Inside Story: Tony Alessi Interview

JBlain619
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JBlain619 10/27/2011 9:01am
10/27/2011 9:01am
MtnBoy wrote:
Man, I know that Tony has probably done some dumb stuff and comes across as an ass in Inside the Outdoors (which a lot of could...
Man, I know that Tony has probably done some dumb stuff and comes across as an ass in Inside the Outdoors (which a lot of could be editing) but I can't believe the lack of respect he gets.

Afterall, he did raise two of the best motocross racers in America, he must have some idea what he's doing right?
Sherwood wrote:
I think that's the problem people have with Tony. His program hasn't worked sense like 2004 at Lake Whitney but he still swears by it. Your...
I think that's the problem people have with Tony.

His program hasn't worked sense like 2004 at Lake Whitney but he still swears by it.

Your kid crashes and says he broke his shoulder and your more concerned about what caused the crash.
downandup wrote:
^^^this. And, why should you respect a guy just because he raised two kids to ride motocross?? I would rather respect a guy if he raised...
^^^this.

And, why should you respect a guy just because he raised two kids to ride motocross??

I would rather respect a guy if he raised two kids who were bright, articulate, moral, well mannered, and helped other people. Call me old skool.
I spoke to a buddy of mine that worked with and rode with the Alessi's when they first turned pro and asked him his take on it all. He likes them, (which says a lot, bc he doesn't like anyone) said that Tony doesn't act like he knows everything. Tony asks a lot of questions and is like a sponge for information. He did say that Tony is super intense and takes things a little over-the-top sometimes but at the end of the day, he wants the best for and from his boys.

As far as for Mike and Jeff, he said he hasn't met any two nicer, respectful kids coming into the pro's than those two. So I guess you can respect Tony.

***Everyone makes mistakes, wether you chose to forgive them is up to you.
BobbyM
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BobbyM 10/27/2011 10:22am
10/27/2011 10:22am
Rockwell wrote:
We worked with the Alessi family at the MEC. I can tell you that they were a pleasure to work with. It took a ton of...
We worked with the Alessi family at the MEC. I can tell you that they were a pleasure to work with. It took a ton of planning to get it together in less than 3 weeks. Tony was awesome to work with. He was very good to get us the info we needed to get pit shirts, posters and other things ready. Mike was great and really pushed Rockwell for us. Tony and Mike were both very appreciative and made sure the told us thanks many times. Jeff was also a class act helping out the family and he also wrote us a nice note. Danielle and her family were great to have in the semi. I really enjoyed working with the Alessi family and wish them the best of luck.
Crash82 wrote:
Someone who actually knows them, facts. Not some pissed back of the pack D class rider like Bona. Thanks for posting that, i am sick of...
Someone who actually knows them, facts. Not some pissed back of the pack D class rider like Bona. Thanks for posting that, i am sick of this open season on Alessi shit.
lmao...gotta go with you on that one.
BobbyM
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BobbyM 10/27/2011 10:25am
10/27/2011 10:25am
BobbyM wrote:
sorry man....i didn't realize yer the resident badass. :) look, i respect you and like you but you sound and act and appear to be a...
sorry man....i didn't realize yer the resident badass. Smile

look, i respect you and like you but you sound and act and appear to be a knowitall jackass...which i'm sure isn't true.
JBlain619 wrote:
Ddn't claim to be a badass, but if thats what you wanna call it then fine. As far as a knowitall jackass, it depends on who...
Ddn't claim to be a badass, but if thats what you wanna call it then fine. As far as a knowitall jackass, it depends on who you ask.
clueless in seattle?
MtnBoy
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MtnBoy 10/27/2011 10:37am
10/27/2011 10:37am
downandup wrote:
^^^this. And, why should you respect a guy just because he raised two kids to ride motocross?? I would rather respect a guy if he raised...
^^^this.

And, why should you respect a guy just because he raised two kids to ride motocross??

I would rather respect a guy if he raised two kids who were bright, articulate, moral, well mannered, and helped other people. Call me old skool.
I guess I was talking about respect in more of a motocross aspect, Tony constantly gets put down by people that don't know shit about moto compared to him.

Like him or not, the guy knows more about moto and how to be successful at it than 99.9% of people.

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txmxer
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txmxer 10/27/2011 10:38am
10/27/2011 10:38am
BobbyM wrote:
sorry man....i didn't realize yer the resident badass. :) look, i respect you and like you but you sound and act and appear to be a...
sorry man....i didn't realize yer the resident badass. Smile

look, i respect you and like you but you sound and act and appear to be a knowitall jackass...which i'm sure isn't true.
JBlain619 wrote:
Ddn't claim to be a badass, but if thats what you wanna call it then fine. As far as a knowitall jackass, it depends on who...
Ddn't claim to be a badass, but if thats what you wanna call it then fine. As far as a knowitall jackass, it depends on who you ask.
booby is the resident X-spurt on being a know-it-all jackass. Just ask him anything. If The Man himself came on here and posted anonymously, booby would be calling him a jizzjuggler before the thread was sent to the dumbgeon.
Mod Killer
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Mod Killer 10/27/2011 10:47am
10/27/2011 10:47am Edited Date/Time 10/27/2011 2:29pm
tyler durden wrote:
they say that the stone-age sport of motocross is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. As a fellow cyclist, I can tell you thats not...
they say that the stone-age sport of motocross is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. As a fellow cyclist, I can tell you thats not quite the case with most other sports.

So, what good is Tony's program if it neglects or downright harms 70 percent of the equation??
all things considered, i think all racing (or all sports for that matter) are 90% mental.

i dont think Tony's program harms a rider mentally. I think it makes a athlete stronger. ive seen a lil of how the alessi program works. ive been around other top athletes in their field. i have a somewhat better perspective to judge from dontcha think?

i think most are distracted by the fact that it is a father/son deal. and the fact that most in moto, only know moto.

like i said, all mike needs is a little momentum and you'll see a very strong athlete out there. all that kid did was win for years and years and years. it wouldnt take much to find that form again. take '08 outdoors for example. injuries in the pro's are not a result of mike being mentally weak. the very fact that he has came back as strong as he has each time is evidence of that.
dkg
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dkg 10/27/2011 10:57am
10/27/2011 10:57am
Mod Killer wrote:
simply put, a lot of the flack tony gets is undeserved. but the fact of the matter is, if youre a alessi hater, aint nothing gonna...
simply put, a lot of the flack tony gets is undeserved. but the fact of the matter is, if youre a alessi hater, aint nothing gonna change that.

tony is a winner. his program is a winning program. it would win in any other sport. it is intense and thorough. ive personally witnessed a lil of how the alessi program operates. i am a fan. but i also have experience with world champ ufc heavyweights, superbowl winning nfl players, nba players, college basketball, semi-pro baseball, my own racing experiences at an international level, cat-2 cyclists, and numerous world champs in various motorsports. because of my experiences being around some of the best of the best, im used to the type of program that tony runs. its on par with any other sport.

but in the stone-age world of mx, tony seems like the crazy guy. he isnt. its the rest of the sport needs to catch up. there are a lot of talented riders that would really benefit if they ever got on his program, but most are a bunch of un-coachable brats. they wouldnt be able to handle tony's program.

mike takes a lot of shit around here, but he's a couple early wins in a outdoor season, some momentum, and health away from finding his amateur form again and being dominant. its all between his ears....all the kid needs is some momentum and he'd be an absolute handful for the rest.


that write-up jeff alessi wrote that fasteddy posted is pretty cool. pretty well written and introspective. takes some balls to write some shit like that at a place like this. if youre reading this jeff, you got more fans than you think. if your healthy, get focused for once and ride to your potential. you owe it to yourself to see just how great you can be. a lot of people in and outside the industry would love it. and im sure you'd find it pretty gratifying in the end as well.
I don't think I would characterize MX as "Stoneage" or the riders as "un-coachable brats". Tony seems like a pretty intense guy the efficacy of his methods probably depend on the rider. What works for one may not work for another. The only question I have is if it is beneficial to have one's father being this type of trainer. What may seem as a good training philosophy for an athelete may not be a good approach for training in all the non-atheletic aspects of life. With a father as the trainer, it would be difficult to separate these two roles. Anyway, enough said, it is their life and they can live it anyway they want. I am not going to criticize and just offer the above as food for thought.
Roscoe33
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Roscoe33 10/27/2011 11:09am
10/27/2011 11:09am
tyler durden wrote:
they say that the stone-age sport of motocross is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. As a fellow cyclist, I can tell you thats not...
they say that the stone-age sport of motocross is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. As a fellow cyclist, I can tell you thats not quite the case with most other sports.

So, what good is Tony's program if it neglects or downright harms 70 percent of the equation??
Mod Killer wrote:
all things considered, i think all racing (or all sports for that matter) are 90% mental. i dont think Tony's program harms a rider mentally. I...
all things considered, i think all racing (or all sports for that matter) are 90% mental.

i dont think Tony's program harms a rider mentally. I think it makes a athlete stronger. ive seen a lil of how the alessi program works. ive been around other top athletes in their field. i have a somewhat better perspective to judge from dontcha think?

i think most are distracted by the fact that it is a father/son deal. and the fact that most in moto, only know moto.

like i said, all mike needs is a little momentum and you'll see a very strong athlete out there. all that kid did was win for years and years and years. it wouldnt take much to find that form again. take '08 outdoors for example. injuries in the pro's are not a result of mike being mentally weak. the very fact that he has came back as strong as he has each time is evidence of that.
" injuries in the pro's are not a result of mike being mentally weak. the very fact that he has came back as strong as he has each time is evidence of that."

crashes are from losing focus and not being relaxed when he rides, Mikes heart has never been the concern.

Tony is Mikes father and coach, Tony's passion and drive has got Mike to this point, but as a father that same passion and control is Mikes biggest weakness in reaching his potential.

Mike will never become his own racer with Tony yelling over his shoulder.
Mod Killer
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Mod Killer 10/27/2011 11:10am
10/27/2011 11:10am Edited Date/Time 10/27/2011 11:12am
dkg wrote:
I don't think I would characterize MX as "Stoneage" or the riders as "un-coachable brats". Tony seems like a pretty intense guy the efficacy of his...
I don't think I would characterize MX as "Stoneage" or the riders as "un-coachable brats". Tony seems like a pretty intense guy the efficacy of his methods probably depend on the rider. What works for one may not work for another. The only question I have is if it is beneficial to have one's father being this type of trainer. What may seem as a good training philosophy for an athelete may not be a good approach for training in all the non-atheletic aspects of life. With a father as the trainer, it would be difficult to separate these two roles. Anyway, enough said, it is their life and they can live it anyway they want. I am not going to criticize and just offer the above as food for thought.
the role tony plays is quite normal in nearly every other contemporary sport. some argue its faults in these other sports, but its hard to argue the results. tony is no marv marinovich.

to your credit, at some point, in other sports, the athlete is usually handed off to another coach or program by the time they are semi-pro (college etc).

with exception of the Pro Circuit Lites program, mx doesnt have that sort of infrastructure. the teams are not the best environment to hand off a kid to. too much money and distractions to let a 17 year old pro mx'er off his leash.

if you think RC's mom was any less intense, or that dungey's personal program is any less rigorous or regimented i think you'd be mistaken.


as for your questions as to whether their approach prepares them for the rest of their life? winning is winning. i dont think there is any better or easier way to enstill good work ethic and whatnot in a kid than with sports. the alessi boys are good kids.
dkg
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dkg 10/27/2011 11:42am
10/27/2011 11:42am Edited Date/Time 10/27/2011 11:43am
Mod Killer wrote:
the role tony plays is quite normal in nearly every other contemporary sport. some argue its faults in these other sports, but its hard to argue...
the role tony plays is quite normal in nearly every other contemporary sport. some argue its faults in these other sports, but its hard to argue the results. tony is no marv marinovich.

to your credit, at some point, in other sports, the athlete is usually handed off to another coach or program by the time they are semi-pro (college etc).

with exception of the Pro Circuit Lites program, mx doesnt have that sort of infrastructure. the teams are not the best environment to hand off a kid to. too much money and distractions to let a 17 year old pro mx'er off his leash.

if you think RC's mom was any less intense, or that dungey's personal program is any less rigorous or regimented i think you'd be mistaken.


as for your questions as to whether their approach prepares them for the rest of their life? winning is winning. i dont think there is any better or easier way to enstill good work ethic and whatnot in a kid than with sports. the alessi boys are good kids.
I agree with virtually everything you have said above. I don't question that both RC and Ryan's training programs are very intense. Sports are very effective and beneficial for development. I didn't really question the ability of their approach to prepare them for the rest of their lifes. I have absolutely no way of even evaluating this and thankfull for both us and the Alessi family the various media outlets have not published this part of their lifes. My only observation is that it would be difficult to draw a mental distinction between dad, the trainer, and dad, the father. The difficulty with minors (or even adults in a lot of cases) coming in to "stardom" and a lot of financial resources is not something unique to this sport. It is a difficult manage effectively. The train wrecks are shown to us daily care of TV. I sure don't have an answer to this. Frankly though, it seems it would take a combination of family support and guidance in combination with the teams. In the Alessi's case these two are merged. I am sure this presents an unique set of circumstances. Difficult to manage and I wish the Alessi family the best.
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DanDunes818 10/27/2011 2:17pm
10/27/2011 2:17pm
Rockwell wrote:
We worked with the Alessi family at the MEC. I can tell you that they were a pleasure to work with. It took a ton of...
We worked with the Alessi family at the MEC. I can tell you that they were a pleasure to work with. It took a ton of planning to get it together in less than 3 weeks. Tony was awesome to work with. He was very good to get us the info we needed to get pit shirts, posters and other things ready. Mike was great and really pushed Rockwell for us. Tony and Mike were both very appreciative and made sure the told us thanks many times. Jeff was also a class act helping out the family and he also wrote us a nice note. Danielle and her family were great to have in the semi. I really enjoyed working with the Alessi family and wish them the best of luck.
These are the stories I consistently hear from those that work close with Alessi's, and I seldom hear anything to the contrary.. I definitely understand why may be turned off by his approach towards the boys, but like many have said he has to get some credit for raising two boys that can compete with the worlds best MX racers..
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NetMXer 10/27/2011 2:24pm
10/27/2011 2:24pm
At least next season of Inside the Outdoors should be interesting.
UpTiTe
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UpTiTe 10/27/2011 3:04pm
10/27/2011 3:04pm
Nice interview as always Danny. I love tony, he is always a good interview.
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RaceFace 10/27/2011 3:37pm
10/27/2011 3:37pm
FastEddy wrote:
Pretty good interview with Tony touching on a few recent things and 2012. http://www.motoxaddicts.com/2011/10/26/inside-story-tony-alessi-2/ Quote from Tony...regarding the MEC & Dungey. "[i]Mike Alessi’s job is to...
Pretty good interview with Tony touching on a few recent things and 2012.

http://www.motoxaddicts.com/2011/10/26/inside-story-tony-alessi-2/

Quote from Tony...regarding the MEC & Dungey.
"Mike Alessi’s job is to beat the other guys and any way he can do that. We’re not rolling over, we’re not moving over, and Mike Alessi is going to race every guy as hard as he can. And they better get used to it because he’s going to be up near the front, and that’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to race hard. He’s not going to race dirty, but he will race hard, and that’s how it’s going to be."

Good on Tony. Smile
That quote sounds like Tony is subscribing to the George Costanza method......"It isn't a lie if you believe it, Jerry".

On another note if this had about 15 "brothers" thrown in strategically it would sound like the ranting of a wrestler on the WWE.
BobbyM
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BobbyM 10/27/2011 3:49pm
10/27/2011 3:49pm Edited Date/Time 10/27/2011 6:00pm
dkg wrote:
I don't think I would characterize MX as "Stoneage" or the riders as "un-coachable brats". Tony seems like a pretty intense guy the efficacy of his...
I don't think I would characterize MX as "Stoneage" or the riders as "un-coachable brats". Tony seems like a pretty intense guy the efficacy of his methods probably depend on the rider. What works for one may not work for another. The only question I have is if it is beneficial to have one's father being this type of trainer. What may seem as a good training philosophy for an athelete may not be a good approach for training in all the non-atheletic aspects of life. With a father as the trainer, it would be difficult to separate these two roles. Anyway, enough said, it is their life and they can live it anyway they want. I am not going to criticize and just offer the above as food for thought.
Mod Killer wrote:
the role tony plays is quite normal in nearly every other contemporary sport. some argue its faults in these other sports, but its hard to argue...
the role tony plays is quite normal in nearly every other contemporary sport. some argue its faults in these other sports, but its hard to argue the results. tony is no marv marinovich.

to your credit, at some point, in other sports, the athlete is usually handed off to another coach or program by the time they are semi-pro (college etc).

with exception of the Pro Circuit Lites program, mx doesnt have that sort of infrastructure. the teams are not the best environment to hand off a kid to. too much money and distractions to let a 17 year old pro mx'er off his leash.

if you think RC's mom was any less intense, or that dungey's personal program is any less rigorous or regimented i think you'd be mistaken.


as for your questions as to whether their approach prepares them for the rest of their life? winning is winning. i dont think there is any better or easier way to enstill good work ethic and whatnot in a kid than with sports. the alessi boys are good kids.
imho i think tony should keep doing what he's been doing except for one thing.

replace critisism with praise

replace could have done better with could have done waaay worse.


replace disappointment on his face and body lanquage with excitement and a we'll get em next week and a few i love you sons in between too.
DanDunes818
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DanDunes818 10/27/2011 9:12pm
10/27/2011 9:12pm
UpTiTe wrote:
Nice interview as always Danny. I love tony, he is always a good interview.
Thanks Mike!! Anyone that really knows Tony feels that way.. What the public sees and what is reality are always a bit different but in Tony's case it's night and day.. Oh and by the way.. You told me a while back you had photos of myself and Mouse McCoy and Kyle Lewis battling on 60's back in the day and you never sent them.. Some day send them to webmaster@motoXaddicts

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