Eagerpig Newsletter – March 09
Well it has been a pretty crazy time since the last newsletter and firstly I would like to apologise for skipping the February edition however I will cover January and February in this one. I will start with the Victorian bushfires, not much can be said here that hasn’t been said already, some of you may not be aware that I grew up in Kinglake and Whittlesea plus family currently living in Wandong so I must say it was a pretty intense time, add to this several riders I train and friends living in Kinglake, Gippsland and Beechworth areas plus my father spending the week before it in hospital, I was pretty freaked out by everything that was going on. When I think about it I was only directly affected by it on a small scale compared to those in the area while it was happening and I was emotional so I can only imagine what others were going through, my deepest condolences and well wishes go out to everyone.
Victorian Institute of Motocross
January saw us at Albury/Wodonga on the Australia Day long weekend for 2 days of riding and training on the Sunday and Monday, with the sun beaming down for both days with around 38 degrees both days. All the riders handled the conditions very well plus we altered the schedule slightly to accommodate with no riding past 2pm and a great time at the local pool and some cycling/jogging around the local paths following the river. With the new track only being finished on the Friday night it did make for some dusty conditions but still very worth while with most riders comfortable on all the obstacles and thank you again to the parents and riders on the water hoses. We followed this weekend up with another session at Skilled Stadium, one of our biggest sessions for the year where we had our Sports Psychologist in the morning and our Nutritionist in the afternoon, it made for a long and drawn out day and credit to everyone for paying attention until the end. Both presenters had gathered plenty of information from the rides late last year which made for a very in depth and specific presentation and made time to give everyone the opportunity for a quick individual session also. On a side note our Sports Psychologist also works for the Melbourne Tigers Basketball Team who are playing the Grand Finals over the next 2 weeks in a best of 5 game series, so “Go the Tigers”!!! The riders will be changing up their off bike training over the next little while as the big events approach so best of luck to all.
Coaching Schools
The Albury/Wodonga school on the Saturday of the Australia Day Weekend was a success, with mainly local riders showing us their stuff and having a great day. Again the track was dusty and the sun shining hard but with plenty of drink breaks and parking in the shade everyone made it through all day. Thanks again to the club for having us there for the entire weekend.
Racing
I will be out and about a little during March, firstly at the Ararat Open this weekend then the Gippsland Round at Maffra due to missing the Open a fortnight ago due to a family wedding in Tasmania. Both venues have some big events this year for the Junior riders, with the first round of the Victorian Titles at Ararat and the Australian Titles at Maffra, see you there.
State Motorcycle Sports Complex – Broadford
Broadford has been closed for a few weeks due to the fires, it was not affected however it was ‘in use’ to assist with the clean up, it is now back in operation.
2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship – New Zealand
Again plenty happening here, applications are now closed and it is full steam ahead. The riders who have applied now have their events to attend with either rounds 1 or 2 of the OZ MX Nationals for seniors, and round 1 for the 12-15yo 85cc class at Wodonga and round 2 for the 15yo 125cc class at Canberra. I will be in attendance at both rounds along with Greg Moss as it is a major part of the selection process. Following this a total of 24 riders will be selected that will make up the team of riders and reserves who will all attend a training camp at the AIS during May, where soon after 16 riders (8 per class) will be selected as the team and the remainder will be reserve riders. In the background there is also plenty happening, accommodation, flights and cars have all been booked, the fun part will be once the riders are selected to make sure everyone has a bike to ride! Still plenty to do to ensure everyone has everything they need for an all out assault on Taupo, hope the other countries are ready for us!!!
Until next time, see you at the track.
Regards,
Mark Willingham
Head Coach – Eagerpig Developments