Northpinellas: 'You've got to commit to it'

PALM HARBOR -- It's Tuesday night and Mark Jones is sitting in bleachers scattered with parents who converse without looking at one another. Each has their gaze fixed on their son racing around the dirt track at Dade City Raceway.

Raising his voice over the droning "wheeeee" of the motorcycles, Jones shares a secret, perhaps the secret, he has learned about child-rearing.

All kids have something that gets them excited and motivated, he said. And parents, if they are lucky enough to find it, ought to ride it for all it's worth.

Take the Jones' son Ryan.

When he was 8 years old, Ryan's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was diagnosed. In Ryan's early school years, as Jones sat to help with his son's math homework, he'd notice that after a couple of minutes, Ryan would be staring up at the lights overhead.

Ryan realized something was off too. He'd be reading something when his mind would wander and he'd have to re-read a passage several times to comprehended its meaning.

Homework sessions would often end in shouting matches.

"It was tearing us apart," Jones said.

It wasn't just school work. Ryan's short attention span stuck out in sports as well. First there was tae kwon do karate. Sue Jones said her son would whine every time they went. Then it was soccer. Halfway through the game, Mrs. Jones would spot her son staring at the sky, bored. Same thing with Little League.

Medication helped, but the real breakthrough came when the Joneses dangled the purchase of a dirt bike as bait. Now they had Ryan's full attention.

Mark Jones drew up a contract. Ryan was to complete all his reading and math assignments -- without prodding -- through the rest of the school year, and learn his multiplication tables. Ryan signed.

The change was dramatic, Jones said. Ryan's grades improved. He did his homework without constant hounding. When Ryan finally committed all his multiplication tables to memory, the bike was his.

Jones also got himself a dirt bike and he and his son rode together often, sometimes at Croom Park in eastern Hernando County. They loved it.

When Ryan was 12 years old, he told his father he wanted to race. Jones agreed, so long as Ryan kept his grades up. He did.

When race day finally came, Ryan admitted he was a bit nervous. The start of a motocross race is a daunting prospect. As many as 42 riders line up side by side and then make a mad dash for a narrow curve about 150 feet away. It is the most dangerous part of a dangerous race.

Down the line, Ryan's friend, a somewhat less experienced rider also in his first race, asked his father for some advice on how to handle the inevitable clog of that first turn. The boy's father told him to hold back, let the other riders beat him to the turn, then go from there.

Ryan also looked to his father for some start advice. Jones told his son if he was the first one to the turn, he'd be clear.

Then Mrs. Jones gave her son a send-off that would become a pre-race ritual.

"Kick butt," she told him and tapped him on the helmet.

Later, sitting in the stands, Mr. and Mrs. Jones began another pre-race ritual. They prayed.

When the race began, Ryan was the first to the turn. A passion was born.

Ryan is 15 now, and motocross has become his focus. In fact, it's what he'd like to do for a living one day soon. As always, his participation in racing events requires that he keep up his grades at Palm Harbor University High School, where he will start his sophomore year next month.

The thrill and speed of the sport are the biggest attraction, Ryan said.

"As you get faster, it gets more fun," he said.

A lean 6-foot-1, 140 pounds, Ryan now works out with a fitness trainer. He also does his own motorcycle repairs and rebuilds his engine after every 20 hours of use.

Travis Blackburn, a former professional motocross rider who now trains riders, said Ryan is well on his way to becoming a rider of professional caliber.

"It is very realistic," said Blackburn, who trains Ryan for free in exchange for Ryan wearing his T-shirt and putting decals on his bike at racing events. Unlike most youths, Blackburn said, Ryan is willing to put his complete trust in him and try things that may result in some bruises the first few times he tries it.

In motocross, Ryan said, "You can't be scared. You've got to commit to it."

But this is not just the story of Ryan's commitment, it is also about how far parents are willing to go to cultivate their child's passion. Because Mr. and Mrs. Jones found they have had to organize their lives around motocross, too.

Every Tuesday night, the family drives 50 miles from their Palm Harbor home to the Dade City Raceway for practice. Weekends are for racing, and 40 weekends a year, that means traveling to tracks in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. They leave Friday night or Saturday morning and arrive home Sunday night.

"It's really tough on the family," Jones said. "Sue and I, all we do is motocross."

"It takes a huge commitment," said Mrs. Jones, noting they also have a daughter who is a sophomore at Florida State University.

She sometimes misses the social life they developed in Pinellas County. And it is expensive. Ryan now has a dozen sponsors, most of whom give him free or discounted equipment and parts.

But it's still a pricy endeavor. Jones, a sales manager at Compulink in St. Petersburg, estimates they spent about $15,000 in parts over the last year. And that pales compared to the cost of travel, he said.

Still, Mrs. Jones said, all the sacrifice is worth it.

"There are a lot of life lessons learned on the track," she said.

And the families of other riders become a social group, she said. Race sites become a sea of trailers and RVs every weekend.

"We end up together every weekend," she said. "It has become a family sport for a lot of us."

Jones said the time spent on the road together allows him to spend meaningful time with his son.

"I'm with him all the time," Jones said. "Fortunately, he's a nice guy."

Some parents just don't understand it, Mrs. Jones said. They wonder how the Jones could let their son do something so dangerous. They don't understand the depth of Ryan's drive, she said.

"That's what he loves," she said. "There is nothing else he wants to do."

But the danger of the sport has threatened to derail the Jones' resolve.

"It's pretty nerve-racking to watch it," Mrs. Jones said.

There is an ambulance parked at the track on race days for a reason. Injuries in motocross are inevitable and Ryan has not been immune. Over the years, he has suffered a broken wrist, tendinitis, a chipped collarbone and torn ligaments.

But the worst accident came this past spring, a week before the regional finals. While riding at Dade City Raceway, Ryan was thrown over his handlebars. He was knocked out for 10 minutes. A helicopter flew him to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. He suffered a head and spine concussion, and strained ligaments in his shoulder.

The Joneses had a "heart to heart" discussion after the accident. They decided to leave Ryan's riding future up to him. For Ryan, the choice was easy. He returned to the track with his confidence undeterred. That's probably because he doesn't remember anything about the accident, Ryan says with a smile.

The only reminder of his accident is the cracked helmet that he displays proudly in his room, which is otherwise lined with trophies and plaques.

These days, along with a No. 12 necklace for his racing number, he wears a St. Christopher medal. And his mother has modified her pre-race encouragement. Now, it's "Kick butt, carefully."

- Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185.

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