Keen Beans

White fencing standards marked a loop that got hammered practically from dawn to dusk as skills were taught, practiced and then thrashed. The lads gained and displayed skills and courage on the slippery corners, logs and small jumps while mums and dads watched on somewhat bemused. Unfortunately I couldn’t stick around  but really enjoyed the time with this energetic crowd.

An hour or so later Stevie-Lee and the Jillings brothers had a refurbished Cvitanovichs track to enjoy while I was soon drilling them in their jumping, ruts and starting skills. Zac is becoming something of a standout on his KTM 65 with his regular coaching showing in a very flowing, smooth riding style.

Onto The Naki

The Wanganui club once again supported their locals with a great venue where young riders alternated sessions with no escape from becoming a better rider. Cullen Hurley kicked us off on the right foot and the sessions continued with Connor getting the prize for smashing his previous best laptimes. The day was one of those rare occasions that you never take for granted. We were blessed with hardly a breath of wind to go with the million dollar views.

Future and Past Champions

Four sessions a day was the case once again at our friendly Barrett Road track of New Plymouth where some young riders had their go at the big track and one expert joined us again, following up on a session that surprised him a few months before. Larry Blair is one of those under-rated heroes you might not hear much about, but in this case has a number of national titles from many different countries to his name. A new father, he is willing and able to both win and learn.

There were many others but time would fail us, except to show our appreciation to all three of these great moto areas, and their clubs!

Who is He?

Name: Charlie Rowe
Age: 14
First Bike: JR80
Currently Rides: CRF150R
Recent Success: 1st in Gold Nuggets MX Day, Under 17, 85cc

Its A Long Way From Tapawera

I started riding when I had just turned 4 on an old Suzuki jr80.  It was only about my 3rd ride on it when I managed to crash into a gate, so now I wasn’t wanting to go near a motobike.  I grew back into it after 6 months or so.  I built my skills up on the farm and did a couple of trail rides dubbing on the back of dads motorbike. 
I soon started going to trail rides around the Rangataiki and Manawatu.  We then moved to the South Island in 2007 and I started to come into a love of motocross by 2009. My first event was the Peter Brown Memorial, coming a suprisingly close second.  That was when I first met Broxy.

Future Ahead

I have been racing now for 2 and a half years and recently rode at the New Zealand Junior Nationals. Unfortunately, having a massive crash training 6 days before, I came 18th with 2 dnfs.  Some events I am looking forward to are the Nelson Champs and the South Island Secondary School Champs.  I’d just like to thank Mum and Dad for helping me get this far, Morleys Honda for looking after me so well, Sports Physio Therapy for keeping me in top shape and Utopia Goggles for hooking me up with some sweet goggles.

Worth the wait! These are some lucky boys with their very own local track to rip up at will

Patetonga

Having our first date stormed out meant the reschedule had to happen and guess what- a cyclone was coming. We made our enquiries and sent the prayers, holding out on hope that our favourite terracotta track would stay dry, and dry it did stay! All four sessions went without hitch, each rider turning out and sent off with a helmet full of new tricks.

Waikaretu

Where? Nestled on the North Island’s west coast somewhere south of Port Waikato is a moto haven where you can choose between seperate sand, moto or supercross tracks or just go free-ride. Through Botany Honda was a group of riders ranging from beginner to expert which Broxy dissected and turned into a days worth of fun learning. The farm ride was truly epic with massive sand dunes, hills and natural jumps to smash which Broxy vowed to return back to.

Since our last coaching session these boys had both doubled their skills- and size!

Matamata

This was what Dylan Ryan had been waiting for, a concussion putting a hold on our original visit back to the track Broxy had given some direction designing. Having been sprayed, ripped and added to, Dylan’s new track is fun for all ages and great for a days coaching. The Kaimais were calling but Broxy was able to focus on the job of helping Dylan and his friends smoothen out the skills while cutting up the track.

Ywari

Up behind Matata’s Awakaponga track is a venue Broxy has enjoyed using many times for both his race prep and coaching. This time it was just one rider on the track getting his lessons after a five year break from coaching while younger brother Darcy recieved a few little tips of his own aboard his JR50 while following a small loop in the parking area. Our business mentor was there to see how things are done and kept everyone amused with his ball skills and stories while Broxy did his thing.

The Taranaki crew carved it up on their secret track, with a three time world Champion included!

New Plymouth

Getting involved with the Vintage racing crew is always fun and this time Broxy made his way down to Taranaki to work with ex Honda Racing team mate Reg Daveys and his son Cody, both still avid red riders. Reg won the 50+ World Veterans Championships three times in a row racing the intermediate class but was still able to come away with some “different” skills, which is exactly what we were hoping for. They were joined by a sea of red bikes including the Red Rocket of “Crazy” Phil, Graeme’s Elsinore CR250 and Steve’s Maico.

Rotorua

The final big day held three sessions with the return of Rickie Harte and top mountain biker James “Dodsy” Dodds. The Phillips’ track was frosty and cold, but in great conditions for some very responsive students keeping Broxy on his toes.

Next Generation

While I may not have convinced you to take up FMX just yet, there is a strong undertow of people open to the idea and this is where Nick and I have teamed together to create the kind of camps that can both give these riders a taste of freestyle and help them progress their current skills, in the safest manner possible. 

Autograph Anyone?

There recording the big moment was the film crew from Red Bull, a special treat for our riders that Nick had jacked up which may see them on the web at www.redbull.co.nz and TV with Red Bull Chronicles. Of course having the cameras trained on them upped the ante a bit where we saw riders like Jacob on his KLX110 hit the pit many times, and Thomas on his 125 dial in the cancan. With a less than full camp, I was also able to join in the fun, getting some quality time learning the grabs and cliff hangers that have laid dormant for many years, after choosing the path of mx over fmx.

Great Discoveries

Coaching was packed which made the longish loop I had set up all the more important, with all sorts of challenging corners and a farm track to negotiate their way up and over- the hard way. Demonstrations came on board a CRF230F courtesy of Langlands Honda, a trusty steed that also enabled me to discover the views on display after the coaching was finished.

From the trail high in the hills above camp

The following weekend we were finally heading up to the hills surrounding the Nelson lakes for the first Honda Kids Camp at St Arnaud, the word “finally” being after the false start last year at using this venue. A little investigation revealed this was the family farm of some good friends of mine and the same place I had been wanting to ride for years, ever since I had met the late Leith McConochie and his cousin Ben. With the Rainbow Mountain Ski Fields and the beautiful Lake Rotoiti just around the corner the natural setting for this camp were hard to beat.After a morning stroll in the native Beech forest that backed the camp I returned in time to set up my coaching area and show off the antlers I had wrestled off the head of the resident master stag. A real fight to the death- or at least that is the story the crowd of campers were left to imagine.

Hidden Dangers

The ride to our coaching area was an adventure on its own with two river crossings and a gravel road to traverse before dodging small boulders hidden in the grass around our course marked by road cones. One rider took a couple of heavy crashes before he learned caution with these hidden dangers, fortunately living to tell the tale.

Top to Bottom

From the twins of Southland to the Smith family from Auckland, this was a great excuse for a road trip and you can be sure that next years trails will really take advantage of the great facility at St Arnaud. Greg and his crew far too good to me as always, and the Morleys Honda farm quad made for excellent transport.

With the Honda Kids Club Campouts wrapped up for another year we can only hope to enjoy the company of many of you riders at our regular coaching sessions… can’t wait!

Logan showed his coaching has paid big dividends since he first met us while riding his dads CRF450, now tearing up on Broxy ex practice bike

Broxy Rider Coaching is always keen to get involved with schools MX groups, offering the kind of support that other sports get and at the best prices we can.

The College boys were left with tanks out of fuel and brains full of skills they needed to practice

Seven riders made for the ideal group for plenty of fun one on one attention, if the group was any bigger we would have split them into alternating sessions.

“The Valleys shall be made high…”

Although known for its big jumps, what caught some riders out was over estimating the speed required. The low spots were raised up, fast straights had more roller sections to help slow things down and (what was named) the wall jump did its job perfectly. The McKnight family combined this with soil preperation that did not mud or rut up much, making something of a highway for riders to enjoy- after all, they are who really matters.

Classes were well stacked with young talent but not too full that many would fail to qualify for the excellent racing that I was able to enjoy over the next 24 hours. Unfortunately I could not stay long but the three rounds of racing I did see were pure enjoyment.

Winners and Winners

Standouts for me, apart from watching the domination of Micah McGoldrick and Hunter Laurence, were Josh Bartosh and Kruz Carter. There were many others that excelled also but seeing Josh and Kruz give it their all despite massive opposition was enough to make a coach proud.

From what I hear, the prize giving was full of people calling the Backflips track their new favourite, the best feedback that any club could hope for and a real testament to the work that went into making this event one to remember.

Perfect farm weather with burst of both sun and rain, a small consolation after having nine bikes rip up some paddock into figure eights

Mike noticed how using his upper body in corners and getting his foot back on the peg early helped keep things under control

Sitting and standing was our first mission, slippery grass a great way to show up any problems with technique

I had to put on the coaches hat for the day and keep the hanging out as mates part until we were back in the pits. It worked!

After seeing a few riders land with bike and body sideways we spent the last session showing how to get it sideways and at least get their body pointing where they want to go for the landing

Joel had this skill down, next on the list was sitting forward and leaning back for turns to get him off the rear brake

Once the helmets were off we got stuck into the food and carried on the good times. Looking forward to next time!

Balcutha was an action packed couple of days, starting with some confidence building. Taking my time with Josh, we worked our way from clutch control to power shifting in a very successful effort to help him start to enjoy his new ride. Our imaginative Brady was next, and while we didn’t need any ‘Tigers’ for him to avoid, the end result had him much further out of his comfort zone than he had been.

Campbell and Broxy's Little Whip Train

This was the first time my main van had been down south for a long time and it was great timing for more than one rider. Five 85cc riders joined us the next day, which would have started badly when Dylan’s bike had its gear shaft break. That was all the excuse I needed to break out the trusty CRF150R that has saved the day for a lot of riders over the years and introduced them to the world of four strokes. Of course Dylan wasn’t the only one to have a try although by the sounds of it we definitely have him as a convert so to speak.

That was not the last session for Balclutha with Tyler and Samuel having their first time with us, but soon I was off to the Catlins for a quick hunt before our coaching day was to happen. I must have used up all my good luck as we saw nothing but the odd hare- fortunately there was plenty of meat for the freezer with the two deer we had been able to intercept the morning before. That also carried on to Ryan Dodds having his first carry just a day after that- while the cat is gone the mice will play!

A bunch of young riders hit the Gore practice track the next morning, starting with Matt Robinson who lead the way with an instant ability to soak up jumps but after some work we eventually had the others doing the same thing- a very impressive thing to see that will certainly lead them a long way.

Finally we fell upon Birchwood, packed with two groups of quick riders followed by Nathan Rhind afterwards. Our loop consisted of a small section of track that shaped into some epic riding, with a training camp for the Junior Nationals packed into a half day session each, with qualifying times and start gate practice helping make it something special.

The coolest thing was watching them all at the Karl Miller Memorial race the following day. It seemed like 9 out of every 10 riders racing in the junior classes were riders I had spent time coaching in that hectic week, meaning I would have been very busy indeed to cheer each rider on for every race! I was also able to join them on the track, the first time I had opened up a 450 in anger for around 3 years. Unfortunately I was only able to race quick young locals Josh May and Campbell King once, in the feature race but I was glad to have the horsepower advantage as these riders were riding extremely well. Despite some trying I did not win the whip comp but had a great time trying, and as I had taught the winner how to whip, there was certainly no hard feelings.

From something very similar to a highway, the track turned to difficult mud following a short but very sharp thunder storm. The water blasters fired up and were on and off over the next two days but only for a few hours were they essential as it did not take long before the Pleasant Point Backflips Motocross track, this years home of the NZ Junior MX Nationals, morphed into a thing of beauty. Corners became tacky and smooth ruts began to form in places where there had been no line before. These perfect conditions eventually hardened again but this time in perfect form for racing- a simulation of what the Juniors will be like that would have been almost impossible to replicate manually.

Flight Training

With conditions as good as they became, the best thing we could aim for was a chance to become one with the track in a good way, not the way that required a soil sample. This was attempted with plenty of free time mixed with splitting up the group into three different sections for them to really dial in. While the numbers limited the amount of actual coaching, I was able to give large group tips and then fine tune that to each rider each day with some 1 on 1 attention.

Starts was also a big priority, accomplished once it had dried nicely and once again in groups of eight riders practising then competing against each other with working gate set up and a genuine 30 second board girl. Stand out performer was definitely Josh Bartosh with consistently incredible starts, making me feel better about getting beaten by him into the corner at two out of the three starts we did at the last round of the nationals.

Although diet and nutrition plays a key role in performance, we couldn’t let the opportunity to spoil the riders go astray, surprising everyone when Mr Whippy turned up giving everyone a free ice-cream- yum! Best of all though was the fact that there were no injuries despite riders pushing their own limits and doing jumps that might have scared them before. I enjoyed being able to spend time with the great bunch of people and share some of the tips that have helped me on race day.

All this would not have been possible without the help of Jeremy McKnight of Backflips Clothing and his family. Thanks also to Craig who came down from Upper Hutt to be team mechanic, and finally to each of the parents who helped for the two days. We wish everyone all the best for the upcoming nationals!