Young Riders Fund on Facebook

Nope. I didn't say that.

I do have issues with home schooling (and the experience to back up my opinion). I also think spam marketing is obnoxious. I have a huge problem with parents trying to live their dreams through their children. I have no problem with kids racing or with kids marketing themselves to raise money for racing.

For the record, I am a parent. I even have a license from the state (foster care) to be a parent!

 

I have no problem with kids seeking sponsorship (or parents seeking sponsorship for kids). Seeking sponsorship is part of this sport, no matter what the age.

But sponsorship and handouts are two different things. I don't like the open requests of "please donate to ______'s roadracing".

I have spent over $1000 just this year in sports equipment for my kids. I never thought about starting some kind of "support my kids' baseball fund, donations accepted" website.

I will go around to local businesses asking if they want to help pay for uniforms. In exchange, they will get their business name printed on them.

But i would never ask strangers for donations to support the hobby of MY kids. If i cant fund their hobby, then they will do something different...or use last year's bat/glove...or mow some yards...or setup a lemonade stand...

Other than the fact that they are mine...what makes them special? In other words, why should people give up their hard earned money just so my kids can participate in a hobby? Especially when the people being asked need money to support their own hobby or their own kids.

They dont HAVE to race a motorcycle. Many people have taken years off to save money until they can come back and make a solid run at it.

Your opinions may vary.

 

The problem here is that everyone has their opinion as to homeschooling, kids racing and how to go about seeking funds to race. Thats just it folks, its an OPINION not a RULE. I don't think any of the parents that have children racing were asking you to agree with the decision they are making, they simply don't want to be judged and attacked for doing so.

As far as some of you feeling like we have attacked you......please.... i think it was someone else on here who threw the first punch. The exact comment was "kid racers contribute zero to the world". If you think that a parent is not going to come back and give you a piece of their mind, your sorrily mistaken. If you say something that reckless be prepared to have someone say something back. Ask any parent.

 

I think the dividing issue here is the word "hobby". For example, this is a hobby to me and my son. To someone like Garrett Gerloff or Peter Lenz...this is NOT a hobby. They are world class riders who have a serious, REAL shot at a future in this sport. To call what they do a "hobby" is demeaning. 95% of all great athletes had their start as children.

 

Exactly!!! If there were no kids in this sport (Garrett Gerloff, Jake Morman, Miles Thornton, Hayden Gillim, JD Beach, Huntley Nash, Peter Lentz, Jake Lewis, etc.) where would the next generation of riders come from? Do you think that some adult is just going to decide one day that we wants to be a pro racer and it happen. I don't think it works that way. They had to have na interest in it as a child and work their way up. Every generation has a group of young people who take over when the generation before them has retired. That works in all aspects of life.

 

tell that to jamie hacking or troy bayliss. i'm not arguing, but what you posted is not the rule.

 

yeah, but he was 20 something too.

 

I supported to the best of my ability whatever each of my 4 kids wanted to do. One of the 4 wanted to be a motorcycle racer. All have grown up to be responsible citizens. The one who wanted to race grew up fast when I stuck him in a truck (once he got a driver's license) with our racebikes, pointed him at the highway and said (for example), "Be at Road Atlanta in time for the start of GNF practice on Wednesday, I'll be flying in Tuesday night." Maintaining a decent grade average and staying out of trouble in school was the base requirement the whole time.

When I started racing there weren't a bunch of young kids racing. The only real young kid I saw racing then was Randy Mamola, who at about 12 or 14 was unusual at the time. Somehow racing survived and prospered anyway.

People who want to, should take their kids racing, and they should make sure they also get an education and have a Plan B. Having said that, the future of racing does not depend upon a bunch of little kids racing. There was racing without little kids, and there would be racing without little kids. Sooner or later, people who want to race, will find a way to race whether their parents take them racing or not, or let them race or not, because, Racers Race. Which is why I started racing at age 19.

And for the record, I had a lot of fun going racing with Chris. Looking back, I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything.

Your results may vary.

 

And he'd been flat tracking before that.

 

Well said; my thoughts exactly.

It goes back to my scenario of putting all the eggs in one basket.

Neither WERA nor any other organization is staying afloat because of little kids racing. The median age of the WERA paddock is probable 32-35. Like you said, racers race.

I think it is cool that kids race; i wish i would have started when i was little. Nobody is discrediting kids racing. The only negative comments that have been made regarding the situation is when the kids are taken out of school to "chase the dream"....and/or when strangers are asked to make donations to fund the said dream chasing (talking about handouts, not sponsorship)...especially when said donations are used to buy tire carts.

 

I do not feel picked on, but beware about reading too much into what people write. No where did I say anything about others parenting.

By 'payoff' I meant having a career. You can define career as you like. To me a career is a profession that one enjoys and can earn enough money off of which to live. The level at which one lives is their choice. I never said the payoff was money, did I? I left it open ended so as to not define it for others.

I am a parent. I am a physicist (MS) and teach for a living (college). I certainly did not pick my field based upon chasing a paycheck.

It is fine to chase a dream, but one must also be realistic. Dreams do not always work out. One must have alternate dreams. I did not limit myself to one dream. I had several, most did not work out. Some did. The bigger the dream, the lower the probability of attaining the dream.

I was a decent athlete, good, but not good enough - would love to be a pro athlete - but not realistic.

Went to grad school to study nonlinear optics and lasers. At the end of my first semester the entire laser research group (due to an internal power struggle in the department) loaded all their equipment into about 20 semis and left. I recall standing in the now empty research building wondering what to do next. My whole reason for being there had just moved away. My dream had evaporated.

What I find interesting (this is NOT a judgmental term - recall I am a scientist) is the parents that state they will sacrifice things such as groceries to pay for racing. Do they really mean not eating to race or are they just being overly dramatic? I wonder what is Plan B? Don't recall anyone listing Plan B. Do they have the resources for Plan B? Are they putting all their eggs in one basket?

Perhaps I have a different view of people with dreams than most. Have you ever had a student in your office in tears (male and female) because they just failed your class and they can no longer pursue their dream? My advice to these students (the ones that truly gave 100%) is to look at those things which they enjoy and a realistic look at their skills. Look for a profession that is an intersection of that which you enjoy and your skill set.

BTW Rossi and Spies not liking school is not relevant to the discussion.

 

Yeah, that just doesn't seem right to me.

Beyond that, I saw a video that had a lady in tears talking about spending the rent money on junior's racing. That's crazy.

 

It's good that Plan A worked out for them. In most cases, it does not. The chances of making it as a professional road racer (i.e., being paid and making your living racing) are extremely slim. Many aspire, few succeed. It's a tough field.

 

Yep, and one doesn't need to be a parent to make that assessment. Crazy is crazy.

 

Yeah, you got me on that one. But nobody really understands parenting, until they are a parent. On the other hand, crazy IS crazy.

Still, my advice to parents is, if you can make it work and are comfortable with whatever it is you're doing, don't worry about trying to justify your actions to a bunch of non-parents, or non-involved third parties, or BBS keyboard experts. If you and your kid can make it work, more power to you.

Not sure which kid "squirrel" is associated with, but if it is Jake Lewis, in my opinion that kid has a legitimate shot as long as he and his parents continue to get and take advice from Earl Hayden.

 

Hey JU,

Just wanted to let you know that "Squirrel" is Jake Morman. He was a US Red Bull Rookies Cup kid. I'm not sure that you ever have met him. JBut, Jake's mentor and advisor is Kevin Schwantz. He is very fortunate to be able to able to get and use Kevin's advice.