Progression is fun to watch.

WOW! Snowmobiling season is over! For snowmobilers, every off-season feels like an eternity before the season finally arrives, and once it arrives, it seems like the season is gone in the blink of an eye. And now as we trudge through the gloomy and rainy days of spring, it’s fun to step back and reflect on this past season’s riding, and at the forefront of that reflection this year is the constant theme of progression.

Progression is just plain fun to watch. For any sport, be it Football, Hockey, Baseball – watching players push themselves and improve can be some of the most exciting things to watch as any season unfolds. But I contend that the progression of riding abilities in powersports is as good as it gets. I think it’s because a rider’s starting point for talent typically starts REALLY low, but their expectations for themselves is so high, and I think it’s that disconnect that makes for the steepest learning curve for any sport of which I am aware.

This season was our 8-year old’s first year racing a snowmobile. Emily has spent a lot of time riding in the yard on her Polaris 120, but up until this year, hadn’t worked up the courage to get out on-track. We registered her for a few races before she made it out on track, and it wasn’t until she was able to ride side-by-side with her other friends that she was able to overcome the nerves, build the courage, and get on the track. She quickly learned that the butterflies in her stomach go away after the flag goes green, and racing with friends is a RIOT! She ended up racing a handful of times and found that she had the most fun at the Sunday Funday events held at ERX. Sunday Funday’s are super laid-back events that are focused on helping kids learn how to race and ride, with a big emphasis on teaching good sportsmanship. She ended the season showing big progress in riding ability, but more importantly, building the confidence that she’s been able to demonstrate both on and off the track.

As Emily was getting accustomed to being on a racetrack, our son Jack was getting accustomed to being on a full-size sled on a racetrack. 2021/22 was Jack’s first season racing snocross on a Polaris 600R in the “Transition” classes. We had him entered in four different Snocross racing series across the mid-west. The Transition class takes a full-on factory race machine and de-tunes them to levels that are like a stout 440 from the 1990’s. This is done with simple measures including limiting the throttle opening to 50%, keeping exhaust valves closed, and limiting the engine to 6,500 RPM. The rules in this class do a great job keeping the playing field level and keeping the power proportionate to the kid’s riding abilities. However, the rules don’t change the size and weight of the sled – they still weigh 400+ pounds more than the rider!

This huge size difference makes it hard for riders to climb the learning curve, but also makes the reward of progress that much sweeter. When Jack first started this season, we had a very low bar set – in fact Jack struggled to even get the sled onto the practice track – not exactly confidence inspiring! And as we learned this season, track time is critical to not only building technical skills and abilities, but also building confidence. Nowhere is a confidence level more observable than when a rookie rider approaches the jumps on a Snocross track.

Jack followed the typical on-track learning curve for a rookie. It starts with riders simply rolling over the tops. From there riders quickly transition to casing the jumps (where they jump from one face of a jump straight into the face of the very next jump – SUPER painful for adults to do!), then finally progressing to hitting doubles or even triples by jumping from one face all the way over the top of the next jump, landing smoothly on the backside of the next jump. In Jack’s first few races he spent most of his time on track rolling and occasionally casing jumps, but before too long the pace was improving just enough that he was casing into most jumps but was starting to build the confidence needed for attempting doubles. By Jack’s third race he was able to complete his first double, which was a huge accomplishment for him. He came off the track feeling proud, but as importantly, feeling FAST! He came off the track saying “that was so much faster, and it didn’t hurt like casing does!”

He learned quickly, and the resulting speed he picked up on the track also produced some modest improvement in race results too, which was encouraging for a young racer. He started the season at the back of the pack, typically finishing in the back 2-3 spots, but by mid-season he was keeping up with the mid-pack riders, and towards the end of the season he was able to occasionally hang with the front of the mid-pack. Overall he finished the season in the Top 10 in points, and is already setting his sights on lofty goals for the 2022/23 season. One thing that is certain, if he’s going to accomplish the goals he has, not only does he need to show progression on the track, but his mechanic (Dad!) also needs to progress in sled setup for the following season!

But for now, with the season over, the final race points tallied and the trail sleds moth-balled (more on that in an upcoming post!) we’re thankful we had a great season. We were fortunate to be injury free, and blessed to have the support from friends, family, and sponsors. It was a season that certainly had ups and downs, but more importantly it was a season full of progression, and progression is a lot of fun to watch.