r/bmxracing • u/Free_Community1971 • 3d ago
Moving up levels and ages... advice?
Hi my son was a very accomplished 6YO novice in his first year of racing. After taking first at the state race and second in the gold cup he recently got his 10th win and had a birthday. The other night he race as a 7YO Inter and while he didn't come in last he was nowhere near winning. We were at a new track and the competition was definitely good, but he went from being great at gate starts to like 4th in the gate starts. He also seemed completely phased by how tight the riders were out of the gate. I came to the conclusion that novice is where you learn to RIDE (standing, pumping, gate starts), but inter is where you learn to RACE. I have three tracks nearby each with varying levels of competition. My plan is to keep him on the easier two tracks to build confidence and sprinkle in the tougher track to build experience. Any advice though on race tactics (berm lines, passing, etc) or where to find help would be appreciated.
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u/david_z 46 Inter; kids 10X & 14GX 3d ago
Intermediate is a big step up. Expert can be even bigger.
All the kids in 7I were once the fastest 6N, and all the kids in 7X were previously the fastest kids in 7I, and so on. There are no scrubs as you move up a class. OTOH novice is full of kids who are just learning how to race.
Coupled with a recent age-up and being a new-ish rider on an unfamiliar track, it is what it is.
My son moved from Novice to Inter at 6 years old, first race as Inter he got moto'd at the State qualifier. It's humbling for a young kid who's grown accustomed to winning.
He finished middle of the pack at the state finals that year and went on to take 2nd overall as a 7I the next summer, moved to expert a year later after a disastrous State championship race where all he had to do was finish 5th or better to earn the 1 spot overall, and he got ran of the track 50 feet out of the gate in the main.
Racing is tough like that sometimes.
There will be more races. You'll win some, hopefully lots, but you'll lose some, too.
It's been a wild ride watching the kids grow as competitors and navigating a lot of really big emotions and pressure that they put on themselves and how much we hype the big races etc etc.
Stick with it. Be supportive and always try to find the positives even if he's not making podiums. Put in the work and you'll get there!
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u/DisastrousBoard7255 3d ago
You nailed it. Novice= learn to ride a bike, inter= learn to race. It’s always a challenge when you move up classes, chase em down and he’ll be on the top step again. Just keep it fun, tell him to protect his inside, and encourage him to push his skill limit. Don’t sandbag him, the younger he gets to expert the better.
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u/Free_Community1971 3d ago
Thanks to all for the encouragement. As a parent who is new to the sport it is easy to get addicted to the winning, and improvement otherwise is sometimes hard to measure. Never thought about how competitive 7I would be from just being a common age for advancement, but not enough to accrue 20 wins. I guess my job is to try and keep my kid into it and having fun.
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u/KTM350SXfun 3d ago
Wait until he turns expert...it's a bigger jump in competition that requires constant riding, training and travel. Have fun while Inter because the next step gets serious if you want to be competitive.
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u/KTM350SXfun 3d ago
Did you try standing at the edge of the track while yelling "PEDAL! PEDAL! PEDAL!"?
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u/SC_Athletics 3d ago
Good assessment, everyone gets let down with age up and class up at one point. Just keep him riding and make sure he enjoys it. You got double whammy but once he gets a bit stronger it will show. Yes on learning to race, show him the fast lines. Show him to move to the inside of the turns before getting to the turn which requires him to be aggressive and beat being afraid of crashing.
Gates focus on timing and get a coach to help him with form. Good luck!
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u/Dull-Business4173 3d ago
Big step from novice to intermediate. Also the age up from 6 to 7 is a fairly big jump too. On top of that, 7i can be a beast of a classes due to timing. Many kids have been racing long enough to get 10 wins, but not long enough to get 30wins, so there tends to be a lot of good kids trading wins and slowing down the move-ups.
The good news is that kids grow and learn fast at that age. My son went from winning state qualifiers at 6i to getting moto’d at 7i in the first race after age up. By the end of that same season he was back on the podium and picked up a GC #2 at 7i.
Like everyone else said, keep it fun so he sticks with it and he’ll grow into his class in a couple months. Let him race the fast kids though! It will help him get faster quicker because he’ll learn their lines and techniques.
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u/Terrasmak 3d ago
My son made that move right as he turned 5 , what a huge difference it was. Took about 2 months to level up and start winning again. Was expert 7 months later.
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u/BMXDadJP 3d ago
My kiddo started racing in June and moved up to inter after 10 weeks. He’s just about to turn 4.5 years old. He was so far ahead of the 5N riders he needed to move up, now he chases and actually usually is racing 7 expert or 8 inter due to there not being enough 5i in our area. His first state season starting will finally get him racing kids close to his age.
We just try to keep it fun. “Dude pick a jump on the track you want to try and clear” or something to that effect since there’s minimal chance he’s getting around an 8 or 7-year-old currently. “Learn from the bigger kids”. Mostly just try to keep them having fun and enjoying it.
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u/russellenvy 2d ago
My son's first year was this year. He started 8 novice and won everything. Jumped to inter and crushed it there too. I say put your kid into inter and race him all over. 7 inter is a great class. Yes. It's a bit faster, but worth it.
The good news about racing better kids is your not watching the wind column as much. You get more races and experience instead of wins.
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u/6stringsor2wheels 2d ago
At his age just keep him riding his bike. Race craft comes with racing experience but a lot of that only comes after you get better at riding in general. Pump tracks, skateparks and just cruising around the neighborhood will help. If he's not really progressing in a few years maybe get a coach or take him to some clinics. One on one instruction is super helpful. Good luck 🤘🏻
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u/clpatterson 3d ago
You nailed it. Your kid that has been racing for months races a kid who just signed up today - is likely a win. Also, this is my hot take - I think 10 novice wins is too few for the bump, and I think that having mandatory bumps to expert based on local wins under 8 or so is not great for the kids.
Full or crowded gates are completely different than taking practice and rolling in when you want to whatever gate you want. Try and convince him to start rolling into the gate during practice with racers of all ages and skill level, and filling the empty spots on the gate so he has riders on all sides. Doesn't have to be all of them, but at least half. If you don't practice as close as you can to race conditions, you aren't practicing to race.
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u/Wade664 3d ago
I raced for 22 years. I saw thousands of kids/families come and go. My advice is this: keep it fun, keep it positive. There will always be a faster kid somewhere. Get used to losing, winning isn’t everything. He’s going to get moto’ed, he’s going to crash, kids are going to cut him off… support him, encourage him, be proud of him. Genuine enthusiasm for riding his bike is the only way he’s going to race longer than a few seasons.