teach me how to teach

we have some really good drivers and people at our local track. Have one of the front runners go out after your finished up for the day and let him tail him so he can get a hang of the line. And what speed he needs to hit it at where to brake at.
 
Awesome of you to do this for this kid ! One thing I preach to every coach of a new driver , is to get them brightly colored gloves , so that you can see what their hands are doing . As mentioned , sitting down and talking with him away from the track might bring up some issues he is unwilling to talk about at the track , or in front of others . Take him out for a pizza or ice cream and get him comfortable before diving into the racing subject . There is no substitute for seat time , as they say , practice makes perfect . But really , just being there for him means a lot to him . Good Luck and All the Best !
Keep us posted of his progress ..
 
Ive had the blessings of working with some of the best Jr drivers in the country at one time. Everyone has the one thing in common, they look good and then they look like rookies again, maybe same race, maybe week or 2 apart. Its frustrating and tough, but stick with it because once it hits in their mind, thats when the winning happens. The problem is its different with every kid and some it comes quicker than others.
If you are in your 1st year with karts, and hes in his 1st year with karts, that curve will be much bigger than someone who has some karting experience.
 
Do you take video? It can be really valuable as an inexperienced driver. Both from the stands and in-kart footage are helpful for different things. From the stands it's useful to see where the rest of the field is getting runs. And how maybe a poor entry not only effects exit but could loose ground all the way into the next corner. Learning that stuff the first time takes seeing it a few times. And I would guess that at your driver's experience level he isnt sensing it in the kart.
In-kart footage can be helpful to get a more detailed look at where on the track you're entering the corner. What the driver is doing with the wheel, when. You dont get the bigger 'field' level perspective but can help toward consistency. Combining that with a track walk may help the driver notice where they are on the track vs where they need to be
 
If you are new to karting and he is new to karting then I would try to find a successful veteran Sr. Driver to help out with your program. Tires are extremely important in karting these days and if you are off a little it can make a big difference. 12 is a tough age to start as most kids have been racing for years by then. An experienced Karter should be able to help him learn lines as well. I had 10 years experience racing late models an this is our 4th year of karting and I still find myself picking wrong tires because the slicks are completely the opposite of late model tires.
the track we run at has the nicest people I have ever met the racers no matter what class are always helpful.He has made a great friend that runs his class and tells him everything they have on their kart from gearing to stagger to whatever he wants to know and they are a front runner so they have helped a lot I have enough tires to give him a good selection of stagger and know what each one does as far as percentages I try not to change things up for him to much cause I think he just adjust his driving to whats the kart is doing but he cant tell me what its weak point is oh well practice practice practice thanks
 
Do you take video? It can be really valuable as an inexperienced driver. Both from the stands and in-kart footage are helpful for different things. From the stands it's useful to see where the rest of the field is getting runs. And how maybe a poor entry not only effects exit but could loose ground all the way into the next corner. Learning that stuff the first time takes seeing it a few times. And I would guess that at your driver's experience level he isnt sensing it in the kart.
In-kart footage can be helpful to get a more detailed look at where on the track you're entering the corner. What the driver is doing with the wheel, when. You dont get the bigger 'field' level perspective but can help toward consistency. Combining that with a track walk may help the driver notice where they are on the track vs where they need to be
we take video and I try to explain what he did wrong or what he did right he does good while in the pack when he doesnt have a choice of where to go but when he gets separated he is all over the place maybe over trying. in car would be nice just limited on funds (retired) thanks
 
Something else to add. Think about what cancer survivors call “chemo brain”. After chemo it is very common for survivors to have a much slower thought process and a shorter memory. On the track the driver has to be thinking around each corner, remembering where the hood line was on each corner, watching through the turn and down the straights, watching other drivers for signs that they might be changing up their lines or losing control, feeling how their kart is handling, and looking for a good chance to pass. Maybe after a couple of laps he starts to get confused with all of the stimulus he gets on the track. The only cure for this is time and experience. Some survivors do not experience this but many do.
thanks I didn't know that and that is exactly what it looks like thanks
 
Starting out, my grandson driver (10) would not listen to anything I told him.
I got a young (20's) driver to tell him basically the exact same thing I was telling
him and he listened.
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we have some really good drivers and people at our local track. Have one of the front runners go out after your finished up for the day and let him tail him so he can get a hang of the line. And what speed he needs to hit it at where to brake at.
good ideal one of his competitors he has become good friends with is a front runner might see if he will do it this weekend
 
If a young person is making friends, learning, and working hard and it's a nice positive group of racers to me that's a fantastic experience right there. And I've heard that the learning curve for kids with racing can have long plateaus where it seems like no progress is happening, and then all of a sudden they put it together and make a big step all at once.
 
If a young person is making friends, learning, and working hard and it's a nice positive group of racers to me that's a fantastic experience right there. And I've heard that the learning curve for kids with racing can have long plateaus where it seems like no progress is happening, and then all of a sudden they put it together and make a big step all at once.
yes we have both made good friends and he is learning to do everything on the kart i show him once then he does it from then on havent let him adjust valves yet but let him check them after I do. when he started he didnt even know how to put air nozzle on the hose now he checks his own tire pressure I might recheck when he is not around but they are always right on so he is learning .seems to take pride in being able to change his own gears and washing tires and all that has to be done so he must be enjoying it
 
thanks I didn't know that and that is exactly what it looks like thanks
It is not something people really hear about unless they or someone they know has been through chemo. I learned about it after my mom had 6 months of chemo 7 years ago, sometimes when there s lot of outside stimulation she forgets simple things for a few seconds until her brain catches up in processing. With a lot of stimulation she loses a little of the fine motor skills and fast decision making. She reverts back to gross motor skills and reacting on instinct. So if this is happening to him when he is overcome by the stimulation in his mind he is processing everything in real time when in reality he is a second behind. He reverts to instinct and muscle memory. This will improve as he gains experience if this is what is happening.
good luck to him and I hope he keeps his interest on the sport!
 
Feedback if you can sit down and learn him feedback what the kart is feeling getting in the turn thru the center and the exit then you can work on setup then comes the tire game feedback from the amount of bite I’m gonna stop here I think your getting the idea
 
As a now 17 year cancer survivor myself I thank you for what you are doing. Two pieces of advise. When I first started karting at 30 I knew how to go fast in drag racing but not going around in circles. Racing on dirt was totally new to me. After learning how drive the kart, during practice I would follow the fast guys and try to keep up and mimic their moves and learn the lines to drive in. Second, take your driver and go to the fence at the apex of a turn and watch where other drivers are lifting going into the turns. Some will lift right at the apex, some later and most will lift early. Walk out on the track with him and show him where the marks are. As far as him locking up the brakes and spinning sounds like he`s focused on what`s in front of him and not scanning the field. At that age he might be a little fearful with his speed when he come up on a spin out and panics out of caution and thus brakes too hard. It`s just something he`s going to have to learn. I had bladder cancer so the chemo was directly in the bladder and not in the blood stream. I never experienced what Jacobsdad explained. Give him time and good luck to both of you.
 
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would like to thank all that posted!! this weekend I geared him where he wouldnt have to let off, full throttle all the way around, we wasn't fast but he stayed on the same lap so was an improvement, found out the kart was pushing he just could not stay on bottom so learned alot on my end we moved left rear tire out 1/4" and let a little air out of front tires left gear the same for feature and he did better just didnt adjust enough and he finally was complaining kart didnt have any top end so all and all was a good weekend thanks to all that have replied it open my eyes and got me thinking things in a different light thanks
 
have him follow a faster kart in practice, do everything the other guy does. If that kid can do it, so can your boy. Assure him that if he spins out trying to keep up then its the karts fault, not his, and you will fix it. Show confidence in all things.
 
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