I've trained many young racers between the ages of eight and 16, and you know what? They're not that different from us.
Racer kids aren't fearless and they aren't irresponsible. Nor do they have different problems-as in good or bad riding habits-than grown-ups. Fact is, they grasp the game of racing on a much finer level than most adults, and tend to play it to the hilt.
I'll grant you that kids look at their racebikes as toys. Then again, so do many grown-ups. Unlike them, kids aren't interested in seeing who dies with the most. To them, who beat you is who beat you; who wins is who wins. As the old racers used to say, "When the green flag drops, the BS stops." But with kids, racing takes the social implications of that statement much further.
Once you've observed an eight-year-old addressing a 16-year-old-who he has just smoked on the track-as an equal, despite their 2-foot difference in stature, you've observed what a truly extraordinary activity racing is. In no other competitive activity, comprised of this level of demands-both physical and mental-is this to be observed. Think of the self esteem you might have experienced as a pre-teen should you have been able to speak, with mutual respect, to not only teenagers but full-on grown-ups.
Talk about fitting in. Talk about peer pressure. Talk about kids doing drugs because it is grown-up and cool. No! Rather, talk about setting goals. Talk about the ultimate parental leverage to maintain good grades. Talk about the crystal-clear lessons in reality that being older isn't better, freer or rife with more opportunities. Or, or, or...
As a social equalizer, playing-field leveler or hard-edged life lesson, racing cannot be beat. Talk about a game with role models. Talk about one with opinion leaders who are living clean, productive lives. Talk about one where access to the secrets of interactive social life is as raw as it gets, and you are still talking about racing. Talk about arguably the world's most demanding, multi-tasking sport. Talk about an activity where all symptoms of ADD and ADHD evaporate with the starting-grid smoke. Talk about teen and sub-teen rebellion; honestly, what would your kid rebel against if he or she was racing?
One of the young racers Keith...
One of the young racers Keith Code has trained is 11-year-old, nine-time national champion Peter Lenz.
Dangerous? Sure it is. So are cheerleading and football. Indeed, in 2004 there were over 28,000 hospital admittances for cheerleading mishaps. And a few years ago, in the UK alone, there were 408,000 emergency room admittances from football [meaning soccer] accidents-though admittedly some of these likely resulted from over-served fans in the stands.
Now, let's look at some proportion here. A 75-pound 11-year-old on a used, sub-$10,000, standard 125cc racebike can get into and through some corners at speeds on par with Valentino Rossi's multi-million-dollar 800cc MotoGP racer. We aren't playing around here; racing is not a game that is toned down so kids can play, too. The ground is just as hard; the corner speeds are just as real; the lean angles just as steep; the brakes will still bring the rear tire off the ground.
Children are not easier to train than adults. They come with all the same instinctual liabilities, often mislabeled as bad habits. Even an accomplished 13-year-old "veteran" racer can take a dozen training days to overcome something as outwardly simple as good body position on the bike. Kids advance with good training and focused coaching on the fundamental technical skills of riding, just like us.