When I was younger, I went away one summer to a church camp like a lot of kids do. I had a great time and made a lot of good friends. But I can remember it fell only a couple of weeks before Loretta’s and it was a big decision for my parents and I, missing out on a full week’s worth of training and preparing for the biggest race of the year. Luckily, taking a week off didn’t affect me and I was still able to win, but even more lucky are the kids (and adults) of this generation.
For the last four years, I have been volunteering at FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) motocross camp. You may have heard me talk about these camps before, but I just can’t say enough about them. Above and beyond any other sort of camps out there today, it is a full week of riding and training with some of the best pros in the sport. Riders like
Kevin Windham,
Andrew Short,
Nathan Ramsey,
Ryan Sipes, and
Tim Ferry (and so many more) have all shown up and dedicated their time to coaching these kids.
Me, Chappy and K-Dub covered in shaving cream.
A typical day at camp starts with an early-morning wake-up call and straight to a workout, followed by a group bible study. Then, after breakfast, we get our gear on and head out to the track. It’s all organized very well with the track divided into sections and a different instructor at each one, then usually a free ride at the end of the day. After-dinner chapel is led by Steve Hudson, who is the same Pastor who goes to all of the supercrosses and outdoors. Steve has a wonderful ability to capture everyone’s attention, from the little four-year-old kids to the adults, and everyone walks away with something. He’s absolutely amazing!
The girls killing it on stage.
With over a hundred kids, the FCA staff has activities planned so there is never any down time for kids to get bored, right down to a karaoke competition every night before bed. And they sleep well at night because of it. And here is where I need to make my plea: We need more girls! Every year, the girls always go all out with costumes and make up our own dances and pretty much give 100 percent into winning at karaoke. And I know what you’re thinking: “Sarah, this is a church camp, it’s not all about winning.” Which is true, but it’s also motocross camp and motocrossers want to win at everything! The problem is, there are always more boys at camp than girls and the winning team is always decided by the crowd. Well, of course the girls never get any cheers because, well, we have cooties. So I am requesting all of you girls out there to come check out a camp, strengthen your faith, improve your riding skills, have a ton of fun,
and help me fulfill my dream of winning karaoke!
That's dedication!
All joking aside, it really is a great time. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by people who share the love of God and motocross. I have gone to seven camps in four years and plan on attending as many of the 10 camps this summer as my schedule will allow. Now, instead of losing valuable seat time while away at camp, you can actually go to camp and become a better rider, which I think is very cool. You can check out the website at fcamx.com
If you are looking for something until summer comes, I will be giving private lessons here in the southern California area if anyone is interested. And as for the other side of things, check out panicrev.org and join us for Thursday night bible studies. It’s a very low-key study of mostly riders that get together and is always a great time.
