Your first go kart outing is a defining moment in the
parent/child relationship. Or, if it isn’t, it should be. In fact, when you
elect me your president, my first and only promise will be that every father
and mother must guide their son or daughter through just such an experience
before they can officially claim them as dependents on their taxes.
Go karting builds character; requiring intense focus, strong
forearms, and mental stamina. Every lap around the track offers the opportunity
to take the next one even faster—to brake later, corner more sharply, or mash
the throttle earlier. It’s a crippling addiction if left unchecked.
And I was about to introduce my 10-year-old son to it, at
Xtreme Action Park.
Xtreme is our go-to for karting—not just because it’s the longest indoor track in the area, or because you’re ripping down actual asphalt,
or because the karts are still gas powered rather than numb and
electric…actually, those pretty much sum up all of the reasons.
Ever hear
how Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton cut their teeth in karting? This is about
as close as 99.5% of us can get to living out our F1 fantasies.
The idea was
to bring him over one evening after school and teach him a few basics. However,
by the end of his session behind the wheel, it was I who learned a few new
lessons. Here are the three most important things parents need to know when
taking their kids go karting for the first time:
CONSISTENCY
IS KEY
When he
first took to the track, Xander reminded me of a newborn doe attempting to
walk. He went slowly, staying wide around the corners so as to give the safety
barriers ample space. Had anyone been watching and judging him (me), it would
have been painfully obvious that this was his first time. However, after a
couple of feeler laps, he began to find a rhythm. I glanced at the large screen
over the front straightaway and noticed his lap times stayed about the same.
Despite not taking the best race line, he was a machine.
I asked him
afterward if he had any idea how he’d been able to do that. His answer:
“I just
floored it after that one corner every time.”
When they’re
starting out, encourage your kid to be consistent rather than fast. Once they
find a comfortable, repeatable pace, they can start to improve. They can choose
the same corner each lap to try and get through quicker. Then another. And so
on. They’ll learn what they can do better, and their lap times will come down
as a result.
PLAY MORE
FORTNITE
After his
two sessions, Xander told me that his hands and forearms were a bit sore from
gripping the wheel. He said it was similar to the feeling he’d experience after
a marathon Fortnite match. I thought back to my younger days, giving up hour
upon hour of my own life to Mario Kart, and realized he was right—my
emphatic button mashing usually preceded some rather tender hand muscles. After
enough time however, they became stronger.
Or, perhaps
I just built up a tolerance. In any case, have your child increase their go
karting fitness by sitting stationary in front of a TV and playing more video
games.
IT’S NOT A
COMPETITION – EXCEPT WHEN IT IS
When we got
home, I asked Xander what his advice would be for other kids his age trying
this for the first time. Like anyone who’s spent more than five minutes in an
organized team activity, he said having fun was the most important thing.
Pause for
“Aaawwwwww”s.
However, he
quickly pivoted to analyze what he personally could have done differently. He
pointed out mistakes that I hadn’t even known he’d made. He was obsessed with
figuring out how he could tighten his turns or how he could use the brakes
more. He concluded with a wistful statement about getting old enough one day to
try the pro karts.
And then
went upstairs to fire up Fortnite. Team #nodaysoff.
He
couldn’t—and didn’t want to—turn off his competitive nature. Sure he wanted to
have fun, but he also wanted to win. After all, what’s more fun than that?
I know I can
inadvertently ask both of my boys to bury that ambitious instinct in the name
of “having fun.” I do believe they can find a productive outlet for it in a
safe, controlled setting, though. He can’t wait to go back, and I can’t wait to
see what he decides to try in order to get better.
He’s still
got a long way to go to beat me, of course. I’ll still be the one in our house
having the most fun on the track for awhile longer.
