Juniors then and Now, Part II

Posted by Christopher on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 to Juniors

BIKE GUY: JUNIORS THEN AND NOW PART II: RIDING WITH GREG LEMOND Bill Humphreys September 10, 2008
	Flash forward 30 years from my 1978 Junior National Road Team of LeMond, Demgen, Kiefel, Rogers, Carmichael, Bradley ET. All to my current Mystic Velo Club junior team made up of mostly 15 year olds beginning their first full season of racing. I would not have taken on this team if I did not have the commitment of two dads’ with racing experience and one mom who would travel to the races with the team. The presentation meeting in February was meant to introduce the parents and riders to the sport and what roll the sponsors would play in supporting the team. The first clue that I may have to adapt my coaching style to fit the diverse personalities on the team was evident when I read the questionnaire’s I made them fill out in January. This group consisted of; honor roll students, robotics team guys, and school band members with season goals ranging from; podium 3 times, to finish every race, to beating master’s in the local time trial, while their Cycling Goals beyond 2008 varied from; someday going pro, to winning the Tour de France, to maybe being accepted at a college with a cycling team. This was not a bunch of kids that were concerned about qualifying for a junior development camp or if the Belgian junior team was doing tempo behind a motor over pave in the rain that day. It was a bunch of kids however that had some horsepower and if guided properly could make their mark on the regional scene here in New England. Sensing that my commando style of coaching left over from those days working with the national teams on the dirt roads of South America and rainy mountain stages in France might not be appropriate with this group of youngsters, I put two dads between me and the boys. These dad’s, were my partners in this venture, and my job was to secure the sponsorship and manage the overall direction of the team through them. I distinctly remember telling them and everyone in that crowded room that night that, “I will not be traveling to all the races, but I expect weekly reports on training and race results. If the direction and focus of the team begins to get off track and communication breaks down, you will hear from me and you probably won’t like it.” For many of the parents in the meeting that night back in February, this was a whole new world that did not fit snuggly into the organized sports programs that exist in every school or park and recreation system in this country. There were no set practices from 4 to 5:30pm 3 times a week, where they could drop of the kids and pick them up. There was no set game schedule with local towns on weekends. There was no familiar carpooling to practice or games and even more importantly there was no knowledge of what the rules of the game were. We were essentially taking these kids, in the very beginning of their teenage years, out of the social structure of the local school sports system and putting them into another system for which there was no point of reference or proven track record of success, other than what we had told them. It is now May 19th and Greg LeMond is coming to spend the day with the kids. I had arranged for Greg to be a featured speaker at the Major Taylor Statue Unveiling in Worcester, Ma and he was gracious enough to grant his old coach a favor by coming down to Connecticut to do an informal clinic for the juniors and a press conference for my upcoming criterium, The Whaling City Cyclone. The boys had written permission to miss school this day and there was excitement in the air, which was overcast and cool. It was also the same day that our new custom kits had arrived from Squadra, whose vice president of sales was Doughboy, Greg Demgen, a former member of the 1978 junior team. Greg arrived at the house on time, squeezed into our team kit jersey, and immediately blended right in with the boys as they tried on their new kits and shook hands with their instructor for the day. As our group headed down the road towards the bike shop I had the boys in a single file pace line with good tempo, when our town line champ, Ben, goes after the first sprint of the day, which brings a smile to Greg’s face. As we roll into Niantic on a particularly fast section, I tap Greg on the butt to let him know it is going to get fast real soon, and just then Ben take’s off again from behind us Greg goes for his wheel but is too late and he gets boxed out by two juniors who get Ben’s wheel and away they go for the town line sprint. Greg sits up coasting and looks over at me with a big grin and the thumbs up sign. This will end up being the highlight of the day for me, and for the riders when I tell them later what happened on that now famous town line sprint. The rest of the day went by without a hitch. We arrived at the race course on New London’s waterfront with local television and newspaper reporters interviewing Greg and the juniors.  Greg just loves to ride his bike, and his enthusiasm was contagious, as he stayed at the front keeping me for sure, and many of the juniors on the rivet for the 20-mile headwind ride back to the lake.  Once back at the house Greg finished setting individual bike position’s for each rider when his wife reminded him that they had a plane to catch. In an instant he had packed his bike, changed his clothes, said his goodbyes and was gone. It was a magical day, one that these young riders will never forget as they had plenty of quality time with this former junior and 3 time winner of the world’s greatest bike race.

Comments

Currently, there are no comments. Be the first to post one!
Click here to post a comment