"Doesn't that scare you?"

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that, I'd have enough dollar bills to make a stripper jealous. 

Yes, motocross is an inherently dangerous sport. Yet, so is football. I bet no one questions football moms. 

So why motocross? 

For starters, the boy loves his dirt bike. He's a high strung kid. On a dirt bike he is able to let loose and let'er rip without getting yelled at to chill or calm down. He's free on that dirt bike. (Unless he's acting a fool on his pit bike but that's a-whole-nother story)   

The life lessons Wyatt is learning now far surpasses anything he would learn playing any organized team sport at his age level. Motocross requires a huge amount of discipline, hard work and dedication just to stay remotely competitive. The sheer fact that my 7 year old can size up a 60ft jump, and skillfully nail it with confidence tells me that he knows exactly what he is doing on that motorcycle. 

Sure, my heart skips a beat every now and then. A full gate of 40 riders going into the first turn at National Races make me cringe. But, I know that Wyatt knows what he can and cannot do. I trust him.

When Ronny had the track rebuilt a few months ago, a new (huge) double was added. After a couple days of riding the new track Wyatt told me "I'm going to hit that today". I said go for it. Ronny almost lost his mind seeing him fly over what is now known as Wyatt's Leap. I told Ronny that Wyatt told me he was going to hit it and Ronny said he would have told him not to yet. (Oopsie!) It's only proof that Wyatt knows what he and his bike are capable of. He knows how to choose the fastest/smoothest line, what gear he needs to be in, how fast or slow he needs to be going, how to make a clean pass and how to stuff someone in a corner. He is in complete control.

My favorite moto life lesson? Not everyone wins. There are no participation awards in motocross. Just like there's no crying in baseball. At the tender age of 7 my child knows what it feels like to win, what it feels like to lose, what it means to win and what it means to lose. He knows you have to earn it or you leave empty handed. You have to work hard. Only then will you get a trophy and recognition.

 

Lastly, as a moto family you accept that there is a chance of injury...potential serious injury at that. Wyatt has had his share of crashes and I know chances are that more are in the future. There's also a chance I'll trip and fall down my front porch steps, breaking my neck. Should I not go down those steps? If it's on the big man up stairs books to happen, it's going to happen. There are no guarantees on how life will go, why not live it and take some chances? 

So, that's why. That's why motocross and that's why it doesn't scare me.