MOTOVATE
The MOTOVATE Story
Michael Riley wanted a program that was evidence based and used dirt bikes as the activity to connect with youth. Michael recognized that some children were not interested in traditional sports and didn't respond to other types of youth services, but the lure of the outdoors and the chance to experience riding off-road motorcycles was very exciting. A close friend told him about the National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM) began in 1969 as an innovative way to engage youth and promote positive youth development. Integral to NYPUM's design is an essential mentoring component that guides and supports youth to make good decisions, all centered on exciting and challenging activities. Michael then transformed So Col Racing into a 501 c3 non profit to bring the NYPUM program to Southern Colorado. In fall of 2016 Michael picked up 14 brand new dirt bikes from Sun Enterprises. Since that day Southern Colorado Youth Development has worked with over 200 youth in the Southern Colorado area.
In January of 2021 SCYD was informed that Honda was going to discontinue supporting the NYPUM program on a national level so that was when MOTOVATE came to be.
MOTOVATE combines the incentive of riding minibikes for youth between the ages of 10 and 21, and the love of the outdoors with the support that comes with the relationships that develop among participants and their mentors. Since its inception, MOTOVATE has proven to be highly effective at helping youth; whether at-risk or not, youth that have challenges with their behavior or academic performance can be positively affected by a MOTOVATE experience. In more recent years, MOTOVATE has demonstrated that it is also valuable as a prevention program to motivate youth to make positive choices. This versatility makes MOTOVATE adaptable to almost any youth development issue.
How it works
We take mentoring for a ride.
The world of youth programming is boundless and substantial in its offerings; which also makes the case for its value and impact ambiguous at times. Many types of programming are too specific to effectively address the needs of kids, and others are to general; thus, the potential explanation for why there are so many types of programming in support of positive youth development.
MOTOVATE leverages that same uncertainty to its benefit by being “adaptive programming”. It would be difficult to find, and then compare other youth programming to what MOTOVATE’s impact remains to the “whole youth” for the last 48 years. In our own comparisons with different types of programming that seeks to reach the same outcome; such as hiking or archery, MOTOVATE has consistently proven to affect the youth’s social, emotional and psychological development positively and all in one place.
The idea that MOTOVATE is adaptive programming means that it is something that can be adjusted for impacting different outcome expectations. While the core idea is to put kids together with a caring adult, a trail bike, and learn how to care for and safely ride in the outdoors; the purpose is to allow them to build self-esteem and self-discipline. They also discover that they can work together with others and often display leadership. The process of MOTOVATE programming creates that all at once.