It is essential that the child sees Trial as a game.
The technical demands of many sports, including Trial, require continuous learning that generally begins at a very early age. Not all of them start directly on the motorcycle, but they start their journey on the Trial bike, electric motorcycles or even children’s motorcycles of another specialty.
Actually, the objective of this first phase is to learn the sense of balance and become familiar with the touch of the controls.
Great riders such as Bou or Tarrés have started with the Trialsín, but they have quickly started a dazzling sporting career at the controls of a motorcycle. From there, if the child has the illusion, together with the support and correct advice of the parents, we can sculpt the figure of a great pilot who, perhaps, can be a champion pilot.
The aim of this article is not to create a champion son, but to pass on the advice and take advantage of the different stages of
trial learning
so that he can enjoy the bike at a good technical level.
The role of parents is key in this work. Do you want to know how?
THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN LEARNING TRIAL
We agree that the first coaches are usually the parents. Many want to fulfill a dream they never got to live and others know the learning phases well. In any case, it is easy to make mistakes, either because you want to advance more than necessary or because you demand too many steps in a short space of time. Unfortunately, I have already known more than one case of great riders, already trained, who due to family pressure have given up forever a sport as beautiful and alive as Trial.
Whether they are boys or girls, it is possible
to start riding a trial bike from
the age of 3 or 4.
If an adult decides to deal with a child who aspires to be a pilot, they should know that, for a long time, they will be responsible for the good and bad that happens to them. If he stands out, it may be that a team notices him or that you can afford to hire trainers to optimize the functions of the young driver. A parent or coach must be good at their work, allowing the child to enjoy the bike and help them improve step by step, without burning stages too quickly or exerting unnecessary pressure. To do this, we are going to break down the stages of child development and how to apply them to the world of motorcycles.
LEARN TRIAL BY PLAYING
One thing is clear: the child learns by playing, and not in any other way. Therefore, the little one must have fun with what he does, otherwise, bad start. It is useless to put unnecessary pressure at an age when the game is everything, because we would only cause a loss of interest that could lead to the definitive abandonment of the practice.
This implies that the child must be made to believe that he is playing, even if this is more or less true. You will have to try to disguise any activity that the child does on the motorcycle, turning it into a game, into a fantasy. That is to say, there will be no severe corrections, nor reproaches, because in that case the game becomes an obligation, leading to apathy, rejection and, in the worst case, fear.
There are many ways to correct a bad technique or choice of a line and a thousand ways for a child to put fewer feet in an area. Of course, squealing or quarrelling is not the best formula for this; The dialogue, comprehension and logic of the game are. It is up to each parent to know how to put on their clown nose and shoes to know how to make the child laugh and teach them with dedication and affection the techniques of Trial.
For example, it is better to go with a stuffed animal biting its leg when it puts its foot, causing that play and complicity, than to say four words badly said and out of tune. Perhaps it is too logical an example and applicable at very young ages, but surely you understand the message I want to convey with these phrases.
DAD, I WANT TO LEARN
DAD, I WANT TO LEARNWe will assume that the child rides a motorcycle because he wants to, and not because of the obligation or pressure of his parents. We have already said that we often project our desires onto our children; Being able to give them what we didn’t have back in the day fills our mouths with joy, but we must remain calm and judgmental. Excessively early specialization is not recommended from a pedagogical point of view.
By early specialization we mean the fact that a child under ten or twelve years of age – the optimal age according to many studies to concentrate on a specific discipline – focuses all his efforts on developing within a single sport modality.
Trial shouldn’t be the only sport you practice.
The dilemma lies in the moment when psychologists and pedagogues – they seek an integral development of the child – are confronted with that of coaches and trainers, who begin to mold the figure of a great pilot. At Trialworld we believe that virtue lies in the middle ground, and it can be just as bad to concentrate on a very specific field as it can be to develop in multiples without cultivating any in particular.
Children in their first stage of development, up to the age of ten, are avid recipients of any kind of information. To make it easier for them to acquire new motor skills, such as handling a ball or scoring, it is necessary to work on a series of stimuli and practice different sports that help enhance their training at various points.
Although it may seem that this diversification can bring little to the young rider, the truth is that, as long as he does not abandon the practice of the main sport – in this case, the dirt bike – we can be satisfied if the child enhances his flexibility, reflexes or agility with other sports.
The message is, therefore, to encourage the child to diversify their activities with the same message that we indicated earlier: to have fun. This will also positively benefit their socio-cultural relationships.
The exclusive practice of the dirt bike for a child under ten years of age would limit their options to learn new techniques that are not necessarily learned in Trial, but are skills that they will need in future stages of their life. Therefore, our advice is to encourage the child to continue practicing sports, especially team sports, in order to value helping others and working within a team that seeks the same sporting goal.
CHILDREN’S TRIAL EQUIPMENT
MOTIVATION, THE KEY TO LEARNING
Without motivation, there are no results.
This is perhaps the most fundamental concept of learning. In order for the child to learn and make something new his own, whether it is the list of the Rivers of Spain, or a movement pattern to face a turn or a step, do a wheelie or learn to move the motorcycle from a standstill, he must be motivated.
There are cases, like the first one, that also require a little magic to learn those names with enthusiasm; In the second, which concerns us, everything is much simpler, but there are many parents who do not manage to do it. For children, this rewarding routine can become an obnoxious routine associated with scolding and reproaches. Don’t fall for it…
This is not the first time that a child has faced an area with tears in his eyes because of the pressure, which is unacceptable. It would be much more fun to associate sport with a recreational part, such as Eurodisney.
Young children are motivated by play and, although some children are already very competitive, the father should downplay the importance of the position obtained in a competition – and of course a bad result or fall – looking for other goals: that he does not hurt himself, that he does not get injured, that he improves his technique or acquires healthy lifestyle habits that allow him to be a good athlete in the future.
No one has become famous for being a regional champion at the age of eight, but for standing out at a precise moment, when he has reached physical and mental maturity. At that age, results will be important and if we have instructed our rider well, we are sure that he will know how to handle the pressure and sacrifice that this entails better, all without losing sight of the real objective: to be happy and enjoy a healthy way of the Trial.
CONTINUE READING PART 2 OF THE SECRETS OF CHILDREN’S TRIAL
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