Foreign Based Team Gb Training At Last

[PHILIPRISING]

Coaching is absolutely fundamental to success at elite level in most sports. Yet in speedway, there seems to be very little regard for it. Certainly in Britain.

 

It's ironic you mention Stuart Robson and Simon Stead, as they are two perfect examples of British riders who are technically flawed. Yet if they had been properly coached, I think they both could have gone further in the sport.

 

Overall though, I think this is a great initiative and though I am no Alun Rossiter fan, he deserves huge congratulations for getting this off the ground. It's a definite step in the right direction.

GOOD points. Like you I have always found it odd that there is so little proper tuition in speedway. Ivan Mauger said often that riders simply perfect their bad habits. And the two riders you mention are perfect examples.

[ch958]

GOOD points. Like you I have always found it odd that there is so little proper tuition in speedway. Ivan Mauger said often that riders simply perfect their bad habits. And the two riders you mention are perfect examples.

the thing is that riders are largely indiviuals like tennis players and would need 1 to 1like them

i bleive in the past senior riders have helped - i believe Ivan took Malcolm Simmons under his wing for a while and improved his professionalism at least

there may be other examples

[iris123]

the thing is that riders are largely indiviuals like tennis players and would need 1 to 1like them

i bleive in the past senior riders have helped - i believe Ivan took Malcolm Simmons under his wing for a while and improved his professionalism at least

there may be other examples

John Davis + Eddie Kennett

[PHILIPRISING]

FIRST I have ever heard about Simmo - a completely natural talent - and Ivan.

 

Of course there should be 1 on 1 as in just about any sport ... tennis, golf, athletics, etc. That would be the whole point of a proper training school, the like of which Mauger ran right across Europe and Erik Gundersen still does.

 

Just watching riders go round for lap after lap achieves nothing other than to prompt Ivan's remark.

[iris123]

FIRST I have ever heard about Simmo - a completely natural talent - and Ivan.

 

Of course there should be 1 on 1 as in just about any sport ... tennis, golf, athletics, etc. That would be the whole point of a proper training school, the like of which Mauger ran right across Europe and Erik Gundersen still does.

 

Just watching riders go round for lap after lap achieves nothing other than to prompt Ivan's remark.

To be honest as a true professional sportsperson hoping to reach the pinnacle of their chosen sport they shouldn't just be employing a trainer,but very important in speedway I think is a sports psychologist as well as one or two others in their 'team'.In the old days this could have been done at their home team track,but nowadays is pretty well impossible for any team to do as 'their' riders are hardly at 'home',so it is up to the individual rider to get the right people around him.Any ex rider who just happens to offer his services probably isn't the right way to go about things

[PHILIPRISING]

To be honest as a true professional sportsperson hoping to reach the pinnacle of their chosen sport they shouldn't just be employing a trainer,but very important in speedway I think is a sports psychologist as well as one or two others in their 'team'.In the old days this could have been done at their home team track,but nowadays is pretty well impossible for any team to do as 'their' riders are hardly at 'home',so it is up to the individual rider to get the right people around him.Any ex rider who just happens to offer his services probably isn't the right way to go about things

SENSIBLE idea in theory but doubt whether many riders have that sort of money. Closest who comes to it is Nicki Pedersen.

[fatface]

Funny that Malcolm Simmons should come up. I'd have him down as technically excellent. I recollect that he had a big role in helping Kelvin Tatum in his early years at Wimbledon. And Tatum was another with excellent technique.

 

But too often in Britain we have relied upon riders just having so much natural talent, they make it anyway. When you think about the World Champs we have had, they are nearly all naturals. PC, Mike Lee and Mark Loram being the most obvious examples.

 

Yet when you think about the sport's all-time greats - Mauger, Rickardsson, Nielsen - they were all superb technicians. Now, you are never going to coach someone to be Peter Collins. But there are definitely a lot of British riders who could have - and should have - gone further with some expert advice on the nuances of technique.

Edited February 7, 2016 by falcace

[PHILIPRISING]

TATUM says that in his very early days as a Wimbledon rider Simmo told him to just follow him around for a few laps ... that was largely to learn how to negotiate Plough Lane.

 

It was Briggo who had a big helping hand as far as riding technique was concerned ... one quote was "You will never make a speedway rider if you don't get your arse out of the saddle."

[ch958]

FIRST I have ever heard about Simmo - a completely natural talent - and Ivan.

 

Of course there should be 1 on 1 as in just about any sport ... tennis, golf, athletics, etc. That would be the whole point of a proper training school, the like of which Mauger ran right across Europe and Erik Gundersen still does.

 

Just watching riders go round for lap after lap achieves nothing other than to prompt Ivan's remark.

 

probably read it in the Star!! I remember Simmo saying something like he'd just been playing at it til Ivan helped him

perhaps it was just a chat rather than a formal arrangement

[Tsunami]

John Davis + Eddie Kennett

..and also Lee Richardson.

 

probably read it in the Star!! I remember Simmo saying something like he'd just been playing at it til Ivan helped him

perhaps it was just a chat rather than a formal arrangement

That's the thing about proper comprehensive training such as youngsters are receiving through the Poultec initiative. Riding a bike is only part of it, Maintence, personal health, technical issues, etc, are all so important, and many top riders in the past knew very little about some of these items.

[ColinMills]

watching craig cook performance in last yrs Cardiff GP, is probably a good starting point, as to what can be improved on,

and what advice by people in the know could give.

As a spectator (and lets face it) its easy to knock someone as a spectator, but I thought cook let himself down, despite his points tally.

he "appeared" weak in certain areas that night. He was on the pace, but backed out imo, when a couple of times, he should

of been more aggressive. he appeared easy to be pushed aside in a couple of races

[Humphrey Appleby]

Yet in speedway, there seems to be very little regard for it. Certainly in Britain.

Speedway is the ultimate mercenary sport, and whilst it masquerades as a team sport, team work is not intrinsic to results unlike most other team sports. Riders are competing against other riders for team places and points money, so there's little incentive to help others - at least not until their own careers are over.

 

There also aren't the same opportunities for practice - limited tracks and limited track time available so you just have to make the best of it. In fact, I'd say it's the same with most motor sports, and the best drivers and riders are usually those that have natural ability. If you're the type of person who needs a lot of practice - odds are you won't make it to a high level - same as those flying fast jets for example.

[Shale Searcher]

Speedway is the ultimate mercenary sport, and whilst it masquerades as a team sport, team work is not intrinsic to results unlike most other team sports. Riders are competing against other riders for team places and points money, so there's little incentive to help others - at least not until their own careers are over.

 

There also aren't the same opportunities for practice - limited tracks and limited track time available so you just have to make the best of it. In fact, I'd say it's the same with most motor sports, and the best drivers and riders are usually those that have natural ability. If you're the type of person who needs a lot of practice - odds are you won't make it to a high level - same as those flying fast jets for example.

Does anyone think it would be possible to make a speedway rider?

 

I mean, take a 10 yr old kid and say this is what you are going to be when you grow up.

Then basically isolate him, teach him about speedway, train him, school him, but like a jockey, (based on height and build) that has been done in the past, successfully I think... So by age 16 he is a speedway rider, probably not world beater standard, but technically astute, just needing experience...

[Vince]

Does anyone think it would be possible to make a speedway rider?

 

I mean, take a 10 yr old kid and say this is what you are going to be when you grow up.

Then basically isolate him, teach him about speedway, train him, school him, but like a jockey, (based on height and build) that has been done in the past, successfully I think... So by age 16 he is a speedway rider, probably not world beater standard, but technically astute, just needing experience...

 

With the proviso that the kid was the right character to be able to take the knocks and was determined then I think you could do so fairly easily. I would say there are more riders succeed who have the right character than those with the natural ability but not the determination when things get tough.

.

[Humphrey Appleby]

To be honest as a true professional sportsperson hoping to reach the pinnacle of their chosen sport they shouldn't just be employing a trainer,but very important in speedway I think is a sports psychologist as well as one or two others in their 'team'.

The sports psychology thing is quite interesting. I certainly found there were racing days when I was able to get into a zone and actually won things, but I could rarely replicate it in any consistent way.

 

However, it can be overemphasised. A few ago years our boss in his clueless wisdom hired a psychologist who had supposedly coached the British Olympic rowers. The sessions basically consisted of us being told "we're highly skilled athletes" (actually we weren't, we worked for an Internet organisation), and that "we're big winners" (err.. what have we won or got to win) and "we can achieve anything" (well whatever).

 

Maybe I'm just too cynical, but I couldn't see how anyone could buy into that and I'd question how much use it would be even to Olympic athletes. Of course, all these things get positive reinforcement - the Olympic rowing team did well so ergo it must be the psychology. Nothing of course to do with selecting elite athletes in the first place, and the physical training...

[pugwash]

John Davis + Eddie Kennett

 

 

..and also Lee Richardson.

 

I got the impression that John Davis was just hanging around trying to get on tv.

[SPEEDY69]

In speedway, as with many sports, it's not just about having the right equipment - the mental side is so important. Steady and Robson may be good coaches - the best performers don't necessarily make the best tutors/coaches. I don't think any ex player could claim to be better than Roger Federer but he employs coaches to improve his performances.

 

Many of the top British riders have been successful on the international stage but most are not consistent. Being first to the first bend is vital - Mauger, Gundersen, Nielsen, Hancock, Woffy, Havelock + loads more - all excellent gaters. World Champion exceptions? Maybe Collins & Loram.

 

This is a good move and I hope enough attention is paid to watching other successful riders and how they get out of the start - dropping the clutch is only part of the story.

[Vince]

I think Speedway is a bit like Golf in so far as it is a very simple sport and tiny adjustments in technique can make quite a difference in performance. In my opinion many riders could benefit from somebody who analysed the sport in depth and then coached a technique based on that.

 

At the moment in the USA there is an ex pro cyclist, Aldon Baker, training top class Motocross/ Supercross riders and his results have been amazing. Much of that is about his fitness regime but he also teaches riding technique and how to practice but as far as I know has never ridden a MX meeting.

[Lord Skid]

All most Brit's want to know from a dietician is where McDonalds is. And most of them would have seen a psychiatrist already, the Wiggs, Tatum's had all this in place years ago, that's what winners do, off their own back.

[Ghostwalker]

In speedway, as with many sports, it's not just about having the right equipment - the mental side is so important. Steady and Robson may be good coaches -

the best performers don't necessarily make the best tutors/coaches. I don't think any ex player could claim to be better than Roger Federer but he employs coaches to improve his performances.

 

Well he used Stefan Edberg for a few years. Andy Murray have used Ivan Lendl as a coach and Andy is now using former player Ameli Mauresmo, Djokovic is using Boris Becker...