Its not your average [sport of] baseball or basketball, which most kids my age do.
Xander Lambert, 13, Chris Beale, 27, and Stacy Pennick, 18, get lined up to start at Bradley BMX at the Bradley County Recreational Park on Tues., May 31, 2017. The Bradley BMX track holds races Saturday nights year round and Tuesdays during the summer months.More Info
Age: 13Started riding: Age 2Started competing: Age 7Favorite part: Adrenaline rush Competitions won: Too many to count
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GET THEM IN GEARGot a young adrenaline junkie eager to try out the sport? Find out everything you need to get him or her started at usabmx.com. Look for a video and beginner’s manual in the “New Riders” section.
BMX racing is fast and can be dangerous, but 13-year-old Xander Lambert says there's one thing that can trip riders up worse than any wipeout:
Their minds.
While competing in the Dixieland Nationals in Powder Springs, Georgia, this April, Lambert admits he "didn't do too hot." It wasn't just because he had not eaten right or was tired from training the week before. It was because he lost focus when he began to compare himself to other racers.
"It can just make you think that you won't be good enough and that everybody will be talking about you," the young Benton, Tennessee, rider says.
And when you're flying through the air on an off-road bicycle or whizzing around a dirt track at speeds of up to 35 mph, the last thing you want to do is get knocked down by doubt.
That's why Lambert has had to train his mind just as much as his body when gearing up for a race. When the pressure's on, he guides his focus away from his competition and directs it toward the crowd. Thinking about the other riders makes him feel less capable since he's a few inches shorter than other kids his age, he explains. Instead, he looks to the bystanders and tells himself that they're all looking up to him, which pushes him to do his best so he can set a good example.
And so far, he has. Lambert is the No. 1 BMX rider in the state of Tennessee for his age group, a rank he has won on and off since the age of 9.
There are many more races before he'll know if he can claim the state title again this year, but he hopes to - and his aspirations aren't limited by Tennessee's borders. With focus and hard work, he hopes to become one of the top racers, if not the top racer, in the country.
"I just have to train harder, keep my mind right and keep pushing," he says.