Day #15

We missed out on the finals again. Our 13-14s rode better, stronger, but we still (collectively) are riding too much to protect position instead of going after it. The day was points racing, which is a race that has/had 4 sprints that scored points four places deep (5,3,2,1). One need not win any sprints to win the race, as the person who collects the most points wins. Conceivably, someone could win this particular points race by finishing 3rd and 4th consistently.

Imari has an advantage in that everyone in races is new to him. He hasn't been knocked down by a genetic freak or early sprouter yet. That allows him to take it to these races, and he did. 1st or 2nd in the first sprint, but for the rest of the race he was fighting to get back into the group. But the thing about Imari that most bike racers don't do, is that he DID keep fighting. He ended up scoring in the last sprint as well. It wasn't enough points to finish top 3, but he animated the race and gave it is all. Calling it here--Imari will earn a medal at Nationals in 2009.

Noah...I dread seeing this race video (Stewarts took it), as I was losing my mind at how Noah rode the first half of this race. It was the worst tactical racing I'd ever seen out of him. It was the exact opposite of what we talked about doing, and it was the exact thing we said was the worst thing he could do. In the end, it still comes down to communication, and I assumed he understood what we were discussing. He locked on to one thing I said, and like the teenager he now is, the rest of what I said was just noise.

HOWEVER, the second half of his race he rode like the racer he is and can be. He picked up two second place spots in the remaining sprints, but it was just too late and a couple points short of making it to the finals. One 20 lap race. Half of it the worst race I've seen, and half one of the best I've seen from him.

Hunter rode a solid race. He was consitent througout, but kept finishing 5th in the sprints, which scores the same as 1,874th. Like Noah's race, the race just wasn't hard enough to favor him, which meant he had to sprint straight up against some better sprinters. We can tell these boys to attack more, but we also understand it is easier for us to say it than it is for them to do it. If you don't try, though, you'll get the same result as if you did attack and it failed. Once the fight starts, you might as well throw a punch.

Royce had a scratch qualifier. He finished one or two spots out of qualifying, but this was after doing it the hard way again. the most frustrating part of this for me is that I'm the one who is supposed to be able to work him through it, and I can't seem to get it done. If I didn't love this kid, it would be a lot easier. Once he does get through it, what we'll see is going to be spectatular. And maybe that's the pressure that keeps it from happening? Psychology by blog is a growing discipline.

One thing I've been blessed with, though, is having unusually smart young men on this team. They do learn quick. This track Nationals has been surprisingly stressful for the boys. It'll take some time for reflection, but right now I think it was the expectation of doing well that tightened them up as a whole. And then when one thing didn't go well, the mopey set in, and our pit would have a vibe that seemed like everyone would rather be somewhere else. It could be just that this is too long of a road trip for racers this young. We'll sort it out over time and make adjustments accordingly.

But I can't stress this enough--we're doing just average, but we're doing average at the National Championships. The very best racers in the country are our competition. 17th may not sound like a stellar result, but this isn't a Texas Cup race. There are 20+ guys in every category here that can win our Texas Cup races.

Also, qualifying was too strict for Nationals. Top 3 from three heats? Only 9 people to the finals? That's ridiculous. We were saying this before the heats were even run, so it isn't sour grapes that we didn't make it. For all of the money and time and family capital that it takes to go to Nationals, I expect the promoter to offer up a race that is an inclusive for the juniors as possible. It's Nationals, so I don't expect nor desire there to be participant ribbons, but it does get difficult to swallow that in the name of "safety" that the field sizes are capped so small, yet we have 40 and 50+ riders on the track doing all kinds of different things during warm up. There have been more crashes in warm ups and in the first turn (slow) of the match sprints with just two people than in all of the heats and mass start races combined.

Today (Sunday--last day of racing) we have a points race qualifier for Royce, a scratch race for Austin, and then the team pursuit for everyone. Austin is riding with Lawson, Alan Ting and Daniel Walker in their team pursuit. They are racing for the win. Imari, Royce, Hunter and Noah are racing for pride and for the future, as we'll have this squad together for the next two years as well. We're laying the foundation for future medaling performance in the team pursuit.

I have to add that Lisa and Gretchen arranged to get our hotel room done up with some birthday decorations for Noah. It was a nice surprise. I was also surprised that after taking one phone call that I very nearly missed out on getting a taste of the birthday cookie.

Waffle House = 1
Denny's = 5
IHOP = 2
Burrito = 9