Ramp Up Community Update: February 2026
Ramp Up families,
Mike and Christine here with our first ever Ramp Up Community Update. As we enter the next phase of Ramp Up, one of our goals is to pull back the curtain and share where the organization stands and where we’re heading.
Please read this update in its entirety, as it includes significant changes to our upcoming spring and summer offerings.
Gratitude for Our Community
First and foremost, thank you. Ramp Up exists because of the families who trusted us, showed up, asked questions, gave feedback, and supported this work over the past several years.
Whether your child participated in lessons or camps, you stopped to talk with us at an event, or you followed along online, your input has shaped what Ramp Up has become. Watching kids build skills, confidence, and friendships through skateboarding has been an absolute privilege, and it continues to motivate everything we do.
Impact So Far
In our first full year, we were blown away when Ramp Up served 94 kids. Now, two years later, we’ve skated with more than 800, supported by a team of 14 assistant coaches.
We’ve partnered with 12 schools, municipalities, and small businesses to bring skateboarding instruction into communities, with or without access to a skatepark.
Additionally ~33% of our participants have been female, roughly double the reported national rate for skateboarding. We’re proud of the inclusive environment our community has helped create.
By many measures, this first chapter has been a success: strong partners, sold out classes and camps, and a fun, safe curriculum that delivers results.
The Challenge We’re Facing
We find ourselves at an inflection point where growth has created a new problem. While Coach Mike may be one of Ramp Up’s great strengths, at this stage, he’s also the primary limiting factor in how much programming we can sustainably offer.
Following our family’s move from Chester County to Lancaster last spring, this bottleneck became painfully obvious. In 2025 alone, Mike drove more than 8,700 miles to teach sessions, with over 90% of that travel occurring after our move.
As long as Mike remains the only lead coach, we cannot sustain our current growth trajectory.
A Necessary Shift in Focus
To address this, our top priority for the coming year will be to build and publish a comprehensive, open-source skateboard coaching curriculum.
After more than 300 sessions, we have extensive documentation on what works, what doesn’t, and how beginners learn best. We believe this system can be clearly defined and reproduced.
This curriculum will include lesson plans, activity guides, equipment recommendations, and video examples. We’ll be documenting the process on Instagram and YouTube for those who want to follow along. Follow and subscribe for updates.
This work is critical because it will:
Allow us to test and improve our teaching methods.
Serve as a training foundation for future coaches.
Help us connect with potential coaches and like-minded partners who can support our long-term growth.
What This Means for 2026 Programming
Focusing on this work means we need to pull back in other areas. Specifically, we’re making the following changes:
Spring Programming
Beginning April 2026, the bulk of our programming will be moving away from Chester County and towards the greater Lancaster area. Please refer to our website for the most up to date program schedule.Pause on Summer Camp 2026
We will not be running Ramp Up summer camps in 2026. Those families already registered for summer camp will be notified and refunded.
We understand that these changes may be disappointing for families who were hoping to participate again this year. Please know that these have been the toughest decisions we’ve had to make as a team.
Looking Ahead
Ramp Up is not going away or slowing down. We’re focusing our time and energy locally in order to double down on the best-in-class experience that families have come to expect.
With the new curriculum, we’ll be in a better position to return to Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, Lehigh counties and beyond. For now, our footprint will continue to expand in the greater Lancaster area.
We’re deeply grateful for your trust and support, and we’ll continue to share openly as this next chapter unfolds.
Thank you for being part of our origin story,
Mike & Christine
