Vertical Playpen

This episode is an invitation to listen in on a conversation between Lisa Hunt (Manager of Team Development) and Ryan McCormick (Edge of Leadership Director) as they discuss; - Problem Solving - Activity Selection - Advice for educators on how to adapt activities

We made it! Another milestone moment for the podcast! 100 episodes! In this special 100th episode Phil takes us on a journey recalling past moments of the podcast that stand out to him. These include; Examples of recording in the car Inspirational challenge course and facilitation stories A sample of jokes that keep the episodes fun The signature sign-off "Thanks for listening…" from Ella, Phil's...

Tre Gammage joins Phil to discuss; - His work with SEL and how he started in the education - Why teaching educators about SEL is so important tregammage.com seleducators.com

Jill Vialet (Founder of Playworks) joins Phil to discuss her new book; Why Play Works - Big Changes Start Small. In this conversation Jill shares; - Her introduction to play and how she forged a career in this industry - A story about a colleague interacting with a school that didn't have recess - How the research supports the importance of play - The activity that she often ends her programs with...

Tom Percival (author of Ruby Finds a Worry) joins Phil to discuss; - Writing children's books that focus on emotions - What inspired him to write them - The importance of role modeling vulnerability. Find more about Tom - tom-percival.com

Mark Flynn (formally of UCONN and the Four Arrows Challenge Course Program) joins Phil to discuss: - His unusual entry into the industry - How important and transferable facilitation skills are for students - Facilitation Tools vs Props - How language and context matters in our industry Contact Mark - mflynn86@gmail.com

In this episode Phil answers some listener questions; - When do you NOT do warm up or icebreaker activities? - Is there a game you've recently revived and love to play? - Advice and things we wish we would have known before starting a new job in the industry. - ATC vs GRIGRI Submit any questions you may have to podcast@high5adventure.org or DM on instagram @verticalplaypen

Brian (President and Founder of Adventureworks, and also the 2021 ACCT Critical Link Award Recipient), joins Phil to share; - His introduction to the world of Adventure Programming - His perspective on the growth of the industry and changes coming to ACCT - Advice to emerging professionals in the industy Find more at - adventureworks.org

Micheal and Kyle (Social Play Club - thesocialplayclub.com) join Phil to share: - Their introduction to creating immersive social experiences - How they facilitate their social play club on Clubhouse - Tips on facilitating when participants join midway through a program - Their favorite activity to use in an audio-only setting

Jeff Harry (rediscoveryourplay.com) joins Phil to discuss; - Favorite kid's TV shows - How to bring play into the workplace - The benefits that adding play can do for team culture.

In this episode Phil answers some listener questions; - How do you experientially create norms without sitting down and just writing a list? - What are some trends in our industry you hope will not continue? - Pudding vs. Jello? If you have a question for Phil submit them to; - podcast@high5adventure.org - DM on Instagram - @verticalplaypen

Gary Ware (Breakthroughplay.com) joins Phil to talk about; - His 1st experiences of learning through play. - How he brings meaning through play. - What Improv can teach us about play and facilitating play

Clint McCarthy (Associate Professor of Outdoor Education, SUNY Adirondack) chats with Chris Damboise about lessons learned as a younger professional, what students can expect when joining the SUNY program and the impact SUNY Adirondack aims to have in their community.

Brett Johnson, the new owner of Ipswich Town Football Club, joins Phil to discuss why connecting with the supporters matters, qualities of good leadership that are important to him and how empowering your staff makes all the difference. In 2005, Mr. Johnson founded and is the CEO of Benevolent Capital ( www.benevolentcapital.com ), a family office with investments in professional sports teams, rea...

Mike Cardus joins Phil to discuss how Experiential Education informs his work in Organizational Development, how the front loading of activities needs to be adapted when working with corporate audiences and how having hundreds of hula hoops at home can affect how your job is perceived by others. Mike has focused expertise in team building, managerial-leadership, and organization development. Frequ...

Phil joins Phil to discuss qualities that he admires in leaders, why Soccer is truly the "beautiful game" and how it models leadership and life lessons. Phil is the co-host of the How Soccer Explains Leadership podcast and you can find it anywhere podcasts are found as well as their website - howsoccerexplainsleadership.com

Jan Keck joins Phil to discuss how he was introduced to the world of Experiential Learning, what he has learned over the last year about virtual facilitation and how to ask deep and meaningful questions. Learn more about Jan - jankeck.com

In this episode aimed answering your questions, Phil read out some of the podcast reviews and answered the following questions; - Is there room for introverts in facilitation? - How do you stay genuine in a "performancy" profession? - What is your favorite icebreaker question? - Best closing to a single day program? - Most under-appreciated facilitator skill? - What's something you are bad at and...

In this episode, guests David Christian PhD (Assistant Professor of Counselor Education, University of Arkansas) and Danny McCarty PhD (Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, University of South Alabama) discuss; - Adventure Therapy - Adlerian Theory - Their article - "Using an Adventure Therapy Activity to Assess the Adlerian Lifestyle." Links to the article and more can be fou...

This was a live audience episode recorded for the 2021 Virtual BOOST (Best of out-of-school time) Conference. Phil was joined by High 5 Trainer Rich Keegan, Justin McGlamery who is founder and Chief Locus Focuser for Focus Your Locus Teambuilding Training and Development and also Chris Ortiz, the Program Director for the Team Development Center at Shaver's Creek and is an instructor for the Recrea...

This week's guest, Andrew Alexander King, is a surfer, climber and mountaineer who is currently attempting to be the 1st African American to summit the highest mountain and highest volcano on each continent, 14 in total. We discuss how adventure became a part of his life, his thoughts on being a role model and mentor to younger climbers and surfers and what people can do to improve diversity in th...

After both presenting at a conference on 2 different topics Phil and Lisa had this unplanned conversation all about adapting your current activities and the benefits of not revealing too much information when facilitating.

Beth Wonson, Author of Mastering Feedback: Everything You've Never Been Told About Giving Feedback, discusses with our guest host, Lisa Hunt, all about how to give feedback, how to receive feedback and strategies that both work and also don't work. Learn more about Navigating Challenging Dialogue here: ncdsolution.com

In this episode the Training Team (Chris, Lisa, Rich and Phil) discuss common heard terms in the Challenge Course industry and share their views on their appropriateness.  This episode is supported by Atomik Climbing Holds - atomikclimbingholds.com

Vishwas Parchure, Director of the Experiential Leadership Institute in Pune India, discusses with Phil his first experiences with working in the outdoors, his thoughts on conditioning, conduct and consciousness and answers the question; can facilitation be taught? Watch his Ewald and Hahn Address from the 2020 International AEE conference -   You can learn more about Vishwas and the work of the Ex...