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Injuries and way too much pressure put on young riders these days not to mention the expense and travelling involved.

 

 

 

 

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Hope Jenkins can come back, he’s had some terrible injuries for someone so young but he’s got massive potential only injuries have held him back I think. I seen him at Redcar in the u19 final and his last ride was brilliant. There is so much pressure on young riders these day though hopefully he can get everything sorted and come back even better.

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2 hours ago, blueherb777 said:

Has a team ever lost so many riders through injury and taking time out?

Probably but it will tell on the team in the end. :unsure:

Just when you think you have overcome one hurdle another comes out of the blue and smacks you in the face. This has been a nightmare season for the management who put together such a great team with huge potential at the begining of the season. I know you should not ride if you could be a danger to others and yourself but they just quit with no notice, is this not letting the team and fans down. Other riders work through confidence issues. Probably their age I guess, we expect them to be like the more mature riders of old.

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It is very much one of the curses that comes hand in hand with the current obsession of tracking younger and younger riders. We now have youngsters who are trying to figure out who they are as people as they are edging into adulthood whilst contending with 1 or more full time speedway team places that comes with all the pressure and critique that accompanies the privileged position. 

Throughout every aspect of life there are those confident in their own abilities (rightly or wrongly) and those not so confident in what they are doing (again rightly or wrongly). There never has and never will be enough support for those who suffer with self doubt. The difference between a rider who drifts in and out because the going gets tough occasionally and a rider who is genuinely in a rut and feels standing down is the only way is huge. 

All i will say is that i hope Jordan feels the pressure lifting now and can get himself back to a position where he enjoys himself and riding his bike then take it one step at a time from there.

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Hardest part for younger riders is trying to juggle speedway with work which is usually an apprenticeship so harder to get days off  and normal life it’s hard for these youngsters as it’s normally there parents that have to drive them around and loss money with having to take days off  doing 1 league is hard but 2 leagues must be even harder riding the bike is the easy part sometimes it’s everything else that’s hard , driving ,cleaning bikes ,maintaining them  and then trying to earn a living to pay for it as you don’t make enough from the sport to do it without a full time job so something has to give somewhere trust me I know having to travel from Glasgow every meeting is twice as far for us 

Edited by mac101
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20 minutes ago, mac101 said:

Hardest part for younger riders is trying to juggle speedway with work which is usually an apprenticeship so harder to get days off  and normal life it’s hard for these youngsters as it’s normally there parents that have to drive them around and loss money with having to take days off  doing 1 league is hard but 2 leagues must be even harder riding the bike is the easy part sometimes it’s everything else that’s hard , driving ,cleaning bikes ,maintaining them  and then trying to earn a living to pay for it as you don’t make enough from the sport to do it without a full time job so something has to give somewhere trust me I know having to travel from Glasgow every meeting is twice as far for us 

Every part true and very valid points made. The additional money required to subsidise NL level whilst remaining competitive is hard to find and something has to give somewhere.  Even if the funding / sponsorship is there the sport is time hungry and demands a lot of weekends and holiday days so in fairness riders and their families have a lot less actual time to relax and unwind. Obviously its a choice but there is still a lot of associated pressures.

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12 minutes ago, Mike.Butler said:

National Development League....develop as just a rider or as a person too..?...15 year olds / duty of care..etc etc

Huge duty of care to all riders but especially those under 18. The sport needs a full review of its approach to young riders and the protection of before its too late (Which is currently the driving factor for any review of rules / procedures). 

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19 minutes ago, Mike.Butler said:

National Development League....develop as just a rider or as a person too..?...15 year olds / duty of care..etc etc

I totally agree Mr B.

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Why sign for a Championship team if you’re contemplating quitting? I wonder if that’s what tipped him over the edge which has inadvertently affected Kent way more than Birmingham. 

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35 minutes ago, Islander15 said:

Why sign for a Championship team if you’re contemplating quitting? I wonder if that’s what tipped him over the edge which has inadvertently affected Kent way more than Birmingham. 

Could quite possibly be the case. Its one thing signing for a club and then not getting on with the track as much as you expected to (Jenkins away average is marginally better than his home and a lot better if bonus points are included) so i suspect Jordan would have ridden the year out and moved on over the close season but he clearly also has aspirations to move up the speedway ladder and if he wasn't competitive at Championship level due to confidence, ability, machinery or a combination of them all it must put a lot of pressure on the desire to continue riding. Not everyone has the ability to put a bad day behind them immediately and if those baddays start to mount up life can become very tough.

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On 8/21/2019 at 4:22 PM, Sings4Speedway said:

Every part true and very valid points made. The additional money required to subsidise NL level whilst remaining competitive is hard to find and something has to give somewhere.  Even if the funding / sponsorship is there the sport is time hungry and demands a lot of weekends and holiday days so in fairness riders and their families have a lot less actual time to relax and unwind. Obviously its a choice but there is still a lot of associated pressures.

Actually a team place in the NL . commits the whole family 7 days a week  . it may only be dad attending meetings , but the impact is on the whole family , mums washing suits and feeding the troops . dad trying to earn a living and clean maintain bikes . just to give the lads a little glimpse of some sort of normal life , no holidays , no weekends off because theres always something needs doing . then theres the team manager who in NL is generally a wannabe asshole who couldn't manage a pissup in a brewery , adding pressure expecting too much . + the back stabbing from other riders , It's not pretty ,,  Lads who have come from Grasstrack or MX must wonder what the hell they have let themselves in for , being used to friendly atmosphere . and encouragemant from other riders . riding when you want and not when you don't ,  and stepping into the cesspit that is the speedway pits !!

 

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1 hour ago, adonis said:

Actually a team place in the NL . commits the whole family 7 days a week  . it may only be dad attending meetings , but the impact is on the whole family , mums washing suits and feeding the troops . dad trying to earn a living and clean maintain bikes . just to give the lads a little glimpse of some sort of normal life , no holidays , no weekends off because theres always something needs doing . then theres the team manager who in NL is generally a wannabe asshole who couldn't manage a pissup in a brewery , adding pressure expecting too much . + the back stabbing from other riders , It's not pretty ,,  Lads who have come from Grasstrack or MX must wonder what the hell they have let themselves in for , being used to friendly atmosphere . and encouragemant from other riders . riding when you want and not when you don't ,  and stepping into the cesspit that is the speedway pits !!

 

May be NDL Matches have to be held on a Saturday and Sunday only - you refer to MX and Grass - that's Saturday and Sunday and occasional Bank Holidays.

Just a thought that would ease pressure on these kids (and some of the older more experienced types have chance to work) in and allow time for study / apprentiships etc, and less stress for parents too.

Might not suit Clubs like Kent / IOW etc but still be room for them in a higher League??

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8 hours ago, HGould said:

May be NDL Matches have to be held on a Saturday and Sunday only - you refer to MX and Grass - that's Saturday and Sunday and occasional Bank Holidays.

Just a thought that would ease pressure on these kids (and some of the older more experienced types have chance to work) in and allow time for study / apprentiships etc, and less stress for parents too.

Might not suit Clubs like Kent / IOW etc but still be room for them in a higher League??

That would close clubs down. 

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On 8/21/2019 at 2:13 PM, bloom89 said:

Hope Jenkins can come back, he’s had some terrible injuries for someone so young but he’s got massive potential only injuries have held him back I think. I seen him at Redcar in the u19 final and his last ride was brilliant. There is so much pressure on young riders these day though hopefully he can get everything sorted and come back even better.

Yes i hope Jordan can regroup and comeback he has the ability the main thing for him is to be happy in whatever he is doing.

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