Our Kids, Amateur Racing and Education - What is the ethical thing to do?

Thought the group might want to read this.


Posted on April 9, 2007, 1:51 am - posted on www.mxnewsfeed.com

By Justin S. Armer

When commenting about life after motocross, Champion David Vuellimin
once said "Basically half of the riders will have to mow grass for a
living since most of them doesn't have education and can't spell their
own names."

Of course, he was just kidding, but we all know that this is a very
real problem and it seems to be getting worse all the time.

Obviously, the more popular this sport gets, the more competitive it
gets. Since MX continues to grow in popularity (and is showing no
signs of slowing down), it follows that it continues to get more and
more competitive at both the amateur and professional levels.
Additionally, it is obvious that it has already gotten so competitive
at the amateur racing level that families are making significant
sacrifices to give their children the opportunity to succeed.

Attend any national level amateur race and the pits won't appear much
different than a pro national. In fact, just go down to any local-
yokel MX race and the number of Toy Haulers and fancy RVs is downright
mind blowing. It seems like every other moderately talented youngster
has two or three practice bikes and several fully modified race bikes
sitting on race team carpets underneath a color coordinated canopy.

Meanwhile, their Dad is usually fervently cleaning an air filter or
rebuilding a top end while the kid sits in the shade drinking
whichever brand of energy drink they prefer and Mom attempts (but
usually fails) to act interested in what is going on.

All jealousy and bitterness aside, there are sacrifices these MX
families are making besides the time and money they spend riding and
racing. With the racing being so competitive, it is necessary for
these families to travel from coast to coast attending big amateur
races in the hopes that they get their kids' names noticed by the big
factories.

All this traveling means the kids are usually unable to attend a
traditional school. That is, if the parents keep them enrolled in a
traditional school and travel to all these races, they are liable to
have a truant officer at their door asking why their kid has missed so
much school. As a result, parents are often forced to choose "home
schooling" for their kids in the hopes that it will pay off when they
get old enough to start making money racing.

Even though they are forced into this decision and they know it is not
in the best interest of their kids, these dedicated parents usually
justify the decision using a number of arguments. While they almost
always acknowledge that home schooling results in a lack of social
skills development, they usually defend its effectiveness by
referencing the graduation rates and/or test scores of kids who have
been home schooled. They also tout home schooling's efficiency by
saying the kids don't waste any time "goofing off" or "day dreaming"
in classes all day long. Some people also boast that home schooling
keeps the kids safe and away from bad influences (e.g., drugs, gangs).

As a school counselor, I feel I can provide some valuable insights
into this debate. While it is certainly possible for a child or teen
to receive a quality education from home, the fact remains that the
vast majority of kids who are home schooled are getting a sub-par
education (at best). I am currently working as an Intern at a local
charter school in which all of the kids are on "independent
study" (i.e., home schooling). I can tell you first hand, that the
vast majority of these kids are not getting the education they need to
be successful in life.

They are not only lacking the social skill development aspect of
attending a regular school, but they are missing out on one of the
basic tenets of school (and life in general) - meeting deadlines and
working under pressure.

These kids who "work" from home have more excuses for not having their
school work done and for not being able to make it to their once a
week 45 minute meeting with their teacher than most people can even
imagine. I've heard of more car break downs and family member deaths
(almost all of them turn out to be untrue) in the last month than I've
heard of in my entire life! These kids are developing bad habits that
will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

The saddest part (for me) is that many of them are very bright and do
quite well on the standardized tests they are given despite the
"education" they are receiving.

It is my position that it is a disservice to these kids to remove them
from traditional schools in order to pursue a "career" racing
motorcycles. Almost every other children's sport (e.g., football,
baseball, basketball) requires kids to attend a traditional school in
order to participate. Not only that, they place an emphasis on getting
good grades and reward kids for being great "student athletes". Kids
who participate in more traditional sports are not required to travel
all across the country or spend "all of their time" training. Somehow,
most kids are able to attend traditional schools and still manage to
fit their training into their "busy" schedules.

While very few student athletes (regardless of which sport they
participate in) ever become professionals or make a career out of it,
at least those that attend a traditional school will have a quality
education to fall back on. In fact, even if they do not ever make it
into a career, most student athletes (i.e., those that attend a
traditional school) still have a legitimate chance at getting a free
college education.

Students that are home schooled, on the other hand, do not have an
equal opportunity for success. In fact, even if a home schooled
student graduates from his or her school with a 4.0 GPA, their options
will be significantly limited in comparison to someone with an
identical GPA who attended a traditional high school. For example,
similar to amateur MX racing, getting accepted into colleges and
universities is becoming more and more competitive all the time and
statistics show that students who graduated from a home school
environment have a much lower rate of success in college.

Therefore, college admissions offices are less likely to accept
students who have graduated from a home school, regardless of test
scores or GPA. Furthermore, certain branches of the military simply do
not accept applicants who have been home schooled and most only do so
rarely. Clearly, having a high school diploma from a charter,
independent study, or home school is a significant disadvantage for
the kids.

What then, could, or should be done about this? It would seem logical
to think that educating the parents would be the answer, but sadly
that is not the case. The problem is not with the parents, it is with
the entire amateur racing system. The problem with the amateur racing
system is that it rewards kids who are home schooled and are therefore
able to attend all of the big amateur races. I challenge the industry
to step up do the responsible and ethical thing for the kids and their
families who already sacrifice so much for the sport we all love. If
there is any sport in which kids really need to have an education to
fall back on, it's motocross. As we all know, a career ending injury
could occur any time you swing a leg over a bike and very few amateur
racers actually make it to the professional level.

Additionally, even if a kid makes it to the professional level, very
few of them actually make enough money at it to retire after their
career ends at the ripe old age of 28 years. Many people are just
beginning their careers at that age (after many years in college) but
a retired motocrosser does not usually have a lot of other skills to
fall back on. It is up to us to make some changes and do what is right
for the kids.

I have couple of proposals, and would love to hear what others of you
think about this. First, why not set some sort of geographical limits
on which amateur nationals a kid can attend?

For example, a kid from California could attend the amateur national
in Las Vegas but would not be allowed to attend Loretta's. This would
drastically reduce the amount of time spent traveling and would also
reduce the number of racers at any given national event. With fewer
racers signed up, there would be less classes racing and therefore,
less time spent at the race track. Instead of a week long event, an
amateur national could then maybe be limited to a weekend or three
days. This is the same premise on which the SX East and West series
was based. By creating two separate series', the cost of racing would
be greatly reduced and therefore allow more privateers to participate.

Another idea I had was to do something with Wonder Warthog and/or the
AMA about this. Instead of just rewarding the fastest kids with a
"factory" ride, why not somehow incorporate a requirement to get good
grades and attend a traditional school as well? Sort of like an
athletic scholarship? That is, why don't we reward kids who are fast
and dedicated to their school work with an actual college scholarship?
Maybe MMI could step in and be a part of this as well?

The way things are right now, the only incentive kids have is to do
whatever is necessary to be fast in order to get a "ride". As crazy as
it may sound, I believe we need to change this. For every RC or
Stewart out there, there are thousands of bullpen58's out there who
will never earn a dime from the seat of a motorcycle.


The author, Justin S. Armer is also known as Bullpen58 on various
Internet forums and rides a Yamaha YZ450F. He also runs the show at
the popular Internet Fantasy Motocross Racing Site - www.MotoXDream.com

.

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