With two seasons under their belts, our coaches are busy preparing for a great 2019 season!
We are deeply grateful to all of you who made our team such a great success. We could not have done it without YOUR support.
Meet The DUST2 Coaches:
Janine Emmets, Executive Director of Teams
Janine’s love for the outdoors began as a child. She would spend hours out in the woods in Upstate NY playing with her cousins between doing barn chores on the dairy farm. When she wasn’t playing in the woods or doing chores, she would be riding her bike in the farm driveway and pop as many wheelies as possible in all the pot holes. Janine’s experience with mountain biking started in college but she didn’t start seriously mountain biking until 2007, when she fell in love with the sport. She taught mountain biking to teens at an outdoor adventure center in Virginia for two years and then moved to Boulder, CO in 2009. She worked for Avid 4 Adventure for 6 years, teaching all outdoor sports but focused on biking. She instructed and directed at Valmont Bike Park in Boulder and loved every second of it. She is now one of the co-owners at Pagosa Mountain Sports. Her passion to get kids outside and active emanates from her and she is excited to help launch Pagosa Springs’ first youth cycling team!
Amanda Gadomski, Coach
Amanda is originally from the Chicago suburbs. Graduating from Northern Michigan University is when she gained her love for the beautiful outdoors. It wasn’t until her first trip to Montana in 2006 that she discovered her enthusiasm for biking. Shortly after that trip she moved to Colorado where she started her work with at-risk youth. Seeing kids actively learning new things about the outdoors and tackling obstacles outside their comfort zones inspired her to be a positive role model. The longer she has lived in Colorado the more exploring and adventuring she has done. While in Boulder, Colorado she worked for Avid4 Adventure at the Valmont bike park. Teaching kids about biking is not only about having fun, it is about instilling confidences in the rider and helping them develop their skills. Amanda is now a co-owner of Pagosa Mountain Sports. She is passionate about giving kids the opportunity to ride bikes within the community.
Mat Wolford, Coach
My name is Mat Wolford,
I was born in North Carolina, FT Bragg – 82nd Airborne base.
I grew up in Southern California, San Diego.
Before going to college I served in the US Navy as a Search and Rescue Diver onboard the USS Topeka (fast attack submarine).
After the Navy I attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where I played Rugby, and raced on their Triathlon team.
After graduation I started working for Avid4Adventure, guiding and instructing youth mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, and rock climbing.
I now work at Pagosa Springs Elementary as a 3rd grade teacher, and a coach with the schools CATCH On!/SRTS program.
I currently race criterium road races, endurance road races, cyclocross, 12 and 24 hour mountain bike races, and spend all other free time exploring the San Juan’s with my beautiful wife Lauren, and my two fur babies Abie and Oli.
Enough about me…LETS RIDE!!!!
Lauren Wolford, Coach
I am a Colorado native. I grew up 15 miles south of Breckenridge near the small town of Alma. I graduated from the University of Colorado – Boulder, with my bachelors in Elementary Education and Geography. I love all things outdoors. In the summers you will find me climbing Fourteeners, road and mountain biking, trail running, competing in running, biking races , and spending time with my family and two dogs. In the winter the activity does not stop, instead I bundle up and fight through the cold.
My husband and I currently teach at Pagosa Elementary, where we have also designed and implemented the CATCH program, a program to encourage kids to explore and get outdoors safely.
Andy Guinn, Coach
Andy grew up outside of Denver with parents that always forced him to do things like camping, hiking, and biking. Although it took awhile, Andy eventually figured out that these activities are awesome and now tries to find as many ways as he can to be outside. While working on his masters in math at CU Boulder, Andy coached ultimate frisbee and worked as a teacher assistant and decided he wanted to spend his career working with kids. After getting his teaching license at CSU in Fort Collins, he moved to Pagosa Springs where he quickly fell in love with all of the access to outdoor activities. Andy teaches 8th Grade Math at Pagosa Springs Middle School and started a Mountain Biking class for 8th graders in 2015. He is passionate about showing kids how fun math can be, how fun the outdoors can be and is excited to be a DUST2 coach this year.
Todd Bergdolt, Coach
I was not born in Colorado, but got here as fast as I could. I grew up in a small farming town in Paris, Illinois, attended college at Northwest Missouri State University and Graduate school at Texas State University. This is where I met my amazing wife Stephanie and we began our adventure together, starting off living in Texas for 20 years, then moving to Colorado in 2015 . We have two boys, both of whom race on the Dust2 High School NICA team. I think it is safe to say racing and coaching are in my blood! I have raced Pro Motocross, Downhill Mountain Bike and Off-road motorcycle as well as dabbling in Cross Country and Dual Slalom mountain biking. In Texas I owned a Motocross Training facility where I coached for 10 years, as well as coaching my kids in about every sport they have ever done, and was also a football and strength and conditioning coach at Pagosa Springs Middle School for a bit as well. I still race about anything on two wheels to this day! Throw in some skiing, hiking and a whole lot of back country snowmobiling and you won’t find me in the house any more than I have to be. I thoroughly enjoy working with kids of all ages and seeing them grow as riders and young adults through our great sport of mountain biking. I can’t wait to see what our next season brings. Go Pagosa!!
Lance Thornton, Coach
DUST2 