[rola643]

I can tell you from personal experiences that once the fun and joy of doing something is gone...there's no point in it. My son was an outstanding pitcher and managed to get scholarships to college for it. He loved to play but at some point it became work and he ruined his shoulder (rotator cuff )from not taking care of it. He was lucky enough to get try-outs with both the Braves and Orioles....if only he had taken care of himself better

The Braves actually told him if he would put on 20 pounds ( tall and skinny )they would love to have him. He had a good arm 92+ and a pretty good North to South breaking ball...I could never get him to work on a good change up tho...

[INTEGRATE]

Wow, a chance to play in the show. Very cool. But so true, once you burn out, done.

Happened to me a few summers back with Mtb racing. For to the point where I didn't even want to ride. Took some time off, helped a lot.

[Hazy]

No worries on the fun part, just want to be able to prepare him and have him learn how to be prepared in the event he has the talent to further himself.

I am more into this experience for him to learn life lessons than anything and from what little I have seen from the leadership of this group, it should serve him well.

[Ross14]

Originally Posted by INTEGRATE

If you've got kids at home who want to give racing a shot, here are some great resources for you!

1) Check for any local racing clubs near you that have a Juniors program.

2) Take a look at the National Interscholastic Cycling Association to see if there is a team in your area. There have been quite a few riders who started with NICA and ended up at the World Cup U23 level in Europe.

3) For specific training advice, I'd definitely recommend talking to the cross country running coach at their school. Even though its running, the training principles are essentially the same for where a beginner would be.

4) If you don't mind helping them fund raise, you can always look into your local Team In Training chapter and sign them up for one of their cycling seasons.

While your Jr racer isn't eligible to send in questions to me directly, I am always more than happy to answer any from their parents!

To give you a update I now have the bike and am on a active bike team. The coach is a great one and all in all its a wonderful team. Every year he sends about two people off to Belgium to race on a international level to see if that is what they want to do and go pro so it is a serous team. There are about 14 people on the team currently and when racing season starts in February we will race at least 4 times a month until the nationals in august. Thanks a lot for the "start up" tips!