Rugby Engagement and the Wallabies Coaching Way

Retaining Motorcycle Competitors

By Paul Caslick

Grassroots motorcycle competitors have entered into a world of vastly different ideals to that of mainstream athletic-type sports. Some motorcycling families will adopt some of the mainstream sports in addition, as a means of cross-training for their child, sometimes more than one. These are the ambitious parents of a child, eager to see their golden youth become the next motorcycling megastar. They are shuffled into race gear after school, riding lap after lap perfecting a program that leads to certain burnout, in many cases long before the kid reaches teenage years.

As a coach, being “selected” as the one to guide and mentor a young child at first can be relatively stress-free. But as most parents want results and they want them now, this stress can at times become a nightmare.

Young children do not understand goal-setting or future plans. From a young age they need to be motivated and encouraged to have fun and learn. In my view, most children should not be subject to motorcycle competition until they are at least 10-12 years old. By then they will have had their skillset and coordination developed over a number of years and can determine for themselves whether many weekends on the road, away from family and friends is really what they want to experience.

Retaining competitors isn’t easy in motorcycle coaching, particularly competitors from a really early age. So many factors can alter outcomes and strain relationships. Cost is a huge factor in this sport, and on top of vehicles, machinery, trailers, motor homes, entries, licenses and travel, coaching also doesn’t come cheap. Some sessions can be 2 hours in duration, and up to 2 sessions per week if the family has the luxury to afford it. Many riders will also experience broken limbs very early in their career, so confidence is always a rollercoaster ride that has an adverse effect on one’s ability to enthusiastically want to take part in any sort of activity involving motorcycles, even though the parents insist on continuing with the program.

Two of the biggest retaining tools are having an individualised step-by-step development system in place and trust. Trust between the coach and rider, and trust between the family and the coach, so that the family trusts the coach with any advice given or suggested. With pre-teenage adolescents, this can be difficult at times as parents have pre-conceived outcomes, and enthusiasm blinds the ability to listen and understand the slow process required to retain longevity in this sport. In a sport that's tough and hard, I have a 3 strike rule with parents. If they are given information 3 times and don't take it, I move on. In particular, when the information is more vital for safety and longevity than trying to buy winning.

This brings me to coaching the more elite competitors. These athletes have been through all the above mentioned trials and tribulations. They have been broken and stumbled on obstacles along the journey, but have the maturity and ability to trust and be their own judge on who is providing them with what they need to succeed. They no longer have their decisions made for them, as they are in control of their own future. Coaching riders from grassroots to elite level can be extremely rewarding. In most cases, the coach has become one of the athlete’s most trusted sources of information and they have forged a lifelong friendship.