trails and roads in Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Forest. It was a great experience and I can’t wait until next year!

I have been to many places in the United States to ride bikes but my favorite place to ride is in Marquette, Mi. My family and I go up there every summer for the Ore to Shore race and to camp for the week at Rippling River. I love the South Trails and the jumps on the Eh Line. My favorite race is Iceman. It’s such a fun venue. I like not knowing what the weather will be like. It’s always a surprise and different.

I like doing non-bike things too. I really love snowboarding and wish it was something I could do year round. I built a mini park in my backyard this last winter which really had the neighbors talking. I joined the boardercross team at Milford High School this year and rode varsity on the team. We won the state championship, which was really cool! I also have started to really like fishing and plan to do a lot of that this summer. I like hanging out with my friends too.

I’m really glad I joined the TAMJD. In the short time that I have been the team I have been introduced to so many things that I wouldn’t have done on my own, like road racing. Next up, I will be traveling with the team to the Tour of America’s Dairyland where we will have 5 days of Crit races in Milwaukee, WI. Wish us luck!

Meet New TAMJD Rider Nick Thielen

March 17th, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Nick Thielen

Hi, my name is Nick Thielen. I’m 14 years old and in the 8th grade at Warner Middle School in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Outside of cycling I play basketball and run track. I started practicing with Huron Valley United Racing in 2021 and realized I was a pretty good cyclist so I decided to stick with it. This past season I won the MISCA Advanced Middle School state championship winning 4 out of 6 races. After the MISCA season, I raced Iceman for the third time. Iceman is definitely my favorite race. The atmosphere is great and the course is always challenging but super fun.

This upcoming season will be my first year on Team Athletic Mentors Junior Development. I joined the team because I thought it was a great opportunity to improve as a cyclist and also connect with people that had similar goals to me. I’m excited to get more into road racing this year which is something I haven’t done much of in the past. I think expanding into disciplines beyond mountain biking will be great for progressing in my cycling career.

I’ll be participating in the Tour of America’s Dairyland crit series out in Wisconsin as well as other road races which I think will be great opportunities to improve as a rider. I’m going to be doing some racing outside the state of Michigan which is very exciting. I know it’s gonna be a lot harder this year racing against high schoolers instead of middle schoolers, but it’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to. I’m hoping to do a lot of races this season that I haven’t done in the past and overall get a lot stronger.

I find riding a bike a great way to have fun while meeting some great people you wouldn’t have met if you weren’t riding. There is nothing better than the feeling of accomplishment after a good race knowing that all your hard work paid off. If a race doesn’t go your way you can always just look forward to the next one. I really like training for races. There’s something about knowing that someday it’s all gonna pay off just motivates me to train as hard as I can.

I also love riding on dirt roads or in the woods where there is nobody around and you’re all by yourself. It’s really peaceful and helps me clear my mind. One of my favorite trails around where I live is Lakeshore Park. It’s super tight and twisty with some fun features. I ride it all the time which gave me a big advantage at the MISCA race which was very important for me to win so that I could win the series. You can gain a lot of time on it knowing the trail really well.

I love the sport of cycling and its community. I’ve made so many new friends and learned so much from it. I’m super excited for the opportunity I have with Team Athletic Mentors Junior Development this upcoming season to grow as a cyclist.

Catching Up with New JD Rider – Donald Smith

February 23rd, 2024 by JoAnn Cranson

By: Donald Smith

Hello, my name is Donald Smith from Brighton, MI. I am 13 years old and am in 8th grade. I am currently homeschooled and go to a co-op for electives and other classes. I like homeschooling because it allows me the freedom to ride outside whenever I want. I live right across from Island Lake State Park, so I can ride there from my house. The addiction of cycling hit me when I was 5 years old and my dad had to constantly take me mountain biking, riding a short loop on blue over and over again. My dad has been riding forever and it is something we like to do together…and honestly, I did not enjoy playing other sports as much as I did cycling.

For the past three years I have been racing for the Wheels in Motion MiSCA team and took 2nd place this year in the Advance Middle School category. This will be my first year on TAMJD. As I was researching junior development teams last year, I thought TAMJD would be the best fit for me. This is because through MiSCA, I found that I knew many junior racers on TAMJD. The team is also local which means I can ride and train with them more often. Having a team to travel to races with locally and outside of Michigan appeals to me as well. I look forward to being on an organized team to help me continue to develop as a person both on and off the bike.

My favorite place to ride is in North Carolina when I go to visit my grandparents. The views are absolutely gorgeous at the top of a mountain. My favorite race is the Lumberjack 100. The people there are so nice and supportive. What I like best about racing is suffering with friends! The main new thing I look forward to this year is doing more national level races.

Since so many people have helped me to become the cyclist I am today, I try to give back to my community. This year I worked with the Poto chapter on several weekends to complete trail maintenance. For the last three years, I have volunteered as a coach for the Lexus Velodrome’s summer camps. I was able to help kids learn how to ride bikes. When the velodrome deflated in 2021, I worked for many hours breaking and shoveling ice off the dome so it could be reinflated. The inside of the dome was a mess, and I spent a day helping to repaint the track.

Track cycling gave me the opportunity to go to Track Nationals in 2021 and 2022. I took 5th overall in 2021 and 3rd overall in 2022. My mountain bike and cyclocross skills came in handy when there was a crash in front of me at the 2022 Track Nationals. I was able to bunny hop over a rider that was taken out in the crash. Track and road cycling have helped me to learn to ride safely in a group. I have not competed in many gravel races, but it is how I like to train when I cannot ride on trails. I do plan on racing in more gravel races this coming year. Cyclocross is probably my 2nd favorite discipline. I really enjoy all the features the courses include. Going over flyovers, barriers, and stairs makes the race interesting. Cyclocross is definitely not a boring sport.

Some of my race goals for 2024 are to complete the Lumberjack 100 in 8 hours and compete at the Varsity level for MiSCA. I like the longer distance for Varsity and will try to get at least one top 10. Another goal I have is to do more national level races like Englewood. I will also be training to place in the top 3 for the 9-14 Iceman this year.

The main thing I have learned about myself is that I like mountain biking best out of the other disciplines I have competed in (road, track, gravel, cyclocross). Riding in the woods is my favorite. I hope to compete in Mountain Bike Nationals this coming year. Participating in all the different cycling disciplines has helped me become a better overall cyclist.

Catching up with Team Athletic Mentors Cycling Junior Development

November 2nd, 2023 by JoAnn Cranson

An interview with program director: Terry Ritter

What were some highlights of year four for the program?

We were able to win a number of local road races in the Elite class, on both the west and the east side of the state (Waterford and Grattan), with multiple juniors. 3 of them did the 2022 Iceman in the PRO class, with Jonathan Meyer getting 13th overall. Jon also raced in his first PRO criterium field at Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD). Charlotte raced up a junior class at ToAD and took 2nd in the 17-18 field for the 5 day omnium. Jack Kozlowski took 3rd in his Cat. 4 omnium as well. We also took a few wins in the Elite field for a couple of gravel events in Michigan, and had a few of our juniors score top 10 overalls. Katja Opfer (10th grade) won the MiSCA Varsity girls series, netting all 6 wins, while Charlotte Rosinski (10th) was 2nd and Lauren Schultz (12th) was 3rd in the series. James Meyer (11th grade) won a race and finished 2nd in the MiSCA Varsity boys series. And we had a split squad for Barry Roubaix, with 8 of our kids doing the Fayetteville USAC MTB National. The remaining 2 boys and 5 girls were able to win the team competition at Barry for a 3rd straight year and win the boys and girls overall. We also won the 15-18 Junior State Cyclocross Championships with Eli and Charlotte. Finally, Jonathan got 17th overall in the Hard Rock, 48 miler at Ore to Shore while Katja won the overall at the Short Rock event

How was this year’s team ambitions different from last seasons?

This was the first year we graduated a significant group from the program as September came, as we had 5 seniors in our 15 riders. Watching them progress from just a few years ago (and one of them from 4 years ago) was rewarding to see. This older group helped set the tone and we attended 2 National MTB USAC events as well as USAC MTB National Championships in PA. We also took 9 kids to ToAD, which was awesome. The seniors took a lot more responsibility in some areas which is part of what they experience on TAMJD. They left a good expectation for the younger riders.

Any news on the success of TAMJD alumni?

Three of our seniors, Jonathan, Hunter Post and Spencer Blaz, got cycling scholarships and are attending Fort Lewis College in CO, Kings College in TN and Lees McRae in NC, respectively. Elizabeth DeFauw, a past rider of ours, went to Bissell and is attending Marion College in IN this season. The fact they are competing in MTB and road while at school makes us all proud in the program. But the big news was Kellen Caldwell, who graduated from TAMJD 3 years ago, winning the College National Road Championships! I coached him the whole year until his performance there and a 5th at Green Mountain Stage Race caught the attention of a national level development team. Kellen is chasing his dream of being a General Classification rider for a professional team someday.

What are some changes you plan to implement for the coming season?

This off season we plan to have a monthly ZOOM meeting with the parents/kids to share some important information about various topics, like nutrition and sports psychology. We feel this will help the riders prepare for more success in 2024 and also keep them engaged throughout the downtime. We are also going to do some VO2 testing on most of the same subjects from last year this winter to see what growth they have made and get a better grasp regarding changes seen with the junior physiology. We are always tweaking the coaching offering and will also get a more detailed schedule for the season out that will help parent’s plan and also allow more group rides, which the kids enjoy. We’ll also be looking at maybe doing MTB Marathon Nationals and Gravel Nationals.

If you could dispel one myth about the program, what would it be?

Many coaches that I talk to from MiSCA teams feel our success at TAMJD is due to all our kids training together. That’s an important part when it happens, but is also pretty rare. The fact they are offered personal coaching through Athletic Mentors, which most take advantage of, is really where the secret sauce is, I’d say. The other thing is that we set a bar and do our best to keep the kids on task so that they can learn about meeting expectations they agree to. All of this is wrapped in an environment where we get them to feel comfortable trying new things in cycling (road, gravel, CX), and that keeps it fun and gives us more options as a team. Many people within MiSCA are surprised at how well our kids do on things other than MTB racing.

What are you most proud of looking back on the past four years?

We’ve had juniors here and there that we’ve worked with in TAM for a long time, but putting together a dedicated junior development program has been a challenge. MiSCA changed that by offering a lot of young MTBers, but we still had to work to do what we felt would make them most successful and also keep it fun. That was selling the values of personal coaching and trying different cycling disciplines. Both of those things have shown to be very beneficial for the kids goals and their enjoyment. To see that you’ve provided them with an opportunity no one else has makes management feel all the work we dedicate to the program is worth it.