Help for a MX mum

Becky_Bennett
Edited Date/Time 4/18/2019 11:29pm
My daughter is an amazing rider, she has been on a bike since 3 and loves riding as much as we do. As she has just turned 6 we put her in for her first championship. First round was great 2nd round she crashed and hurt herself, the first time ever since she's been riding she asked to pull in, it must have hurt. Since then we can't no-matter what we try get her to ride properly again. She's riding worse than when she was 4. Whiskey throttle is back, she's going so slow that she looses balance and falls over. It's so so different to where she was 2 months ago. I guess I'm after advice on what to do and how I can build that confidence again. I don't want to let her compete shell hurt herself like this!
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rongi#401
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rongi#401 4/17/2019 10:14pm
4/17/2019 10:14pm
But in all seriousness, maybe explain to her that going so slowly is actually more dangerous.
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ledger
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ledger 4/17/2019 10:15pm
4/17/2019 10:15pm
She's 6 y/o and it's been only two months...give her more time.
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Becky_Bennett 4/18/2019 12:41am
4/18/2019 12:41am
ledger wrote:
She's 6 y/o and it's been only two months...give her more time.
Totally agree, I've tried to get her to slow down and take a break but she won't she wants to race and gets really upset when I tell her she cant.
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bw56
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bw56 4/18/2019 1:01am
4/18/2019 1:01am Edited Date/Time 4/18/2019 1:01am
Reinforce that she is riding for fun, and to enjoy what she is doing. Maybe try to change up the riding. Take her trail riding, or to the desert. Have her focus on technique rather than speed. Make small challenges for her. Have her stand up around the entire track, or work on corners, or braking, or starts. If it’s possible, have her ride more often, this might lessen the anxiety, and anticipation of the next ride. Lastly give her time, it takes us all a bit to return to normal after a hard crash.
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Chains
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Chains 4/18/2019 1:55am
4/18/2019 1:55am
Great advice bw56
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Underground 4/18/2019 3:46am
4/18/2019 3:46am
You can't win the Loretta Lynn's in 2 months, but you definitely can loose the will to ride
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Harry Backmon 4/18/2019 4:33am
4/18/2019 4:33am
Chains wrote:
Great advice bw56
It is good advice, but I think they're going to struggle with finding any desert in GBR.
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whateversclever69 4/18/2019 4:58am
4/18/2019 4:58am Edited Date/Time 4/18/2019 4:59am
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto push their kids way too hard and in the end it’s for absolutely nothing.

They thinly veil it in this “I expect a lot out of you because you’re capable” attitude but this sport is not baseball. The consequence for injury is serious and frankly it will drive a wedge in the relationship.

Let her get back to where she was whenever she’s ready, even if that’s never.
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VetMX.com
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VetMX.com 4/18/2019 6:10am
4/18/2019 6:10am
Take the seat off of her bike so she learns to ride standing up well. Work on skill sets to boost her confidence and tell her when she is riding well again she can race again. Main thing is to not pressure her and let her come back at her own pace as long as she is riding safely.
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peltier626
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peltier626 4/18/2019 6:43am
4/18/2019 6:43am
Quit racing, let her ride again when she's ready and do it for the fun of it. At that age it should be all about her enjoying it and enjoying the bonding time between the family.
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DB505
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DB505 4/18/2019 7:10am
4/18/2019 7:10am
peltier626 wrote:
Quit racing, let her ride again when she's ready and do it for the fun of it. At that age it should be all about her...
Quit racing, let her ride again when she's ready and do it for the fun of it. At that age it should be all about her enjoying it and enjoying the bonding time between the family.
AGREED!
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mattyhamz2 4/18/2019 7:32am
4/18/2019 7:32am
peltier626 wrote:
Quit racing, let her ride again when she's ready and do it for the fun of it. At that age it should be all about her...
Quit racing, let her ride again when she's ready and do it for the fun of it. At that age it should be all about her enjoying it and enjoying the bonding time between the family.
DB505 wrote:
AGREED!
Double agreed
slipdog
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slipdog 4/18/2019 7:49am
4/18/2019 7:49am
I tell my kids to go faster or I'm sicking the Pit Bulls on them. Loretta's here we come!!!



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GrayB163
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GrayB163 4/18/2019 7:52am
4/18/2019 7:52am
whateversclever69 wrote:
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto...
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto push their kids way too hard and in the end it’s for absolutely nothing.

They thinly veil it in this “I expect a lot out of you because you’re capable” attitude but this sport is not baseball. The consequence for injury is serious and frankly it will drive a wedge in the relationship.

Let her get back to where she was whenever she’s ready, even if that’s never.
boat im in now. My dad pushed me straight out of it and drove a big wedge between us. tread lightly, not everyone can be factory
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Falcon
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Falcon 4/18/2019 9:05am
4/18/2019 9:05am
Do the time-honored peewee parent thing:

1) Drink a lot of beer
2) Tell your kid to go faster or you're selling the bike
3) Tell your kid to shut up before you give her something to really cry about


Actually, forget that. Just let her ride for fun for a while. Practice some corners and teach her proper form. Just make sure it's fun and the confidence will come back.
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Sleapy
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Sleapy 4/18/2019 9:40am
4/18/2019 9:40am
She's 6. I remember once I looped out on a start on my 65 (1st gear tapped) and landed straight on my butt, I wouldn't do starts again for 4 months. Every time my dad tried to get me to practice a start I would start crying because I was so scared to loop out again. It just takes time.
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Tracktor
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Tracktor 4/18/2019 11:08am
4/18/2019 11:08am
Yep, all about having fun. My boys and I have focused on fun first & they have done pretty well in moto. That said, if they want to race = time and money spent they do have to put insome effort and be prepared especially if a bigger event. No point going to the line unprepared as it isn't fun for anyone except maybe your competition. If an injury is causing issues back it off for now and get the stoke back.........
GuyB
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GuyB 4/18/2019 11:22am
4/18/2019 11:22am Edited Date/Time 4/18/2019 11:28am
ledger wrote:
She's 6 y/o and it's been only two months...give her more time.
Becky_Bennett wrote:
Totally agree, I've tried to get her to slow down and take a break but she won't she wants to race and gets really upset when...
Totally agree, I've tried to get her to slow down and take a break but she won't she wants to race and gets really upset when I tell her she cant.
Who's in the driver's seat when it comes to her safety?

As for the folks with the smart-ass advice... Angry

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Falcon
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Falcon 4/18/2019 11:40am
4/18/2019 11:40am
I guess I should have put the [/sarcasm] tag after my post. No way should anyone threaten his or her kid to go faster.
ledger
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ledger 4/18/2019 11:45am
4/18/2019 11:45am
ledger wrote:
She's 6 y/o and it's been only two months...give her more time.
Becky_Bennett wrote:
Totally agree, I've tried to get her to slow down and take a break but she won't she wants to race and gets really upset when...
Totally agree, I've tried to get her to slow down and take a break but she won't she wants to race and gets really upset when I tell her she cant.
GuyB wrote:
Who's in the driver's seat when it comes to her safety?

As for the folks with the smart-ass advice... Angry
My reply was not meant to be smart-ass, just a suggestion that worked for my son in a similar situation.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 4/18/2019 11:45am
4/18/2019 11:45am
Does she have any friends she can ride with? Sometimes, the social dynamic of riding with friends makes all the other “brain clutter” go away.

If not...

Take some time off to let the fear fade away.
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GuyB
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GuyB 4/18/2019 11:47am
4/18/2019 11:47am
ledger wrote:
My reply was not meant to be smart-ass, just a suggestion that worked for my son in a similar situation.
The ones that were smart-ass are now missing. Yours is still there. Smile
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Hoseclamp
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Hoseclamp 4/18/2019 11:53am
4/18/2019 11:53am
TeamGreen wrote:
Does she have any friends she can ride with? Sometimes, the social dynamic of riding with friends makes all the other “brain clutter” go away. If...
Does she have any friends she can ride with? Sometimes, the social dynamic of riding with friends makes all the other “brain clutter” go away.

If not...

Take some time off to let the fear fade away.
You might be onto something. We all know riding with friends is more fun than riding alone. One kid might go pound laps by himself if he has noone to ride with, another kid might go play on the swingset with the other kids rather than ride alone. Keeping it fun is probably the most important part and friends always make it more fun.
Rickyisms 4/18/2019 11:57am
4/18/2019 11:57am
Fun before everything. In no way am I saying my dad has ever been a bad dad or mentor but there were some races where I just wasn't feeling it and couldn't get my groove and didn't do as well as both of us expected me to and he would definitely pressure me more on those days which made it even worse for me. Looking back now I realize my dad put a lot on the to take me racing, there was a lot of other things he could've done those weekends with all that money and in the end he just wanted the best for me and for me to accomplish all my goals. Sometimes seeing red is a real thing and it's hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes when it comes to doing something like motocross where there is always that chance of something scary happening. Last year I wadded hard when my bike cut out on the face of a tiny double and I went OTB and knocked myself out and went numb below the hips, pretty damn scary even at 17 and didn't even want to ride for a month.

All i'm saying is be easy on her, Im sure you want her to do well, and she wants to do well, but anybody who rides a dirt bike started it for fun so you have to do it for fun. This season I started late in the season and my dad hasn't put near as much pressure as he usually does and due to my consistency in every race I have the championship locked one race early. Your girl is 6 anyways, she has so many more years ahead of her to find her speed and you should really just enjoy being able to spend days with her doing what she loves.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 4/18/2019 12:11pm
4/18/2019 12:11pm
Funny...”Mum”...
Just realized we were in “British Mode”.
So a mom, in The King’s Land...is doing it right.
Nice.
Carry on, Dear Lady.
1
whateversclever69 4/18/2019 12:26pm
4/18/2019 12:26pm
whateversclever69 wrote:
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto...
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto push their kids way too hard and in the end it’s for absolutely nothing.

They thinly veil it in this “I expect a lot out of you because you’re capable” attitude but this sport is not baseball. The consequence for injury is serious and frankly it will drive a wedge in the relationship.

Let her get back to where she was whenever she’s ready, even if that’s never.
GrayB163 wrote:
boat im in now. My dad pushed me straight out of it and drove a big wedge between us. tread lightly, not everyone can be factory
It’s so sad. My dad was a controlling dude with a serious temper my entire life, but when we raced he was so aware of the consequences that it was the only time in my life that he was supportive and calm and said the right things. Motocross was my escape from a lot of things and also gave me an entirely different version of my father than he was anywhere away from the track. I think that’s why I love motocross more than anything else I’ve ever done.
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slipdog
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slipdog 4/18/2019 12:38pm
4/18/2019 12:38pm
Since my post is still up I hope it was obvious to all that I'm in agreeance that it is supposed to be fun not scary. My twins are 7 and we have CRF50s, a PW80 and a Cobra. They prefer the CRF and PW so the Cobra sits collecting dust because at their age I just want them to enjoy themselves.
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peltier626
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peltier626 4/18/2019 12:43pm
4/18/2019 12:43pm
Seems like a common reoccurrence. Fun and Family.
GrayB163
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GrayB163 4/18/2019 12:45pm
4/18/2019 12:45pm
whateversclever69 wrote:
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto...
Just make sure she’s having fun. Racing is cool and usually fun, but riding is where it’s really at. A huge portion of parents in moto push their kids way too hard and in the end it’s for absolutely nothing.

They thinly veil it in this “I expect a lot out of you because you’re capable” attitude but this sport is not baseball. The consequence for injury is serious and frankly it will drive a wedge in the relationship.

Let her get back to where she was whenever she’s ready, even if that’s never.
GrayB163 wrote:
boat im in now. My dad pushed me straight out of it and drove a big wedge between us. tread lightly, not everyone can be factory
whateversclever69 wrote:
It’s so sad. My dad was a controlling dude with a serious temper my entire life, but when we raced he was so aware of the...
It’s so sad. My dad was a controlling dude with a serious temper my entire life, but when we raced he was so aware of the consequences that it was the only time in my life that he was supportive and calm and said the right things. Motocross was my escape from a lot of things and also gave me an entirely different version of my father than he was anywhere away from the track. I think that’s why I love motocross more than anything else I’ve ever done.
Im just now at the age where i live alone, can take myself to the track, and got my first new bike on my own (with a cosigner) and getting into it for myself again. Were doing better now and miss all the time we spent together so im sure hell make a few appearances at the track with me now, but definitely not the same vibe as before.

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