another thought…. just from experience to parents out there who tend to push their kids( i used to do this so i can call you out if you are one of them)
we went to pittsburg race( against my best judgement) being my son only had 1 nat under his belt since his surgery….. so i was outvoted and we went…left early enough to get in as much practice to make sure he could “dial in” before the race. as far as the 2nd straight and pro jump goes riders have to race within their ability…regardless of the “adrenalin rush” or whatever pushes them to do things they dont have the ability to do… but the parents pushing the kids to jump the pro( i heard it over and over) because “everyone else in their class it doing it” is just plain stupid. i had the same thoughts when after the 1st day my son ( who is 16)didnt jump it… he had enough sense to decide on his own he could get past that section faster with less chance of crashing by not jumping it… so i am thinking WHAT?? as i watch some 14 yr olds clear it…then some did not… then all the bikes started splitting in 2( from the ones who thought they could clear it and only 50/50 the landing i think i stopped counting at 6)….the more i keep my mouth shut the more i learn… even after 11 yrs in this sport i have to remember the rider has to decide not the parent/ or peer pressure or whatever.. some riders did get hurt and i saw both of the bad ones… after watching the older fellow land and twitching from the waist down as they had him on the stretcher i thought to myself i was glad my son didnt try to jump it…. even if he was one of the few kids his age who didnt do it…. he did make his main on sat and he was happy… all in one piece and i was very proud of him for making the right decision this time. maybe another race or different circumstances he would have jumped it but for some reason he chose not to do it and we as parents have to accept that.
on friday during practice in the 14over there were parents standing on the fence in front of our tent who were screaming at thier kids who didnt jump the pro…. i watched a kid in dans moto who crashed 3 times and still raced(although not to his potential due to injuries) kids were yelling “jump it” to their friends and some were trying to jump it who had no business even attempting it.
anyway my point is as a parent sometimes we have to leave the riding to the rider and accept the fact that they are on the bike not us and unless its the opposite situation( dangerous with no common sence) we need to think twice before pushing our kids past their ability.
btw the other 17 yr old who had the bad crash…when he hit the ground in the 2nd straight his helmet flew off so hard and far i dont think he had it strapped on at all.. dave made several announcements about this as it happened over and over. riders didnt have thier helmets strapped and i feel that contributed to the injuries big time…when the mayor/county officials and police showed up before they “changed the 2nd straight” i think that parents and riders started to re-think their riding style and have more common sence when racing… jmo