So Your Kid Wants To Race?

[cdh]

More from Michele Rahal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vifi6KhgxOg

[dalyduo]

Many words of wisdom here... Great piece. Thanks CDH

[GT-Subject]

I can name a bunch of kids whose parents brought them through karting and Skippy that should have seen this video first!!!! Great video CDH.

[oldredracer]

Pessimist.

[cdh]

True ORR, he never once mentions becoming a racing school instructor

[PFS]

Originally Posted by GT-Subject

I can name a bunch of kids whose parents brought them through karting and Skippy that should have seen this video first!!!! Great video CDH.

For sure. Especially the kids with the parents who were living vicariously through that kid.

[oldredracer]

Originally Posted by cdh

True ORR, he never once mentions becoming a racing school instructor

Yeah. That and 25 cents......

[GT-Subject]

Originally Posted by PFS

For sure. Especially the kids with the parents who were living vicariously through that kid.

After coaching hockey & karting, I don't quite know which one is worse - the kids are so entitled and the parents lack common sense and real grounding about the talent their kid has - sheesh.

[PFS]

Originally Posted by GT-Subject

After coaching hockey & karting, I don't quite know which one is worse - the kids are so entitled and the parents lack common sense and real grounding about the talent their kid has - sheesh.

First of all, being from Canada, you should know that it's spelled "hawkey." budump PSSSH!

Anyway, it's great that parents give their kids such a fantastic opportunity to participate in a sport that so few people in the world get the thrill of experiencing. And they get to experience it with them, cheer them on, share in the glory (if it comes), and take a lot of credit for the kid's success. You're right though, I'm sure it happens in hawkey and pretty much all sports kids participate in, but I guess you can't really blame the parents for dreamin' the dream.

I think it's a similar phenomenon that a lot of fans of professional sports experience. They are so close to the team and such homers, that they overestimate the talent of the players on the team. "This linebacker or that forward should be in the all-star game," but the truth is that he's just an average player who they just happened to see all the time, both on and off the field/court/ice, and have grown to like him personally.

It's easy to get emotional about the dreams you have for your kid, and really difficult to be objective about your kid. The difficult part for outsiders is watching the parents be so demanding on a kid that is obviously not as passionate about it as they are.

Pete

[angusdad]

great video!
man, i'm one of those parents and i can totally relate.
one thing we've done from the time our son was 7 years old, was set goals with him to evaluate continued 'national' level racing.
i'm trying really, really hard to not use 'rose colored glasses' with him. but it is hard at times.
so far, he's reached and surpassed all his goals, and we've continued supporting his passion, and having a blast being along for the ride.
we have a 2 year plan right now, and i hope it all works out for him. the SB karting shootout is a big part of that plan, and how he stacks up in that competition will help us in our continued evaluation and direction.

[GT-Subject]

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, especially yours Angusdad, you seem to have set assessment goals along the way - the key for me is that the kid enjoys the sport he or she is in as opposed to being driven to excel in the sport because their parents (or parent as the case may be) see's it as the route to professiional sports (or music or dance, etc). There are 1000's of kids equally as talented in every sport - having a well balanced approach helps later on when the pinnacle is not reached. The absolute worst thing for me to see is little Johnny or little Susie getting yelled at for perceived poor performance from a parent who has never strapped on a pair of skates, a race car or any other piece of sports hardware. Oooooooooooooo, I'd better stop I'm getting worked up here

[PFS]

Originally Posted by angusdad

great video!
man, i'm one of those parents and i can totally relate.
one thing we've done from the time our son was 7 years old, was set goals with him to evaluate continued 'national' level racing.
i'm trying really, really hard to not use 'rose colored glasses' with him. but it is hard at times.
so far, he's reached and surpassed all his goals, and we've continued supporting his passion, and having a blast being along for the ride.
we have a 2 year plan right now, and i hope it all works out for him. the SB karting shootout is a big part of that plan, and how he stacks up in that competition will help us in our continued evaluation and direction.

Richie, what you are doing is exactly the right way to force objectivity...set realistic goals for him. It's obviously a good way to evaluate his talent, but it's also a good way to evaluate his passion for racing, and whether or not he wants to continue. How excited does he get when he reaches a goal? How disappointed is he when he misses one (if he has)? Every kid is different, so you, the parent, are the best judge of his level of passion, and sometimes that can best be seen away from the track. Does he do all the extra things (workouts, reading, studying, etc) that need to be done without being forced to do them? I've found that an eagerness to learn is a good barometer of passion. Also, the fact that a kid is winning doesn't mean he is passionate about it, or interested in learning. It just means that initially, he's got a lot of God given talent. Sure he'll enjoy winning, but sooner or later, others who are passionate and eager to learn will catch up with his talent level and pass him by. When he starts getting beat, the enjoyment stops for everybody, and I've seen both the parents and the kid get very bitter about racing (and want nothing to do with it again).

Paul (GT-Subject) is right. Kids needs to enjoy what they are doing to be successful. I always tell people, "If your not having fun, you're spending WAY too much money." Even if they are ultimately not successful at reaching their goals, positive support from parents builds good personality and character traits that will help them be successful in whatever passion they decide to pursue as they get older. And they can still be active in racing at whatever level they choose based purely on the enjoyment of the sport.

Pete

[dot]

im the kid and i want to race what can i doooooooooooooooooooooo to enter the school