MOMENT WITH MIKE: Pit lane parenting

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Mike Garrison

0 May 1, 2017, 12:25 p.m.

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

Over the course of the last few months I have traveled around the Midwest attending a variety of different races, and while I have enjoyed them all I've also noticed a particularly scary pattern. At each and every race I have attended I seem to encounter one common thing that flat out is unacceptable in my opinion, and really gets my blood boiling; the stereotypical “pee-wee” dad. 

R/C racing is a sport in which anyone can become involved, and have a lot of fun. Like any form of racing, there is a small percentage of racers who will turn their fun into a career as a professional racer. The lifeblood of R/C racing is new racers, and especially young kids who aren’t worried about anything but getting to drive their R/C cars. The problem is the parent who expects his or her kid to become the next world champion - and therefore treats them as if they should be at that level from day one. 

I lose respect for the parents of some of the world’s top drivers who belittle them with pit lane temper tantrums and pit table trash talk for making mistakes and having bad days. It's even worse when it's the parents of amateur-level young kids who just want to have fun.

I am calling out all of the parents out there who – instead of encouraging your kid to do better, helping them to recognize their mistakes in a positive manner, and making sure they enjoy what they are doing – are the ones yelling and stomping in pit lane, walking on and off the drivers stand lecturing your kid mid-race, and scolding your child as they come off the drivers' stand as if they just robbed a bank.

R/C racing can be very expensive, and taking your kid from state to state racing adds up. The ultimate goal is for your kid to get sponsored, get discounts, and someday get paid.

News flash for all you little-league parents:

1. The first place trophy you are demanding your kid to earn will not pay for any parts, reimburse the cost of hotel rooms, or put gas in your truck to get home.
2. Good results are important, but today’s sponsorship is largely based off of representation. If you are a good representative of R/C and the brand, you may be granted a sponsorship. As a parent of a kid, you two are a team. A parent who is known for throwing temper tantrums, yelling, getting mad, and creating a scene will kill any sponsorship chances your kid has regardless of how he finishes.
3. Getting sponsored and/or paid to race your R/C car only works if you are still interested in racing your R/C car. Keep smacking the smile off your kid’s face with your disappointment, anger, and unreasonable expectations, and it shouldn’t take long before you’ll have to re-open that eBay account to sell all the R/C stuff your kid no longer wants anything to do with.

I’ve quietly watched it happen time and time again, often by the same parents (you know who you are), and quite frankly as someone who loves the sport and loves seeing smiles on the faces of kids who are involved in it, I am at my wits' end. 

As a parent, it’s perfectly okay to want your kid to do well, push your kid to improve, and help them reach the top. The key is how you go about doing it, and making sure that, throughout it all, you and your kid still have fun. We all get disappointed when we don’t win or drive up to our expectations, but it’s important to take that as a positive learning experience and improve. 

While some may say it is none of my business, growing the hobby I love is my business. As a parent reading this, you know who you are and if this applies to you. If it does, don’t scold yourself as you do with your kid for getting second place; instead, step back and be thankful for the hobby and time you get to spend with your kid. Work to improve your own performance to encourage your kid, keep a smile on his/her face, and most of all recognize that just like your kid’s last lap bobble you have made a mistake – learn from it, and don’t make that bobble next time.