Knightly News From 2012 WORS Race #2 Rhinelander

With the start of the 2012 season I cannot help but think of the Dr Suess book “Oh The Places you’ll Go”.   The 2012 season is wide open with lots of potential for great performances, a chance for experienced kids to step up and get some results they have always dreamt of and lots of opportunity for new kids to Improve on the skills they will need to get through the WORS races. 

This past Sunday was the second race in the 2012 WORS.org series.  It was held in Rhinelander, WI at the Tesomas Boy Scout Camp.    As opposed to the Iola weather at race time this race was dry and warm.  The Junior race kicked off the day with 15 Scarlet Knights stepping up to the line.  For some it was a chance to ride on a course they were familiar with for others it was their first time on this course and even others it was only their second bike race.   

On the girls side Katy McDickens finished with a 4^th place in her age group and 11^th overall. Hannah Stedl continued to show some great natural ability adding to a strong finish in Iola by finishing 3^rd in her age group and 5^th overall.

The Junior Boys had some great results as well in the under 8 year old Eli Lemke continues to show big heart in a small body and rode to a 7^th place age group finish.  The under 10 year old group was won by Joshua Prewitt with Jacob Lemke finishing 4^th for the second week in a row.  Jacob Mork was inspired by the presence of his Grandfather watching Jacob race for the first time and pulled off a strong result by finishing 9^th.  Congratulations to Ethan Haas for finishing his first race and to Cade Haas for a great effort as he finished his second race and continues to show that you can pack a lot of toughness in a small body.   In the under 12 age group Ben Smith was just 4 seconds off the top Scarlet Knight Junior with a 3^rd place age group finish and a 7^th place overall.  Aaron Smith was less than 30 seconds back with a 5^th  place age group and 11^th overall.   Clayton Lemke was 10^th in only his second race. 

Alex Halfman had what was probably his strongest result yet in the 14 and under group with a 4^th place in the age group and 5^th overall.  Cole McDickens was just behind finishing 5^th in the age group and 9^th overall.    Dylan and Grant Slocum both improved greatly from last year finishing well with the top half of the overall boys with a 9^th and 11^thin their age group. 

In the Citizen (category 3 race) Justin Wentworth showed that power and the ability to ride single track are his strengths and finished 3^rd in his age group and a very impressive 13^th overall out of 88 entries in the Citizen class.  Jacob Ahles finished 4^th in his age group followed by Daniel Gretzinger in 8^th and Jimmy Splitgerber in 9^th.   Kaitlen Splitgerber continued to place her mark on the Citizen Female Class by placing 2^nd in her age group and 5^th overall. 

The FCYCT-The Scarlet Knights send a big thank you out to all the supporting parents and family members we look forward to Wausau on June 3^rd.

Ben Smith 

 Aaron Smith

 Hannah Stedl

 Kaitlin Splittgerber

20 of the 25 team members

Twenty Eight Days Until Christmas?

The speed of this time of year almost seems like Christmas.   The list of things to do can seem like Christmas Gone Wild: informational meetings, proposals for fund raising, meetings with potential sponsors, signing up kids, collecting money, taking out USA Cycling licenses, signing up for the WORS all-in-one, depositing money in the bank, paying bills, approving jersey design, signing up for the USA Cycling Club, fitting jerseys for the kids, ordering jerseys, purchasing bikes, and organizing group rides.    The good news is there are only 28 more days until Christmas - WORS Style!!!  Of course, Christmas-WORS Style is the Iola race on May 6.  And like the joy of Christmas Eve service, all of this work has been worth it.  We are almost trembling with excitement as we close our eyes and dream of hearing Don announce, “Good morning and welcome to the 2012 Iola Bump and Jump - the first race in the WORS 2012 mountain bike series!  We are about 20 minutes away from the start of our Junior Category race.”

The FCYCT-The Scarlet Knights has grown from nine kids in the 2011 season to 24 kids in 2012.  All have made a commitment to ride the number of races required in order to compete for a final place in the WORS overall series.  Our team looks like this: 9 team members returning from last year,  4 members who rode for other teams or who were unattached to a team in 2011, and 11 kids who will be new to the WORS racing scene (3 of which are girls).  We have a total of 19 boys and 5 girls on our team this year.

We cannot wait for Christmas-WORS Style!  Be safe, happy training, and may you be ready to hear “GOOOOOO!” on Sunday May 6^th.

New to the team in 2012 Jacob Mork shows his new bike for the 2012 season.

Getting Ready for 2012

We are in our final stages of fund raising for the 2012 season and have now begun the recruitment of new riders.  If you are interested in joining us in 2012 there is a informational meeting detailed below or feel free to contact us via e-mail at j.gretzinger@sbcglobal.net.   The FCYCT-The Scarlet Kights is a youth cycling team that is open all youth ages 8-18 who live anywhere close the Fox River Valley Area and want to be part of a cycling team. We concentrate mainly on the WORS.org races but branch out into road racing as well.  We are all about helping youth grow and reach their full potential on the trails and off.

Knightly News For 2011-11-15

The FCYCT-Scarlet Knights WORS season came to an end on Saturday, October 23^rd at the WORS banquet. It was a great place for the team to reflect and connect one last time in 2011.  The biggest prize of the season was the kids winning the overall team award for the Junior Division.  Individual highlights included Jacob winning first place in the 13-14 year old division with Alex finishing second and Grant finishing third.  In the overall Junior Male 11-12 year old division, Aaron finished with a very strong 2^nd place, Ben in 4^th, Cole in 5^th, and Dylan in 7^th.  Katy wrapped up a great season with 4^th place overall in the Junior Female 9-10 year olds.  Daniel finished just 18 points from a top five overall with a very strong second half of the season to finish 8^th in the Citizen (category 3) 14 & under category.   All are very respectable results for a group of kids who are just getting their feet wet in the sport. 

Looking back at WORS 2011, some of my memories are a very cold day in Iola.  Rhinelander brings memories of a rainy spaghetti team dinner at a camper, along with a couple of team members learning that it is not easy for mom to drive you across the state so you can race.  Of course who will ever forget a boom of thunder during the night that left no one sleeping in Rhinelander!   The Wausau race confirmed the team was to be taken seriously.  Mt Morris was a late Saturday afternoon race that tested the kids improving technical skills.    Chippewa Valley saw the sun shine just before the start and made a short technical course very tricky which led to several team members falling and learning how to overcome it.  Alterra tested the kids’ climbing skills and became a breakthrough race for several riders.   At the Battle of Camrock, team members struggled in the start gate which forced them to fight back for position through the race.  The River Falls Border Battle was a great family weekend of camping and was a team favorite.   We are sorry to see River Falls absent in the 2012 schedule.  The Reforestation Ramble lived up to its reputation as a ‘put it in the big ring’ and hammer race.    Treadfest was another weekend of family camping and racing on a great course.  Bear Paw- how can I not mention the rain and how the kids looked after the race?  I think this race showed how courageous these kids were as several parents passed on racing in the rain but all 9 kids stepped up to the start line.  Wigwam was a wonderfully warm, sunny day that was a perfect race to end the season.   It also included a record number of parents racing and included potential for new team members and growth in 2012.

As I reflected on the inaugural season on my way home from Wigwam, I gave thanks that there were no serious injuries to any kids.  I also thought that as parents, we grow as well. I remember being apprehensive early in the season about sending my son and others out to race on some courses.  I also remember getting the kids together for a good warm up in Rhinelander.   However, by the last race at Wigwam, we left it up to them to make sure they were warmed up and ready to race.   During my drive home from Wigwam, I also found myself smiling more than a grown man probably should.  I have a group of 9 kids to thank for that.  

Knightly News From WORS #10 Treadfest in Lake Geneva, WI

I have often wondered when a youth goes from just riding his or her bike to an “age of racing”.  This point in growth has nothing to do with a child’s “racing age”.  Some youth seem to do this at their first race, no matter what age.  They seem to have instant success from their very first race.  I think Jacob on our team is a good example of this.  Some youth struggle from their first race on, as they seem to have very real fears such as crashing or getting lost on the course while racing.   I think my son grew to the “age of racing” sometime in midseason 2010.  He was struggling to get on the podium and just missed this goal race after race in the second half of the 2010 season.  I think his big breakthrough occurred at the Franklin race of 2010.  He went into the race with a strategy of being the first kid up the big hill at the start of the race and riding the second hill so he would not lose anytime to those behind.   His planning seemed to work as he finally stepped up on the podium at this race.  His “age of racing” continued the rest of the season (and continues today) with a highlight of a second place finish at the last race of the 2010 season in Sheboygan.

In 2011, my son seems to really understand what it means to suffer in a race, race hard, recover, and pick it up again.   He now develops actual race strategy to compete with two other kids who are close to his ability.  He might not be competing for a top three place, but he comes up with a strategy for each race to finish as high in the rankings as he can.  

I have seen this same development with Dylan this past season.  He now has a strategy going into each race.  At River Falls, he wanted to have a lead at the bottom of the hill in hopes of still being close to his competition at the top.  He now shifts correctly and dismounts are minimal during a race and if they occur he runs up the hill until he can get back on.  He also keeps his momentum and rides/jumps over obstacles rather than slowing down and going around them.  Dylan confirmed he has arrived to the “age of racing” by finishing 4^th at Treadfest in Lake Geneva a couple of weeks ago.

I think this is what “age of racing” is really all about.  Not so much winning but planning a race, even if that planning is to start slow and let the race come to the racer and finish with a stronger second half of the race than the first half.  I think “age of racing” is planning to race for the highest finishing position you can possibly get.   As an adult, my greatest joy I get from the team is when I see a youth develop to an “age of racing”.

At Treadfest in Lake Geneva, the Scarlet Knights’ success continued with the following results:

Junior Girls 10 and under
Katy McDicken 4^th place, 8^th overall

Junior Boys 11-12 years old
Dylan Eggebrecht 4^th place, 9^th overall
Ben Smith 5^th place, 10^th overall

Junior Boys 13-14
Jacob Ahles 1^st place, 2^nd overall
Alex Halfman 2^nd place, 8^th overall
Grant Slocum 3^rd place, 21^st oveall

Citizen 14 and under
Daniel Gretzinger 6^th place, 68^th overall

Knightly News For 2011-09-06

Great WORS video, I counted 5 Scarlet Knights.


http://vimeo.com/28225712

Knightly News From WORS #7 Battle of Camrock in Rockdale, WI on Augus 7th, 2011

 A couple of big hills and tight turns were in store for the FCYCT-The Scarlet Knights at the WORS #7 race of the season.  The course was dry and dusty during Saturdays pre-ride and but was in great shape after a light overnight rain made for fast conditions.  Jacob continued his strong season with a second place in his age group and second place overall in the 14 and under age group.  Aaron and Ben returned to racing this week with strong showings of 2nd and 9^th in the 11-12 year old age group.  After a weekend of struggling to find his rhythm in Franklin Cole bounced to break the top ten overall and take 4^th in his age group.  Dylan and Grant both fought back after a rough start in the starting gate to secure team points finishing 19^th and 32nd.  Katy broke the top ten in the female 14 under age group with a 10th place finish and best of all she appeared to not have any battle scares this week.    In a finish that had fans standing and cheering on the last hill Daniel again battled a fellow age group competitor to finish in 9^th place.