Amateur to Pro to Disappear

crt32
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crt32
What is the reason that so many amateurs who eventually jump to the pros disappear after 1 or 2 years? Seems like so many guys will chase the amateur nationals from mini bikes to amateur pro, then theyll go pro, have a bad year or two and then ride off into the sunset. Is it the mental side of it that they cant believe they dedicated so much time and couldnt scratch the top 20 or a financial thing? Finance wise though they spent so much money to get there, I'd think they could afford more than a year of the pro ranks or be able to scrape together enough help? Always baffled me, they have the talent I feel like that if they stuck it out and kept trying to improve they would get into that top 8-15 range. Maybe not worth it? Just blows me away they dedicate so much time and resources then theyre gone, barely to be seen, even on social media.
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yak651
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yak651 5/15/2022 2:46pm
5/15/2022 2:46pm
No support after they turn pro. All the support goes to trying the find the “next big thing”. System is broken but the am promoters get great turn out for the big races so no reason to change
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Leeham
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Leeham 5/15/2022 2:54pm
5/15/2022 2:54pm
A lot of these top amateurs get on the AM factory teams (Star, Team Green, etc.), they have to pay to be on them. Then they turn pro. They have VERY limited time to perform at the pro level before new incoming talent comes in to replace them. 2 years max.

The cost of racing at the top level is insane without factory support. As soon as you lose it, you have to either have deep pockets to buy some God Tier motors to keep up with Factory teams or quit and race local pro.
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FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 5/15/2022 4:14pm
5/15/2022 4:14pm
Not everyone can be best, and when teams believe that about someone opportunities dry up.

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motox11
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motox11 5/15/2022 4:20pm
5/15/2022 4:20pm
The same question can be asked at the local level from kids that go from B to A and can’t cut it. Most quit after a year or two when they aren’t winning like they were.
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The Shop

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APLMAN99
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APLMAN99 5/15/2022 4:29pm
5/15/2022 4:29pm
All sports are this way. There are fewer opportunities and higher levels of competition each step up the ladder.

Take a look at the decline in players in stick and ball sports as you go from high school, to college, to pros…..
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mx313
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mx313 5/15/2022 5:01pm
5/15/2022 5:01pm
Amateur sports you vs your age group.
If your 3-4th best in ams once you go pro your now competing with the last 5+ years. Now they are finishing 15th-20th.
They come up on the factory ams team. Finsh outside the top 10 to much. Lose their contract after 2 years. Race 1 season as a privateer. It costs them way more then they earn and is a lot tougher getting their bike to the track. The bike is a step back from the factory bike. They struggle more and give up.

On this topic. What happened to Sean Cantrell he seemed pretty good.
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lumpy790
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lumpy790 5/15/2022 5:45pm
5/15/2022 5:45pm
Privateers trickle off due to $

To be competitive at the pro level requires spending big money just to be set up to be near competitive. $ needed for Several Tricked out to the max bikes and spare motors. Stock bikes wont cut it when it comes to lap times and Finnish positions. Fuel for race, practice and getting from race to race, Hotels, Food and Im sure there are many more
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LocalDrunk
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LocalDrunk 5/15/2022 5:50pm
5/15/2022 5:50pm
Leeham wrote:
A lot of these top amateurs get on the AM factory teams (Star, Team Green, etc.), they have to pay to be on them. Then they...
A lot of these top amateurs get on the AM factory teams (Star, Team Green, etc.), they have to pay to be on them. Then they turn pro. They have VERY limited time to perform at the pro level before new incoming talent comes in to replace them. 2 years max.

The cost of racing at the top level is insane without factory support. As soon as you lose it, you have to either have deep pockets to buy some God Tier motors to keep up with Factory teams or quit and race local pro.
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a ride. Team green is top heavy with support, unless you’re winning you’re not getting the good stuff. The sports just expensive, hard to justify spending thousands of dollars to go around the country for little to nothing unless you’ve got money to blow.
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Leeham
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Leeham 5/15/2022 6:17pm
5/15/2022 6:17pm
LocalDrunk wrote:
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a...
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a ride. Team green is top heavy with support, unless you’re winning you’re not getting the good stuff. The sports just expensive, hard to justify spending thousands of dollars to go around the country for little to nothing unless you’ve got money to blow.
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You pay to play. Some reason this never ever gets brought up. Levi Kitchen had to pay to get on Rock River Am team. You don't pay for everything, but you pay for the spot.
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SwingHard
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SwingHard 5/15/2022 6:44pm
5/15/2022 6:44pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
All sports are this way. There are fewer opportunities and higher levels of competition each step up the ladder. Take a look at the decline in...
All sports are this way. There are fewer opportunities and higher levels of competition each step up the ladder.

Take a look at the decline in players in stick and ball sports as you go from high school, to college, to pros…..
The reason for declining numbers in baseball is simple, it's become a Country Club sport, Families just can't afford it! I know plenty of Families that spend more on youth/ amateur baseball than it would cost to race motocross for a season! And that's including the cost of the bike!
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APLMAN99
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APLMAN99 5/15/2022 6:48pm
5/15/2022 6:48pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
All sports are this way. There are fewer opportunities and higher levels of competition each step up the ladder. Take a look at the decline in...
All sports are this way. There are fewer opportunities and higher levels of competition each step up the ladder.

Take a look at the decline in players in stick and ball sports as you go from high school, to college, to pros…..
SwingHard wrote:
The reason for declining numbers in baseball is simple, it's become a Country Club sport, Families just can't afford it! I know plenty of Families that...
The reason for declining numbers in baseball is simple, it's become a Country Club sport, Families just can't afford it! I know plenty of Families that spend more on youth/ amateur baseball than it would cost to race motocross for a season! And that's including the cost of the bike!
I’m talking about the numbers as you progress to each level. Each step up weeds out 90% plus of the participants of the previous level.

Even with the decline in baseball participation, only a small fraction of the ‘original’ participants advance to play at each successive level.
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FIREfish148
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FIREfish148 5/15/2022 10:01pm
5/15/2022 10:01pm
I think a lot of guys realize they had to sacrifice everything just to be a pro and realize they’re going to have to sacrifice everything to try and make a living and decide to not go for it. On top of that a lot of guys stop getting funding from their parents after the age of 18.
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jk367
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jk367 5/15/2022 10:15pm
5/15/2022 10:15pm
Pro series cost much more than a few am races a year and usually the riders are getting more support during ams, as in free bikes and races costs covered. It’s shitty to let a guy go after one or two years but that’s what seems to happen more than not and unless the parents are crazy wealthy, running a entire pro series on competitive equipment is just out of most peoples reach. It is a bum deal for all but I’m not sure what would help things? Maybe less am support?
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inthebadboycorner 5/15/2022 10:43pm
5/15/2022 10:43pm
LocalDrunk wrote:
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a...
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a ride. Team green is top heavy with support, unless you’re winning you’re not getting the good stuff. The sports just expensive, hard to justify spending thousands of dollars to go around the country for little to nothing unless you’ve got money to blow.
Leeham wrote:
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You...
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You pay to play. Some reason this never ever gets brought up. Levi Kitchen had to pay to get on Rock River Am team. You don't pay for everything, but you pay for the spot.
I would suggest there might be a two tier system on some of these teams, the very good get the full ride, the not as good can have a ride if they can finance it.

Sounds just like F1.
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LocalDrunk
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LocalDrunk 5/16/2022 6:35am
5/16/2022 6:35am
LocalDrunk wrote:
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a...
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a ride. Team green is top heavy with support, unless you’re winning you’re not getting the good stuff. The sports just expensive, hard to justify spending thousands of dollars to go around the country for little to nothing unless you’ve got money to blow.
Leeham wrote:
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You...
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You pay to play. Some reason this never ever gets brought up. Levi Kitchen had to pay to get on Rock River Am team. You don't pay for everything, but you pay for the spot.
Levi kitchen definitely didn’t pay to be on rock river 😂😂 as for Carson brown there wasn’t enough room/didn’t do good enough to stay on the ride.
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LouisianaMotocross 5/16/2022 6:53am
5/16/2022 6:53am
LocalDrunk wrote:
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a...
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a ride. Team green is top heavy with support, unless you’re winning you’re not getting the good stuff. The sports just expensive, hard to justify spending thousands of dollars to go around the country for little to nothing unless you’ve got money to blow.
Leeham wrote:
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You...
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You pay to play. Some reason this never ever gets brought up. Levi Kitchen had to pay to get on Rock River Am team. You don't pay for everything, but you pay for the spot.
Why are you talking in facts when you aren’t even accurate?
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MyBobbym
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MyBobbym 5/16/2022 7:07am
5/16/2022 7:07am
crt32 wrote:
What is the reason that so many amateurs who eventually jump to the pros disappear after 1 or 2 years? Seems like so many guys will...
What is the reason that so many amateurs who eventually jump to the pros disappear after 1 or 2 years? Seems like so many guys will chase the amateur nationals from mini bikes to amateur pro, then theyll go pro, have a bad year or two and then ride off into the sunset. Is it the mental side of it that they cant believe they dedicated so much time and couldnt scratch the top 20 or a financial thing? Finance wise though they spent so much money to get there, I'd think they could afford more than a year of the pro ranks or be able to scrape together enough help? Always baffled me, they have the talent I feel like that if they stuck it out and kept trying to improve they would get into that top 8-15 range. Maybe not worth it? Just blows me away they dedicate so much time and resources then theyre gone, barely to be seen, even on social media.
Weed and/or babes.. Killed and is still killing many moto careers today.
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Mr. Info
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Mr. Info 5/16/2022 7:38am
5/16/2022 7:38am
NSP139 said it best. MONEY. Same for racing cars. If you don’t have money coming in you ain’t going far.
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Moto X Racer
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Moto X Racer 5/16/2022 7:44am
5/16/2022 7:44am
LocalDrunk wrote:
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a...
Yeah this is far from the truth. Maybe 1-2 talented kids pay for their ride, at star for sure none of them are paying for a ride. Team green is top heavy with support, unless you’re winning you’re not getting the good stuff. The sports just expensive, hard to justify spending thousands of dollars to go around the country for little to nothing unless you’ve got money to blow.
Leeham wrote:
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You...
Nope, Carson Brown and his family didn't have money to stay on Team Green after 2017 and never got on another top level Amateur team. You pay to play. Some reason this never ever gets brought up. Levi Kitchen had to pay to get on Rock River Am team. You don't pay for everything, but you pay for the spot.
Team Green does not do "pay-for-play" rides. Levi did NOT pay to be on the Rock River team. Maybe Carson's family could not afford the travel and training necessary to keep a Team Green ride, but he was not paying to be on Team Green.
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neysbo
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neysbo 5/16/2022 8:15am
5/16/2022 8:15am
I will tell you why, because it is a tough ass sport in the Pro’s and only the strong survive.
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profeshenal125 5/16/2022 9:00am
5/16/2022 9:00am
Jeff_Crutcher wrote:
Injuries and burnout. That’s why.
And money what did Mitch say the engine program alone is 200,000 or more for doing all the big am events. A 2st engine program would b 20k if that.
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gt80rider
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gt80rider 5/16/2022 10:15am
5/16/2022 10:15am
Jeff_Crutcher wrote:
Injuries and burnout. That’s why.
The system is broken... we start these kids racing at age 4, so by the time they are 25, they are completely burnt out.... a person could let their kid have a normal childhood, then at 10 start the actual racing and training... at least then they wouldn't hit burnout until closer to 30.... an age when they should be peaking physically... but whatever... let's keep robbing these kids of their childhoods and feeding them to the wolves.....
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Wade221
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Wade221 5/16/2022 10:28am
5/16/2022 10:28am
profeshenal125 wrote:
And money what did Mitch say the engine program alone is 200,000 or more for doing all the big am events. A 2st engine program would...
And money what did Mitch say the engine program alone is 200,000 or more for doing all the big am events. A 2st engine program would b 20k if that.
Yes, we get it! You want it to be all two smokes again. Unfortunately, we all can’t race on 04 CR125s anymore, because they’re all in lockdown in Varners trap house
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profeshenal125 5/16/2022 10:32am
5/16/2022 10:32am
Jeff_Crutcher wrote:
Injuries and burnout. That’s why.
gt80rider wrote:
The system is broken... we start these kids racing at age 4, so by the time they are 25, they are completely burnt out.... a person...
The system is broken... we start these kids racing at age 4, so by the time they are 25, they are completely burnt out.... a person could let their kid have a normal childhood, then at 10 start the actual racing and training... at least then they wouldn't hit burnout until closer to 30.... an age when they should be peaking physically... but whatever... let's keep robbing these kids of their childhoods and feeding them to the wolves.....
All sports r the same most drop out at 14,15 yrs old that start young. If d1 scholarships r putting pressure on you to sign a letter of intent it turns into a buisness then. Not a fun game anymore. We practiced 6 days a week in 83. Today it’s much worse. All the b ball teams in the state had a lot of the players quit or transfer this yr. There’s a lot of teams to make good money on all they hv to do is make it 2 yrs in college . But they can’t because there burnt out.
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resetjet
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resetjet 5/16/2022 11:07am
5/16/2022 11:07am
Only the top 10 eat. The rest have to struggle in this sport. Problem is the rider is the single biggest factor and if he can’t consistently be in the running he wont be able to feed himself, so a job looks more appealing.
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wildbill
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wildbill 5/16/2022 11:25am
5/16/2022 11:25am
MyBobbym wrote:
Weed and/or babes.. Killed and is still killing many moto careers today.
Weed never slowed you down.
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Mit12
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Mit12 5/16/2022 8:59pm
5/16/2022 8:59pm
I turned pro in 1982 and the jump was insane, I went from being the guy to beat to being a upper mid pack pro. I usually finished 1 place after the pay line. I spent every dime I made over the next 2 years, by the end I was so burnt out that I quit and have never rode a bike again. Now I’m 60 and in constant pain but I would do it all over again. The people I met and the memories are well worth it.
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