[Closed] What discipline for an 8 year old ?

Weeksy..you are near Thatcham right? We should meet up sometime. My lad is only 6 but it might be good for him to see how a slightly older boy does it....I'll even let you sit on a proper motorbike if your good!!

I've got a 7yr old who'd love to ride with some other kids if either of you venture over towards Swinley...

Unless he has a race (or the weather looks astoundingly better on a Saturday) we are usually at Swinley Sunday's - we usually do the blue-red loop or variations from it repeating a few favourite runs and stopping for a sandwich lunch at some point

If anyone wanting to ride with kids drops me a pm we can swap mobiles and meet at the bike hut or trail head?

Last week we stopped here and rode it about 15 times.... whilst he practiced the drop-offs (and keeping his front wheel up)

Then also looped around Red 25 3 times
(Warning shaky but just to give you an idea of the riding - I left a long gap because if he comes off I don't want to land on top of him)

Swinley next weekend with them?

Sunday is rugby for a few more weeks but then will be free.

We'll be free next weekend ... Saturday is possible as well at the moment.
In a couple of weeks I'll be working a few weekends.. 🙁

We were at Bedgebury, Kent yesterday for a under 8's XC and then did a few runs of a more technical run with one of the other families and he had so much fun we forgot to go back for the presentation and he had to go and collect his medal after the presentation. We had to call it a day early as we'd not taken any jacket and it got cold and started raining.... (jacket forgotten due to trying to get 7yr old into car in order to do 1.5 hr drive before 9:30 am for registration ... )

Today we only did an hour or so at Swinley ....

Sat about 11am work then?

I'm having an internal debate, along with a discussion with Mrs Weeksy regarding the cycling thing.

Yesterday me and the lad went out, bit of a generic XC/Ridgeway ride... As always he got a little competitive and the "I'll race you to..." which i always oblige him with a bit of a race and push him a bit 🙂

But the debate currently is regarding what do we do in the grand scheme of things... Do we do a fair bit more racing, or do we just stick mostly to messing about? He's a quick lad and last year in XC Rampage was often running away with the races before throwing it into the floor (which we've hopefully resolved with some skills, bike changes etc).
Recently he did an XC race, which had 3-4 of his usual adversaries in the field but this time he was off the pace... I'm inclined to think it was a lack of training... but he's only 8 ! Training brings a certain level of seriousness, both in a training context and in a racing context. I'm 50-50 on wether we should train more, race more, ride more... Or whether we just accept it and say head to Swinley for a mess about instead.

From chatting to him, he certainly enjoys the racing, but i just don't know what way to proceed with it. If i bring up the suggestion of the race this weekend, he will without doubt be up for it... but equally he'd be up for heading to Swinley, riding and then climbing in the castle lol.

I'll tell you my story, read across as you see fit.

Was there a year or two ago with my daughter / basketball (she's 11 now, was 9 at the time). She is really very good - her club coach is also assistant at England / GB, head coach for the SE region, etc., and that's her feedback so it's not just parent opinion. Her technical ability is such that she can do most of the skills that are 'required' for Reg/Nat girls from the U14/16 age group, so stuff like shooting form, lay ups, dribbling both hands, crossovers, jab steps, stutter steps, eurosteps, etc.

But playing against other U10's - most of her peer group aren't of the same level; and against boys she was suffering (sadly) from not getting passed to because 'she's a girl' and doesn't have the maturity to deal with it or overcome it. She could just about manage at girls U12 level, although girls being girls some are young women at that age and the difference shows in strength, height and speed. As a result she got very disillusioned and end result is that she has fallen out of the program. She still plays socially down at the skate park a bit, or in the back yard with me, but that's all we do - play for fun.

At first I agonized that 'losing' a year would be a big set back, but actually I realized I was in danger of being that pushy Dad we all hate and if she lost all enjoyment then she'd quit completely. So we accepted it. And another coach from another age group 'applauded' us for it. She's an ex- Danish International, so clearly good enough and she didn't even start playing until she was 12. She pointed out that if she's already technically U14/16 standard of skills, she's already years ahead of her game, and the experience of game situations is something you never truly master, but that it would come quickly when she restarted.

She'll be a true U12 next year, and will also be able to play at school when she goes up to secondary next year, and it's looking like she wants back in next year.

Like I said - read across. My 2p - let him be a child, but keep him active in the sport in the way he wants to be. He has years yet before he needs to be 'serious' about it, and the kids that beat him currently because their Dad insists they do turbo sessions every night will be the ones that burn their bib shorts as soon as they're old enough to stand up to their parents because they've been forced to do it.

Recently he did an XC race, which had 3-4 of his usual adversaries in the field but this time he was off the pace... I'm inclined to think it was a lack of training... but he's only 8 ! Training brings a certain level of seriousness, both in a training context and in a racing context. I'm 50-50 on wether we should train more, race more, ride more... Or whether we just accept it and say head to Swinley for a mess about instead.

The difference seems to be duration which is totally different to having fun on a family ride so training specifically for a 10-15 minute event is obviously different to a 4 hour ride and some fun.

I think the social aspect at races can also be really good and he really likes riding with other kids as well as with me. I'm not superfit but obviously he can't realistically compete against me and he'll push much harder when another kid is available.

[b]So my plan at the moment is as much fun as possible but then to take some time out whilst doing family rides for 10-15 minute laps on less technical trails and also to take time out to do fun/technical stuff on the same ride.[/b]

I don't really like the idea of [b]just [/b]doing competition and training for competition at their age...

Open for Gorrick this weekend but 8.55am start seems like a challenge (assuming they are OK letting my 7yr old in the 8-11 age group)

Like I said - read across. My 2p - let him be a child, but keep him active in the sport in the way he wants to be. He has years yet before he needs to be 'serious' about it, and the kids that beat him currently because their Dad insists they do turbo sessions every night will be the ones that burn their bib shorts as soon as they're old enough to stand up to their parents because they've been forced to do it.

He got back after a race on Saturday and [b]insisted [/b]on going on the turbo's.... I probably shouldn't have let him but it was a deal if he did his homework...and I wanted him to do his homework Saturday so it wasn't hanging over riding Sunday...

For me at least Weeksy might say different this is a bit about how supportive we are with the racing... my kid has done nothing but want to race since he saw the Solent Pirates at Swinley... 2 years ago and its been more me holding him off until this year than anything.

The rest I all agree with, it's important to let them be a kid and being pushy more likely to turn them off than improve them. I just feel at the moment I'm putting brakes on and it's a question of how much to put the brakes on when he wants to race.

I guess the question is, do you want him to place better or does he??

If it's coming from him, then you need to be ready to apply the brakes a bit as Stevextc says but if it's not- i.e. he enjoys racing but isn't bothered where he finishes then the decision is up to you isn't it.

You can show him what he needs to do to get fitter and let him decide how much he wants to do.

We obviously don't have an issue with Freddie yet but it will come, probably in horse riding I expect, so we've talked about it a lot and that's going to be our guide I think- does he want it for himself or just to appease us.

I've mentioned before my friend from up north with the kid who's a sponsored MX rider.
The little guy is obsessed and has been for years- he caught him watching DVD's of an old race the night after he'd been racing.
When told to turn it off his reply was "but Dad, I need to improve on my lines for next week!"

The other sticking point in my thoughts about it, is far more successful athletes have been heavily involved in their sport since childhood than not.
So you need to decide what potential he has too and where it lies. If devoting hours each week riding his bike costs him being a world class musician then it may be time wasted?

If you think he's good then you could get a coach to assess him?

I see a few of the kids in his class in the full Lycra, i also saw them when i went to a CX race with Crosshair, i think every event i attend even to spectate they're there LOL.
But that's the worrying aspect for me, is it the be all and end all.... If it then becomes a chore is it worth all the hassle... the answer is of course NO.

But i don't want to sit there in 3-4 years and think "damn, i should have pushed him harder"..

If devoting hours each week riding his bike costs him being a world class musician then it may be time wasted?

If you think he's good then you could get a coach to assess him?

This bit is where we have a minor conflict of interests between me and Mrs Weeksy.
My lad is doing a concert with the Royal Philharmonic at the Hexagon in a few weeks time, people are actually paying £7.50 a ticket to watch him/them. I get the impression from his flute tutors that he's not quite a world beater for his age, but pretty talented.
The conflict came up because he does flute on Weds and Sat, but Sat he has the option of the Reading Velo club, which may have spaces, we've been waiting for 6 months for some to come up for him. But we can't do both as they're at the same time.

I don't think he's a great rider techincally... in fact i'm 100% sure in a technical context there are many many riders out there better, but he's a strong and powerful little fella and when he's on form, or training better depending how you look at it, he's very quick for his age group.

weeksy - have you got a club nearby? I know you were asking about our lot a while back, but being QECP based are we a bit too far away? If not, come along! I know you see my 2 racing a lot, but really there's lots who come to club nights but never race. It's just a fun skills and social club night for a lot of kids really - they all get on well together, enjoy learning things and pushing themselves on the trails. None of it feels like 'training' - more a fun evening out.

ah - posted before you posted yours about Reading velo...

I see a few of the kids in his class in the full Lycra, i also saw them when i went to a CX race with Crosshair, i think every event i attend even to spectate they're there LOL.
But that's the worrying aspect for me, is it the be all and end all.... If it then becomes a chore is it worth all the hassle... the answer is of course NO.

But i don't want to sit there in 3-4 years and think "damn, i should have pushed him harder"..

The thing is, in many cases, the obsession will be coming from the kids!!
I'd never really encountered it in my upbringing but when Sally was working at the Prep school there were one or two kids there who were scarily focussed for their age!!! The parents didn't have your dilemma- those kids were gonna do it even if they had to run away from home and do it themselves!!!

I know you were asking about our lot a while back, but being QECP based are we a bit too far away?

Problem with your one came not from distance, but again, was Saturdays... so the conflict.

We were going to come one weekend but your lass cancelled due to the weather, i then didn't hear anything back at all from her regarding it.
I'm still more than up for the evening ones you guys had running, i'm out of work by 3pm each day so easy to make the jaunt down.

The thing is, in many cases, the obsession will be coming from the kids!!
I'd never really encountered it in my upbringing but when Sally was working at the Prep school there were one or two kids there who were scarily focussed for their age!!! The parents didn't have your dilemma- those kids were gonna do it even if they had to run away from home and do it themselves!!!

Never going to get that from my boy... he's far too laid back. The only sodding thing he's that crazy about is Pokemon 🙂
If i suggest a ride/race he'll jump at it... there's no question he enjoys is and always seems to have fun at the events and the riding.. but he's not the sort of kid who'll be the pushy one in that context about it (wrong terminology i know, but i think you get what i mean)

Ok - I'll look into it.

I didn't mean to say that you should discourage them in any way - quite the opposite. If they want to race, compete, take up world level origami - your role as a parent is to support them in that. But remember first and foremost these are (small) children we are talking about - not even early teenagers yet - and be prepared that one or two bad experiences and they might suddenly decide they don't want to do it at all. At that point don't make my mistake and 'force' the issue, be ready to step back and then be ready to go again as and when they want to.

And above all - you (we) had your chance to turn pro 30 years ago. You didn't because you weren't good enough and didn't try hard enough. But as tempting as it is to now live your dreams through your kids - you can't; it's their life and their choice to make. Yes, world beaters like the Williams sisters were on court for hours and hours at the age of 5, but how many other kids did the same, never got anywhere, and missed out on being kids as a result.

I didn't mean to say that you should discourage them in any way - quite the opposite. If they want to race, compete, take up world level origami - your role as a parent is to support them in that. But remember first and foremost these are (small) children we are talking about - not even early teenagers yet - and be prepared that one or two bad experiences and they might suddenly decide they don't want to do it at all. At that point don't make my mistake and 'force' the issue, be ready to step back and then be ready to go again as and when they want to.

And above all - you (we) had your chance to turn pro 30 years ago. You didn't because you weren't good enough and didn't try hard enough.

Sort of ... but albeit different sports than cycling but [b]what I remember[/b] my parents not supporting me... I'm sure there is a big gap between what I remember and reality but my memories are being beholden to other parents to get me to competitions and races.
Perhaps I'm over compensating....

But as tempting as it is to now live your dreams through your kids - you can't; it's their life and their choice to make. Yes, world beaters like the Williams sisters were on court for hours and hours at the age of 5, but how many other kids did the same, never got anywhere, and missed out on being kids as a result.

Funny you mention that.... I forget the name but their was a girl who went to Oxbridge at 11 (or thereabouts) who was [b]also [/b]a top tennis player and ended up running away to become a prostitute.

what I remember my parents not supporting me...

Again - if they want to, make it your job to be as supportive as you need to be, no more, no less.

There may come a time when you have to up it a bit, to force them out of the door on a sunday morning for a four hour steady recovery ride when they don't want to go. Or to give up a late night with your mates because you have to take them to the swimming pool at 5am. But that'll be when you know it's serious, not as an eight year old.

.And above all - you (we) had your chance to turn pro 30 years ago. You didn't because you weren't good enough and didn't try hard enough. But as tempting as it is to now live your dreams through your kids - you can't; it's their life and their choice to make. Yes, world beaters like the Williams sisters were on court for hours and hours at the age of 5, but how many other kids did the same, never got anywhere, and missed out on being kids as a result

Absolutely. Hence my posts on here. I'm trying to gauge from you guys who've experienced children before what is the best plan, or not plan etc.

I watched a movie about the junior TDF, I think they were all late teens, cracking cyclists, out of the top 10, I think it was only Pinot who's name any of us would recognise now from racing. None of the rest ever made it as cyclists.

I want to give my lad the best childhood possible, it just so happens he likes cycling too.
I got a mail from Yak's school and we'll be heading down to QECP for some fun.

Steve; I only met you once but you seemed pretty level headed and that at this age it's just supposed to be fun.

Be there for whatever he wants to do - if he likes racing let him, in the meantime just go riding; from other threads it'll do you good too. Spend some time going at his pace, ride difficult stuff again and again and get better at it. And spend some time seeing if he can keep up with you, just going a bit faster than he naturally would. It's not training but it'll be broadly equivalent to sweet spot training if you gauge it right, and'll just be racing Dad to him.

It'll only be a few years before he'll be pacing you while you try and keep up.

In his dreams 😆

I'm not past it yet. The days he tries to win is the day he face plants

Weeksy, I guess it depends on your definition of 'best childhood' doesn't it. Being allowed to indulge in a passion for cycling and get pushed and challenged beyond your boundaries and obtain a massive sense of self-pride, determination and discipline could be equally as good as being allowed to do whatever you fancied that particular weekend- even if it sometimes meant riding when he initially didn't feel like it.
The guys from the TdF documentary may not have made pro cyclists but it doesn't mean that Cycling didn't impact their life for the better.

My wife and I probably had the two polar extremes. Her father was a Marine General with a passion for running. Family holidays were spent in midge infested Scottish bogs on Orienteering competitions.

Mine were spent daydreaming around the farm doing as I fancied (usually not a lot) but definitely not being pushed and driven to achieve my potential.

The end result? She is way more determined than I am. Way more focussed, driven, passionate and single minded.
Now obviously she hates orienteering- and would rather do anything else than that on a spare day but I don't think it's fair to say it was a waste of time.

I suppose what I'm trying to get at is, life skills are transferable. Whether he carries on XC racing a month, a year, a decade or becomes a British gold medalist at it, that is not a reflection of what it's given him.

Also, it's all quality time together too. If you want him to be a chilled, friendly, kind, generous, relaxed kind of guy like you then perhaps firing him up to be a cut-throat racer isn't such a good idea anyway 😉

I'm not past it yet. The days he tries to win is the day he face plants

The ups are fine. Mine's quicker on the technical downhill stuff - at 10

We went for try-out day at Pedal2pedal and he really enjoyed it.

We've now made a crazy decision and we're, well, he's going to race on the 27th at the FoD in the little enduro race, along with racing XC the day after 🙂

He seems to enjoy both massively... Arguably the Enduro a bit more, but his skills and strengths are more suited to XC, but riding opportunites/times/locations mean he's likely to be more XC than DH for a few years at least.

It was great to see how much he was smiling after being out last night 🙂

and long may it last 🙂

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302293167022?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Currently debating whether to get this for my lad as a 'grower' ... I think it's likely to be a little big at the moment but should suit him well in 6-12 months. Looks like a nice bike with a nice spec.

Struggling to find something more suited at this sort of budget really.

Sure, i could spend £650 and buy a Whyte 403, but you know what, £650 is a chunk of change more than £350 and not sure he'd get THAT much more for the extra cash.

That is a nice looking bike for the price 🙂

It's not bad for the price but not so good you wouldn't find something else in 6-12 months ...

I'm a big convert to actually TRYING a bike.... probably due to my short legs but what he's riding may well change in the next months as well...

I'm working towards Jnrs next bike being FS..and perhaps just nicking his current groupset to transfer to a frame/forks/shock... but it's probably a while away

Agree with a lot of the logic, but in 6-12 months i may not have £400 spare to buy it LOL. So i was thinking of buying while i have it spare.

I believe a lot of what your kids will ride will come down often to what you ride yourself, me being an XCer means it's more than likely my lad will ride XC more than anything else. It's also what he seems to have a greater aptitude towards at this stage.

I thought about an FS, but the problem i see there is a massive chunk of cost difference along with a weight increase. I can't see us finding an FS of that sort of spec for <£800

Ah well, in the end it went up to £436 which was more than i was prepared to go, if i'm going up that high i'll get a Whyte 403.

For that money with time you could buy/build something really good.

I got a "carbon everything" (Giant XtC Advanced) for £690 .... (which is less than buying a wheel off it new) ... just putting in ebay time....
and yes with original receipts...

(Realise that more than £436 but sometimes there are unbid bargains... it was even in my town - not that I wouldn't have driven to pick it up)

When I bought the Whyte I paid "about average £1300" because I was in a hurry...

The XtC will be sold when I get round to it to fund Jr's next bike....

So I went into banjo cycles to look at the whyte.

Suddenly, well, errrrm.

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Nice!! 🙂

Going back a few days... I'd just recommend for an 8yo to just ride as often as he wants. Don't call it training, it's just going for a ride, even if you might inadvertently be training by racing for various different points. Same for racing, if he wants to race then let him race. Do whatever he enjoys.

Going forward though becoming a member of a club would help massively regardless of what he eventually decides he wants to do. It'll improve his skills massively and give him exposure to all the other disciplines of cycling. I've very rarely met a good racing XC cyclist who hasn't at some point ridden/raced track, CX, road or TT. When I was coaching we had a regular group of about 40 kids. They all loved it, but only about 15 raced, didn't stop any of them having a great time at our fairly relaxed coaching sessions.

Jnr and I raced a good few seasons of CX (he raced some other disciplines but loved CX). He was never troubling the podium but did well in the group just behind the top 3-4. The OH used to come and watch and she never saw Jnr after his race as all the kids he raced with, regardless of how serious they were, would spend the afternoon sharing sweets, messing around, rolling down hills and generally getting covered in mud. He doesn't race at all now but all those lads he raced with are all still in contact with each other on various social media platforms. He doesn't ride that much either, but when he does has no bother just riding however far/long he fancies.

20km or so for a play at the pump track today with my lad. Lots of fun and practicing cornering

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Weeksy: I still got a (currently) spare set of 140 cranks spare if you want to try....
I'm guessing but expect you will want something between the supplied 165 and 140 ....

but at least if you try shorter than needed you can see how it changes and if its worth looking for or making a set of 150something....

It's only a 5 min job switching them over though he'd then have a 30T to try rather than the 28T but it should give a good idea how much or little benefit you might see .. sadly I'm working all weekend and probably next weekend 🙁

Thanks buddy.

He's getting happier and happier now and I think the cranks won't be an issue, although we may have to change the drive side for a larger front ring as he seems to spend most his time in the smallest 3 cogs.

Happy at the moment though.

Some jumping and woods practice today.

Today was Matterley for Southern XC race. My lad was gridded on row 2. Got off to a great start and was 4th into the woods on lap 1...

Woods was tricky and complex, but as they were all off quickly he wasn't held up at all.

Sadly that was pretty much where the excitement ended. The race turned into a bit of a procession for him mostly after lap 1, he was sitting in 6th and ended up dropping to 8th but pulled back a quick lap to manage 7th. A lot of it was down to lap 4 where he lost 20s to his rivals, i'm not sure why yet, possibly almost high siding himself, but i imagine he just caught some traffic at the wrong time which held him up.

7th though is a very good result, there was a few lads we've not seen before and they were pretty handy that's for sure ! One of his main rivals in the championship bailed after 2 laps which helps us and should put us 4th overall i think. Sadly though that's this years XC finished with the Southern XC series for us as he's got a flute concert at the Hexagon in Reading on the last race day of the season. It's not helped by the fact it's almost in Brighton ! Which means we can't get back to make the practice sessions for flute sadly.

Knowing how much the fluting means to Mrs Weeksy, i couldn't really argue a case.

We've come to a realisation this weekend though, if the boy wants to be more competitive, he needs to ride more, a LOT more... All the main rivals are riding every weekend, either XC or CX, or something, riding and racing... If he wants to beat them, he needs to work lots more.

Whether we'll do that, i really don't know.. It's a tricky question, i don't want to lose the fun for him, i don't want to turn it into a chore, so, what happens next... I don't know.

Massive thanks to Adam Buckland from here for putting the event on .... It's an excellent time..

We've come to a realisation this weekend though, if the boy wants to be more competitive, he needs to ride more, a LOT more... All the main rivals are riding every weekend, either XC or CX, or something, riding and racing... If he wants to beat them, he needs to work lots more.

Whether we'll do that, i really don't know.. It's a tricky question, i don't want to lose the fun for him, i don't want to turn it into a chore, so, what happens next... I don't know.

Going through similar mate....
It's his idea to race but if he want to race then he needs to practice.
If its not racing then he still needs to practice not just muck about. I'm happy to drive him to races but he needs to actually practice.