Who Should Attend
This conference is designed for:
- Level 3, 2, and 1 coaches seeking actionable education and CEUs.
- Club, collegiate, and private coaches focused on athlete development and retention.
- Coaches building sustainable businesses and enhancing client experiences.
What You Will Gain
Over the course of the day, you’ll walk away with:
- Clear LTAD (Long-Term Athlete Development) frameworks to guide athletes across ages and stages.
- Current best practices in physiology, including metabolism, heat/altitude adaptation, and recovery strategies.
- Tools to turn one-off clients into long-term coaching relationships.
- Foundational bike fit concepts every coach should know.
- Guidance on CEUs, the iSportz platform, and certification pathways.
- Small-group access to experts in business, communication, nutrition, and LTAD.
Agenda
9:00 – 9:15 AM
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Suzy Sanchez, Director of DEI and Membership
9:15 – 10:00 AM
Keynote: Transforming cycling culture through holistic athlete development with LTAD, community, and coaching
Sean Wilson, PhD
10:00 – 10:45 AM
Breakout 1: Physiology of Training
Metabolism, heat/altitude, and recovery strategies
Adam Mills
10:45 – 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 – 11:45 AM
Breakout 2: Turning One-and-Done Clients into Long-Term Coaching Relationships — Adult Athletes
Clare Zercher
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Lunch and Learn - Ecological Dynamics and Nonlinear Pedagogy
Freddie Rodriquez
12:30 – 1:15 PM
Breakout 3: The Overlooked Edge — Why Every Coach Needs Foundational Bike Fit Knowledge
Kameel Abdurrahman
1:15 – 1:45 PM
Using the iSportz Platform, CEUs, and Certification Pathways — What You Need to Know
Suzy & Coach Education Team
1:45 – 2:00 PM
Break
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Roundtables: Ask the Experts (15-minute rotations)
- Business Skills — Dr. Tyrone Holmes
- Communication & Culture — Nate Dunn
- Nutrition — Kristen Arnold
- LTAD — Casey Lamers
3:00 – 3:30 PM
The Benefits of a Virtual Training Center: Helping Coaches Build Their Business and Improve Athlete Retention.
Robbie Ventura
3:30 - 4:00 PM
Closing Remarks & Coach Recognition Awards
Attendance is required for CEU credit.
Meet our Speakers
Sean Wilson, Ph.D.
Sean M. Wilson, PhD, is Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. His career demonstrates a sustained commitment to evidence-based research and excellence in teaching, particularly in exercise physiology. Dr. Wilson’s academic work explores the intersection of exercise, adolescent mental health, and youth development, drawing on rigorous research to inform best practices in both education and athletic coaching. He integrates findings from his studies on youth cycling and mental well-being directly into his coaching practice, ensuring that athlete health, ethical participation, and long-term engagement remain central values. Through leadership roles in coach education and program development at both grassroots and national levels, Dr. Wilson exemplifies the integration of scientific rigor with innovative mentorship—creating lasting, positive impacts for young athletes and the broader coaching community.
Clare Zecher
Coach Clare Zecher has been coaching endurance athletes since 1999 starting with marathoners in Chicago.
After retiring as a CFO of a $2B company in 2014, Clare transformed her love of part-time coaching into a full-time career and has been coaching cyclists and endurance athletes ever since. In 2017 Clare also began coaching other coaches to enable them to turn their hobbies/gigs into successful professional businesses.
In addition to her CPA and MBA, she has earned her CSCS to solidify her scientific background in coaching. Clare's coaching style is based in science and crafted with art to enable her clients to achieve their goals.
An avid athlete herself, she has completed such notable events as Paris-Brest-Paris, multiple Ironman races and the 70.3 World Championships, represented Team USA on the world stage and raced road, cyclo-cross, and cross country mountain biking. Most recently, she earned her buckle at the famed Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race.
You can generally find her in the dirt somewhere on either a gravel or mountain bike with clients doing what she loves, riding a bike and sharing her love of cycling.
Kameel Abdurrahman
Kameel A. is a professional cycling coach and Retül-certified bike fitter with over 15 years of experience helping athletes unlock their full potential. He brings a unique perspective by combining coaching expertise, advanced bike fitting knowledge, and a strong business background—having served as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) for 17 years.
Kameel has traveled around the world to share and learn best coaching practices and has performed bike fittings for athletes in Spain, Italy, Dubai, and many other countries. His ability to integrate technology, biomechanics, and the art of communication allows him to deliver highly personalized coaching solutions that improve performance and athlete retention. His global exposure and dual-role experience offer valuable insights for coaches looking to elevate both their technical and business impact.
Adam Mills
Adam earned his Bachelor’s in Exercise Science at the University of Kansas in 2003 and immediately began his career at Carmichael Training Systems as a cycling coach. He returned to the University of Kansas, completing his Master’s in Clinical Exercise Physiology in 2005. During his graduate studies, Adam was a regular on the Dean’s List, and a recipient of multiple academic scholarships.
During his studies, Adam discovered his passion for both coaching cycling and competition, which quickly led him to the elite ranks of cycling. Adam has competed with top ranked amateur and collegiate cycling clubs since 2001. Adam has competed in international competition, countless NRC races, innumerable elite races, and national championships in many different disciplines of the sport.
Adam’s true talent comes as a cycling coach with his ability to combine his vast experience with his knowledge of sport. He is indeed a student of science, sport, athletic performance, strategy, and tactics, continually educating himself by keeping up to date with current trends and methods in sport. Adam is able to incorporate these attributes to help his clients reach and exceed their goals. Adam's clients have earned 33 national championship titles in 11 disciplines on two continents. He truly feels a sense of pride when his clients realize their potential.
Adam served as Team Manager on the Mercy Elite Cycling Team, Elevate Cycling Team. From there he worked as the Director Sportif for the Elevate Pro Cycling Team and Performance Director on the Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling Team. He has worked with numerous UCI Professional athletes on various teams in the past and present.
Adam strives to help each client enjoy the success on the bike that comes with performing exceptionally on days that matter to them. This success helps athletes live their best lives through positive and successful experiences. For the every-athlete that’s having a great day. For a professional it’s having results that can lead to more career opportunities. This success helps the athlete improve their lives and quality of life by living positive and successful experiences.
Adam is currently accepting clients at the Tier 3 and Tier 4 levels.
Adam currently lives in San Diego, CA and works with clients targeting; gravel/ mixed surface, all road, rally, endurance/ enduro, mountain biking, road racing, criterium (crits), time trials and cyclocross.
Dr. Tyrone A. Holmes
Dr. Tyrone A. Holmes is a professional speaker, coach and consultant who has spent nearly three decades teaching thousands of people to build powerful relationships in diverse settings. He received his bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Education and master’s degree in Counselor Education from Penn State University. Dr. Holmes received a second master’s degree in Business Management from the State University of New York, before earning a perfect 4.0 GPA in his Counselor Education doctoral program at Penn State. As the owner of T.A.H. Performance Consultants, he has facilitated more than 1,500 keynotes, classes, training seminars and virtual workshops that have taught participants to connect with others despite their differences, to effectively articulate their messages, to connect with diverse audiences and groups, to reduce unconscious bias and to build successful businesses.
Dr. Holmes served as a full-time faculty member at Eastern Michigan University in the Department of Leadership and Counseling, and at Wayne State University in the Department of Theoretical and Behavioral Foundations. He is certified as a Level 1 coach through USA Cycling and has authored 3 books on the coaching profession: Training and Coaching the Competitive Cyclist, Developing Training Plans for Cyclists and Triathletes and The Business of Training and Coaching. Dr. Holmes is a Past President of the Arizona Chapter of the National Speakers Association. He has also earned the designation of eSpeakers Certified Virtual Presenter, Certified Virtual Host and most recently, Certified Virtual Master Presenter. Dr. Holmes loves to facilitate fun, interactive sessions that provide useful tools and techniques for participants!
Casey Lamers
Casey is a lifelong learner and 18 year USA Cycling coach. He has been a L1 coach since 2019.
For the last 8 years Casey has been volunteering with the Wisconsin NICA league. During the last two seasons Casey has taken the role of NICA League Coach Supporter. In this role Casey leads coach training sessions to help train the league coaches on teaching fitness training to their student-athletes.
Previously Casey has been the University of Wisconsin Cycling Club team coach.
Casey was a co-owner of an indoor cycling training facility in Madison WI for 7 years.
Casey also has a wife and two children. Casey's older child was an elite level soccer player who burned out from the stress of that situation.
Casey has bachelor's degrees in Math and Molecular Biology and is a Software Engineering Manager at SHINE Technologies in Fitchburg WI.
Casey has a keen interest in developing talent and establishing and development pathway for young athletes. He combines his various areas of expertise to work with Junior athletes and their support group to help each individual set and achieve their goals.
Nate Dunn
Nate Dunn is the founder of Data Driven Athlete and has worked in health, fitness, and performance coaching for over 15 years. He holds a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and a Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN). Drawing from his experience coaching cyclists from beginners to elite competitors, Nate integrates evidence-based training with the art of connection, helping athletes navigate the modern information landscape with clarity and purpose.
Kristen Arnold MS, RDN, CSSD
Kristen Arnold and Team started as a small sports nutrition private practice where Kristen worked with just a few athletes a month while pursuing her professional cycling career. Now KA and Team has grown to include multiple qualified practitioners who share her passion for empowering women. We work with athletes from the pro to the recreational ranks to show them that through optimal sports nutrition strategies they can accomplish more than they ever thought was possible of themselves and feel great in their bodies.
Freddie Rodriguez
Fred "Freddie" Rodriguez (born September 3, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. His nickname, Fast Freddie, is due to his reputation as a sprint specialist. Rodriguez won the United States National Road Race Championships four times, and won four stages at the Tour de Georgia. He competed in the men's individual road race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Other notable results include high stage finishes in all three Grand Tours as well as second places in both in both Milan–San Remo and Gent–Wevelgem in 2002. Rodriguez participated in all three Grand Tours including the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España one time each where he had multiple stage podiums in the Vuelta and won stage 9 of the 2004 Giro d'Italia. He started the Tour de France seven times finishing it twice, and while he never won any stages he was often competitive on sprint stages with several top 5's.
Rodriguez retired at the end of the 2015 season
