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- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
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- Location
- Huntsville
- First Name
- Scott
- Last Name
- Friday
This is a LONG overdue report from back in early November of last year. I signed up Sarah and Daniel to do the NxLevelMx dirt bike class with Kyle Williams. There were supposed to be several other kids in the class, but by the time the class date rolled around they had all dropped out for various reasons. Kyle and his Dad still agreed to to the class even though it would be just Daniel and Sarah 
The class was a surprise for the kids. I did not tell them about it until the last minute. They were pretty excited to say the least!! I got the bikes, a Honda XR50 and Yamaha TTR50E, loaded up with all their gear, packed snacks and drinks, and set the alarm. The class was being held at a private track down near Brookshire, a little over an hour drive for us. We arrived about 9:30am and started unloaded. Kyle and his Dad were there doing the same. The weather looked like it would be perfect! It was sunny with a slight breeze and warm enough for short sleeves. Sarah was a bit nervous but excited. Daniel was chomping at the bit! I was a little worried that Daniel might have trouble paying attention for 2-3 hours of class time because he has a LOT of energy. After quick bathroom breaks, it was time to start. Kyle started with just talking to them for a few minutes about basic stuff, but then got straight to the riding. The private track was basically someone's back yard... a BIG back yard!! The whole property had maybe a few acres up front for the home and barn, but then ALL of the rest of it was a massive dirt track. I'd guess it was around 15-18 acres of whoops, jumps, and a nice lake in the center. Kyle took the kids over to one area where he could talk with them and get a feel for what they could do. I deliberately kept my distance so the kids would not be looking at me or worrying about me. I wanted them totally focused on Kyle. It did not take long for Sarah to fall over, but she got right back up and kept at it I was a bit worried she might get discouraged because she can be a bit of a perfectionist, getting frustrated when she doesn't do it perfect right away. I had talked with her a lot about this already, trying to get her to understand that you have to fall down a lot before you can learn to walk and then run. I had also talked with Daniel about laughing at her if she falls down because odds were that he'd fall over too and he doesn't like being laughed at either. Daniel had to use the restroom, so they took a short break. You can see that Sarah is slow to wake up but Daniel wakes up to full throttle... After the short break Kyle did a bit of follow the leader for a few minutes and then started working with them on cornering and body position.Then they worked a bit on standing on the bike while riding. Daniel LOVES doing this. Sarah loves the IDEA of doing it more than the reality
But she tries hard! They got to a point where they were doing laps around a short loop on one side of the track. Part of that loop was a section of about 6-7 mild whoops. After going through it several times, Sarah had a bobble on one and her weight shifted backward. This made her grab a fist full of throttle and off she went!! She held on and looked like she might recover, but Kyle and Daniel had stopped in a corner after the whoops when they heard her bike go wide open. She went up over the sandy berm and just laid the bike down. She was fine though and laughing about it. Sarah took a break for a few minutes and came to hang out with me. Kyle took Daniel and did some one on one time with him. Both kids really took a liking to Kyle in a hurry and seemed to be doing a great job of really paying attention to what he was telling them and trying to do it on the bike.More follow the leader and working on keeping forward with elbows up and out.
Kyle showing Daniel how to attack the corner...
After working with Daniel for a bit, Kyle came over to where Sarah and I were watching and they stopped to talk about body position and the effect of shifting your body weight at different times.Kyle shows Sarah how getting her weight back made her get on the gas in the whoops
She goes out to do a few laps to practice what he just told her while Daniel takes a break
Keeping the elbows UP!
Some follow the leader and one on one time for Sarah
I love how focused she is... In her mind she is standing STRAIGHT up!
She kind of laughed when I showed her this picture later.Daniel gets turned loose for a bit just to ride on his own and practice while Kyle talks with Sarah
Note the nice water truck for maintaining the track
Daniel just seems more relaxed on the bike. NO FEAR!!
Heading into the whoops
Daniel is good at keeping his eyes up and forward, looking where he wants to go
Sarah has a tendency to look right in front of her, but just in the first hour or so of the class I can already see her doing a much better job of looking up and farther ahead
There's that "standing" again!
No doubt she feels like she is FLYING 
Kyle is real good at watching them, giving just a little coaching so he doesn't over load them, and then letting them work on it.
Getting a little higher...
Looking up and through the turn
Kyle sets up some cones so they can work on body position and weighting while weaving. This is a drill I have done with the kids in the back yard many times, sitting and standing. Both of them do it pretty well.Daniel forgot to look at the NEXT cone and started looking at the one right in front of him and it made him go wide
Sarah goes back to work on those whoops while Daniel works the cones
and doesn't give up...
A short review session where they try to tie everything together
Once most of the actual lessons are over, Kyle takes them around parts of the larger track. Daniel of course wants to ride up and down the biggest hills he can find!Working on the turning
As the kids come through a central area of the track they enter a short straight section that has some pretty good ruts, at least compared to the front tires of their bikes. Sarah wobbles... and goes down... I hear Daniel laughing and see him staring at her instead of looking where he's going... and he goes down too! Somehow he doesn't find my laughing very amusing Kyle circles back around to collect them and get them going again
Kyle tries to get Sarah to stick that leg out!
That big Cat and the little Bobcat are used for manicuring the track... nice equipment!
Kyle has another class starting around 2:00pm so sometime after 1:00pm he starts wrapping things up with the kids. They've been riding almost a solid three hours and have stayed totally focused the ENTIRE time! They ride up to the area where the cars are parked for a end of session review. Daniel doesn't always look like he is paying attention, but Kyle finds out that he actually was when he asks Daniel to recite the five pivot positions on the body, "Ankles, Knees, Hips, Shoulders and Elbows!!" Kyle looks at me and I just laugh. He's happy that the kids have something they will definitely remember and take away from the class. Some of the kids for the next class have arrived and are riding around the track warming up for their class. Sarah and Daniel watch them for a bit as I point out some of the things they are doing that Kyle was explaining to the kids. In the last 45 minutes or so, the clouds have been gathering and there have been scattered showers visible not far off in various directions. While we are packing up to leave, it begins to sprinkle. I think we timed it perfect. We stop for lunch at the Chik-fil-a in Tomball on the way home. The kids are pretty hyped about the class and asking when they can do another one. As we finish up lunch, I look out window and a thick dark wall of rain is coming straight down the street toward us. We make a mad dash for the van and get in just in time to keep from getting soaked. The drive home back up I-45 is done at about 20-25 mph the whole way because the rain is so heavy I can barely see the 18 wheeler directly in front of me 
The class was great. Kyle is really good at connecting with the kids and working with them at their level of skill and attention. The kids really enjoyed him a lot. I spent my time visiting with his Dad, who normally helps when the classes are larger, and just running around taking pictures (of which I only posted about half 
). Even months later, we still talk about the class and I try to get the kids to work on the things Kyle taught them. I don't know if we'll ever get a chance, but it sure would be fun to do another class in the future.
