Freedom Park Clinic Report through the Photographic lens by Alejandro Garcia  (RacerBMX.com)

On February 1, 2014, Dale Holmes Racing held their first Chase / Stay Strong Clinic at Freedom Park BMX in Camarillo, CA. The full team was in full force—Cristian Becerine, Anthony Dean, Bryce Betts, and Dale Holmes.

Freedom Park is almost a two hour drive for current back-to-back Vet Pro #1, Cristian Becerine, and about a four hour drive for Team Manager, Dale Holmes. Despite the longer drive, Dale beat Big C. to the track by at least 15 minutes. When Dale called to ask how close Big C. was to arriving, Big C. joked that Dale likes to get everywhere early and probably opened up the track himself. When Big C. rolled into the parking lot, Dale already had the team pop-up tents ready, and DHR’s youngest rider and 19-27 Expert, Bryce Betts, was unloading his Chase bike. Elite rider, Australian 2013 Series Champion, and Aussie-turned-So-Cal resident, Anthony Dean, arrived just a few minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

Mrs. Big C. was on hand to help with the signups, and she volunteered to get some food for the guys, as the clinic sign-up time ran through their scheduled meal times. A well-fueled athlete is a good athlete. Nor Cal native, Bryce, asked for a particular salad because “That’s what Donny eats.” After their meals, the guys were eager to gear up and ride a bit. The guys managed to shoot a couple of team shots before the end of signups and the start of the clinic. Big C. even had a few good bike stories that busted up Bryce.

The clinic started with a call to the start hill. Dale introduced the team and listed their many accomplishments. Then the clinic participants were asked to drop their bikes and head to the first straight for some of the best advice to prolong a BMX career—it was time to stretch and warm-up. After everyone was warmed up, the young riders were divided into two groups, 10 and over and nine and under.
The two groups of riders both rode so well that if not for their size it would have been difficult to differentiate one group from the other. While Cristian and Anthony worked with one group on gates, Dale and Bryce worked with the other on the rhythm section and turns.

Cristian demonstrated how to stand at the ready, waiting for the familiar lights and sounds of the gate start. Then when the riders lined up at the gate, Cristian and Anthony went lane by lane and gave advice to each rider. Even small adjustments in pedal position or posture were not overlooked. Cristian gave one golden nugget of advice. He said that the first pedal out of the gate is important but that the second pedal was even more important. One young rider took this to heart and was so quick out of the gate that he was an entire wheel-length ahead of the two riders beside him, hard on his second pedal by the time the gate hit the ground.

Along with the rhythm section, Dale and Bryce covered the importance of maintaining speed through and out of the turns. After a couple of demonstrations, Dale and Bryce had the young riders ride the turns high. One young rider carried more speed coming out of the turn than they were used to that they wobbled a bit on the first just coming out of the turn. These young riders were quick to learn and quick to apply.
Before switching groups, the team called a water break. A few young riders were pumped and eager to keep riding. And then some more advice from the team—hydrate and rest up.

After the break, the groups switched. Then it was on to high-low passing. Despite a few demonstrations by Cristian and Bryce, some of the younger riders did not quite get the speed concept down. That is when Dale made a TM call—have the little riders literally run the drill on foot. One young rider ran down the backside of right before the turn followed closely by another runner. At about the apex of the turn the runner in the back swooped down from high to low for the pass. They took turns running the drill in pairs. Some little runners grinned and chuckled the whole way. A few pairs even went and stayed high-high in order to give Dale a high-five. Now that they had the feel of the high-low pass, the young riders successfully ran the drill on their bikes.

The young riders were pumped to be coached by the DHR Chase / Stay Strong Team. To wind down the clinic, some riders took to taking some jumps alongside Bryce while others wound down with a few full laps.

After the clinic, the team and the young riders got together for pictures, autographs, and goodie bags with sponsor giveaways. Then Dale asked all the young riders a few extra trivia questions. Those that paid attention to the team introduction and answered correctly walked away with extra prizes. It was indeed a great start to the Chase / Stay Srong Clinic Tour.

Cristian, Anthony, Bryce, and Dale were great with the kids, and all the young riders had a great time. Check out DaleHolmesRacing.com for the latest team news including clinics and personalized coaching.

Next Clinic Santa Maria, CA Saturday 15th Feb 1-3. Keep up with the teams latest by following DHR on the latest social media: Facebook Dale Holmes Racing, Instagram DaleHolmesRacing, and Twitter @DHolmesRacing.

And remember, StayStrong!