Every rider should set goals for himself to gauge their progress. There are two types of goals in motocross, short term and long term.

Short term goals

Your short term goals should be set with the knowledge that they will be accomplished soon. Some of these might be learning how to get better starts or just beating that one rider that’s always finishing right in front of you.

Long term goals

Your long term goals should take a little more effort. An example would be moving from novice to intermediate or maybe qualifing for a big race, such as the loretta lynn national.

The key to setting these goals is in actually being able to accomplish the goal you set. If you set your sights too high and can’t accomplish them, you’ll lose interest or become demoralized with racing. With short term goals, you see progress quicker. You feel good about what you have done.

If you set goals throughout the year and then reach them, then racing remains fun and you improve. If you set your goals too high and you don’t ever get there, then you’ll beat yourself up and lose interest. Don’t do that. Being able to reach several short term goals as the year goes by will get you closer to that long term goal, whatever it is. Just don’t set that too high either. Moving up to the next skill level is a good long term goal.

Setting a long term goal that is only a dream is not a good idea. Be more realistic with your goals. I’m not saying you can’t dream, but take each step wisely and you’ll reach whatever heights you were meant to reach.

Improvement comes with regular practice and competition. If you are winning every race you enter, then you need more competition. That means that you’re either in the wrong class or you need to find that competion at bigger events. Many riders never get any faster because they get good starts and are able to just ride around the track out front because no one challenges them. They win locally, they look fast, they think they are fast, but when someone new shows up…………..

Without goals, you will never push yourself to the next level, in anything you do. In racing, it is imperative.