12 replies to this topic

[Andy]

Went to the Westmorland Club’s Youth C/D and Youth A/B British Championship rounds over the weekend – the C/D round was on Saturday and the A/B round on Sunday, both days being absolutely perfect for trialing in the beautiful South Lakes at Tow Tops, overlooking the Winster Valley and Morecambe Bay.

I haven’t been to a youth round since Westmorland last ran the event at the same location – was that three years ago? – so it was interesting to see how riding styles had changed (if at all) and who was likely to do the business on the day.

I don’t intend this to be a long-winded column, so let’s cut to the chase as they say. Prior to the start, secretary Peter Brown had a riders meeting where he reminded all the lads of their responsibilities as sportsmen and particularly towards adult observers, all volunteers of course, and in every respect either regular Northern Centre observers or riders – so they know the score.

Even allowing for the miserable faces of many of today’s youths, I can’t honestly say that there seemed to be much fun from anybody. There were a few exceptions, but as a general rule, long faces, dour looks and miserable attitudes prevailed. Tears and tantrums came from some of the C and D kids, which to some extent is all part of growing up and can be tolerated, whilst few of the A and B riders seemed to be enjoying the experience.

So who is at fault. Is it the riders? – frankly I don’t think so as when they were practicing prior to riding the first section, the atmosphere seemed relatively light-hearted, and I’m sure that if the whole day was a practice session, it would have been fine.

But because it is competition, undue pressure comes from parents and frankly whilst I can’t say that I saw any parental abuse towards officials, the way some parents talk to their offspring is downright objectionable.

This attitude sometimes transfers to the kid and more than once I saw young riders so reluctant to hand their card over for punching, all they could do was sulk and look away whilst the card was punched.

Whether it needs an old fart like me to say so or not, I can’t say, but let me put it like this. Long term there is nothing in trials for 98% of the riders. No money, no employment, no prospects – except to enjoy yourself riding a trials bike for as long as there is some interest in the sport. And a fact is that some riders will be good at it and others will find they only ever make it to a certain grade. That’s what happens in life, so like it or lump it.

Parents have a huge responsibility and to make use of a version of an expression used at Jerez last week, parental ambitions frequently outweigh son’s talents. Simply put, if the lad can’t clean the section, it’s not the end of the world. Encourage him to enjoy the experience, and to reach a level so that in the future he can ride nationals, get an acceptable result and enjoy the experience.

Over the years I have seen any number of ambitious fathers push, push and push their lads to achieve more than they are really capable of, and as soon as the lad reaches an age where he can make his own decisions, he’s off to cars, girls, booze and the freedom of getting away from pushy parents.

You know I have a point, but who will admit it?

I don’t want to be all negative, so let me say that I was mightily impressed with the very high standard of riding from everybody, no matter what their age. It was not an easy trial by any means and the nature of the land made the sections all of a similar nature, and there’s no doubt there is a huge amount of talent out there. I hope that despite the long faces everybody enjoyed the event; I certainly did and it was a joy to watch the commitment of all concerned.

Finally, let me thank the large number of people who have said to me that they miss my weekly columns that have been produced for the past ten years. Your kind words have proved a massive encouragement and I do intend to keep them coming once every three or four weeks – if I survive the criticism that could come from this production!

[chewy]

How anybody could criticise your observations is beyond me. It does no harm to remind everybody let alone the youths that it is for fun. I do hope you're wrong about the 98% as 99.95 % is too many for me to be content with. Keep the words of sanity coming please .

[4ourtea]

I think your observations are spot on - sport is meant to be fun. Parents that push their kids on and on, ultimately erode any fun that a sport can provide (whether it is trials, mx, football or rugby, etc.). Similarly, those parents need to wise up and realise that they cannot "re-live" their bygone trials riding days through their kids. All too often you watch a parent rolling his eyes and/or belittling a kid's ride because they thought the effort was poor. Get out there and do it yourself Mr. Parent if it is so easy - there are plenty of classes to cope with your entry...

To them I say, "Encourage them and be happy that they are out doing what you used to like doing - force them and push them too hard and (as Mike says) watch them walk away at the first opportunity that presents itself".

[GrahamJayzee]

I agree; there's nothing contentious here at all!

For me, the whole cornerstone of the sport is the crack. I had 13 years out and when I returned it was like I'd never been away. Immediately the mickey-taking resumed. I know I'm never going to win anything, but what more fun can a bloke have than spend a morning in a muddy field with a load of old geezers talking b0llocks and telling lies?

The trouble with youth in sport is that their priorities are not the same. The joy of youth is they don't have the cynicism of experience! For the young, why can't they be world champion? You see this on football fields up and down the country every weekend; kids genuinely believe they will become a premiership footballer.

Is this really a problem though? Some kids will lose interest, but at least they experienced the sport. They were lucky enough to have the opportunity, and this is where the Dougies, and James Dabills of the world started. For the rest, the reality will arrive, either whilst they are collecting a winners award at whatever level they reach, or when they are being pushed down a hill by someone old enough to know better when they are in their 40s. For a chunk, it will remain a memory of 'something they did when they were a kid'.

We'll never stop kids being miserable, or taking things too seriously. But I guess that is the perogative of the young. I'm happy and old now, but would probably trade that for ambitious, grumpy and young!

Graham

[19tentwenty10]

Firstly like to point out i am the named person in the article.... and i was Clerk of the Course for both the day’s events. Whilst i realise the column is about youth riders in general and the championship in general, there is reference to our particular event too, so i will reply in part to the general flavour and also in relation to our event.
I like Mike and many others saw what happened over the weekend, but i was mobile and directly in contact with riders before during and after the event and would say that overall i felt many people had great enjoyment over the two days be it riders, followers or officials. The riders applied themselves to a tough event, but it’s my belief that we put on an event where the sections were a little different to the norm and certainly weren't clean or crash type sections, but more a case of basic riding skills where balance and finding grip were of more importance and in many sections, showing that stopping often resulted in a 5 while those that kept going and made the sections flow did generally better.

I would agree that parents need to realise where their own children’s abilities are, and when the 3 or 5 comes or whatever, that that was probably the best to be achieved from that section, and praise appropriately, also hopefully a calm chat to see if adjustment or approach could be changed, possibly a different line or whatever. Too often i saw a child treat as though he was an idiot and just more pressure applied which then resulted in the problem of the previous section carried into the next and so on.... Just because someone else cleaned it before them doesn’t mean they should then clean it too... some parents and minders need to put more effort into trying help the child work out where to improve instead of just a rant of worthless words that helps nothing and just adds to the pressure already being experienced.

The riders in the main can’t be blamed, parents wind them like a coiled spring then put them in the pressure cooker, then expect them to do well, and then on top of this we expect them to look like their enjoying themselves! How could this really ever be? Parents need to chill out in the main, I personally saw one rider on Sunday who rode very well, he didn’t win, was very close! but he wasn't maybe having his best day, but all around him was calm, he was calm and i personally never saw him lose his cool, just the difference and he and his family can be rightly proud of themselves. All i would say is i agree that the pressure is too much by parents and that in the main the kids would be fine without it, i do think and i was personally told that in some cases the riders rushed on so the parent couldn’t be at the section while they rode it, and guess what they rode it better in the main, yes most bar a few didn’t need catchers so that was possible, but work that out parents!!! They preferred you not to be there..... and i don’t mean literally but to reduce the pressure at certain sections.
The sport has to look at itself big time, because if we don’t, i feel before long there won't be a championship worth winning if it’s made up of 15 riders and further to this, no riders feeding into the adults or less riders...
From a club and event point of view I’d like to say this to my knowledge is only the second time we have run a British youth round and if i was offered a round again now, i would take it! I felt both days went very well, the riders and parents were all good to deal with, when there was a problem we tried to deal with it quickly and resolve it, I think we kept most happy on the whole and tried to treat everyone fairly. I personally experienced two tantrums, they weren’t bad, they didn’t swear and they both apologised very soon after without any interference which is a credit to them and their families. We all step over the mark sometimes, me included! and whilst sometimes we later regret it, to be able to say sorry sometimes takes some doing but can only be applauded in many circumstances, and a credit to the kids.
On the Saturday most of the sections were similar, the variants being a rock step in one rather than rock outcrops and jumbles of rocks and also we had a muddy slot one, so fair do's quite similar! On the Sunday there were barely 2 sections the same with all of them giving something quite different, the only consistent thing was the fact we tried to keep the bikes in the direction of the sections and to prevent them being sideways on, did we succeed? in the main yes i think we did! So i do quite take exception to be told in the column that they were all similar, they certainly weren't. We spent a lot of time and effort to put the event on and i don’t think we could have done it much better. On Sunday there wasn’t a section that wasn’t cleaned in either class, the result was in doubt right to the last section, and being as the sections were, there was gains and losses to be had in all bar one section which was deliberately set easier so parents didn’t have to go out to it. All in all i think we did well and judging by the vast majority of comments during and after the trial, that was what many others felt too.

I'm sure a few will read this so I’d like to end by saying i think the youth scene is maybe not as smiley as it should be, but it is filled with many great and genuine people and i hope you will go forward applying less pressure, giving greater appreciation and guidance and realise that saying nothing or counting to ten is a far better way sometimes than a worthless rant. I hope people don’t just jump on the bandwagon of just bashing something from someone else’s opinion or feel that it’s great to kick something for the sake of it. We were all kids once and that is where we all came from and so we have also to appreciate all the good in them too and try as a whole to overcome the bad....

As ever we as a club at Westmorland wish you all well and hope our event was both enjoyed behind all the pressure and we improved your riding in some way, all the best for the rest of the championship year. There are some really good kids out there and it’s very important we have a balanced view and don’t just look at it from one angle!

[Slapshot 3]

When you see a kid, between the age of 8 and 10 years old, standing getting his card punched a 5 with tears streaming down his face an a loud mouthed Dad shouting behind him, you know there's a problem. This happened a few years ago at a BAMCC national trial at Lumsden and last weekend I was really pleased to see the same kid now in the A class riding really well and enjoying the trial, the difference?? Yup, his old man wasn't there berating every move he made. Some might say that the early stuff might have been giving the kid the motivation to do things right, i'd say b0llocks to that, that was a dad living his dreams through his kid.

That same day I watched another dad, a well known bike dealer from the North of Scotland coax his son round. Walked the section with him, gave him pointers if the kid asked, then stepped back and let the kid ride making his own mistakes and realising why. That's the way it should be, you can see the same now with a former Scottish Champion coaxing his own son round now. These two are the exception to the rule, I wish there were more of them.

Mike's article may not be a great advert for Youth Trials however it is stunningly accurate and as he points out, none of the pushy dads will admit to their personal issues. The number of kids you see having the pleasure of a trial destroyed by a shouty dad is sickening at times. On more than one occassion I've wanted to slap a few of these dads. Put the things they need in place then take a step back, kids need to learn and they do that much better by learning from their own mistakes, be there to advise if they want it but wait for them to ask. I think we'll find those objecting most to Mike's article are probably the most guilty of being a pushy parent.

While a shouty Martin Lampkin as minder worked for Dougie, NONE of you dads are or ever will be a Martin Lampkin you're kids will NEVER be a Dougie if you destroy their love of trials when they are a kid!

[Nigel Dabster]

But it isn't all doom and gloom surely? At a few local trials recently and last year in Yorkshire I have come across quite a few young lads who are out and about riding smiling having fun even trialing on their bikes generally enjoying themselves. I would imagine (not having seen a youth round for a few years) that at a British youth championship event things are always going to be more serious than elsewhere in our great sport?

Edited by Nigel Dabster, 12 April 2011 - 05:28 AM.

[dabber]

Rode the Darwen trial on Sunday (well laid out, tricky mix of sections) and spent a lot of the time riding behind a young lad whose dad was following him round. Great to watch - the lad just getting on with it and doing really well with his dad just being there to pick the bike up if the lad bailed out. Nothing more, nothing less.

Great bacon butyy van too.

[TooFastTim]

Andy, on 11 April 2011 - 07:39 AM, said:

But because it is competition, undue pressure comes from parents and frankly whilst I can’t say that I saw any parental abuse towards officials, the way some parents talk to their offspring is downright objectionable.

Sadly this attitude isn't limited to trials. A week back I saw a father (shame on him, he is a South African) verbally abuse the under 15s rugby coach at the local club because, in his opinion, his son didn't spend enough time on the field.

Slapshot 3, on 11 April 2011 - 01:36 PM, said:

While a shouty Martin Lampkin as minder worked for Dougie, NONE of you dads are or ever will be a Martin Lampkin you're kids will NEVER be a Dougie if you destroy their love of trials when they are a kid!

But that was what Dougie wanted. Initially, as far as I can gather, Martin payed no attention to Dougies trials career. It was only later that Doug asked his dad to barrack him when he felt it was due.

Edited by TooFastTim, 13 April 2011 - 07:42 AM.

[Slapshot 3]

TooFastTim, on 13 April 2011 - 07:39 AM, said:

But that was what Dougie wanted. Initially, as far as I can gather, Martin payed no attention to Dougies trials career. It was only later that Doug asked his dad to barrack him when he felt it was due.

Which is exactly what I said, put the things they need in place then step back and wait, they'll come for the help and and advice when they are ready.

[copemech]

Slapshot 3, on 13 April 2011 - 03:05 PM, said:

Which is exactly what I said, put the things they need in place then step back and wait, they'll come for the help and and advice when they are ready.

As you seem to be prepping the wifey and daughter now, you just need to spend a lot more then wait!

[petejohn]

Hi
My son now 15 had coaching about 3 years ago. I was told by the coach to make him practice his basics, ballance & turns. All he wanted to do was ride the big stuff. Many arguments later I decided to let him do what he wanted. As time went on he realised to improve his results he needed to practice basics, and thats what he does now. Having said that it is hard not to say something when the slack points are dropped but they are already not pleased with themselfs and dad getting stuck in is no help. We have many laughs, a few dissapointments, some great victories,but most of all we are a unit.
Pete

[Ross Brown]

[quote ".... Just because someone else cleaned it before them doesn’t mean they should then clean it too... "
Applies to more than just the kids of today!

"I had 13 years out and when I returned it was like I'd never been away. Immediately the mickey-taking resumed. I know I'm never going to win anything, but what more fun can a bloke have than spend a morning in a muddy field with a load of old geezers talking b0llocks and telling lies." This has happened to me with Trials. And with wind surfing. So my take-out from this is that I personally like to choose hard-to-learn, individual (vs team) sports that require 100% concentration. But with the difficulty of navigating a section and trying to beat your won personal best comes the immense sense of satisfaction and reward when you get it right. "I did it by myself". I blame my parents.