A rude awakening! What it takes to become a champion!
It was early 2006 and I had been searching for a coach to take me to the next level. I had always prided myself on being self taught with a few pointers here and there from local riders such as, John Chambers and Jon Barfoot, and a single team green training day with Dickie Dye and Dave Thorpe when I first started racing. Later I would be gifted the Gary Semics box set and did my best to study technique any way I could.
I was serious about making up for lost time after stepping away from the sport to focus on a career in carpentry. If I was going to race again it was going to be done properly and with the right guidance.
They say that when the student is ready the master will appear and that’s exactly what happened.
A chance encounter!
I was living on a friends farm which had a supercross track, perfect for practice in the evenings.
I came home from work one afternoon to find a young Max Anstie and his dad Mervyn (aka Merv the swerve) on the drive gearing up to ride the track. My friend Dave had invited them down after meeting him at the Cardiff arena cross round where his sons Dexter and Troy had been competing.
I was blown away with how fast an 85cc could go on that track!
I had a good chat with Merv but didn’t think to ask if he could train me, I was more focussed watching how skilful and controlled Max was at such a young age!
If you have read my natural talent myth blog, this is the encounter I talk about which opened my mind to a new belief system that talent is built not born.
A short while later I received a phone call asking if I could help Merv and Max. He was racing a European 85cc round in Slovenia (back when the European championship went all over Europe and not yet regionalised)
It was a long drive and Merv needed help with the drive and at the track with Max, general pit crew stuff, washing bikes, spinning spanner’s, spotting lines etc.
This was the first time I got to witness other super young talents like Roczen, Herlings, Coldenhoff, Tonkov, Lupino, Kullas all on 85’s chasing the path to becoming professionals and even Tim Gaiser on a 65! That weekend Max would go 4th in qualifying with 7-5-5 moto results.
This was also the year Max went on to win the Dutch 85cc championship and also the win the Paris Bercy 85cc Supercross.
Getting back to the story.
As I mentioned, it was a long drive so Merv and I had plenty of time to talk and it was then when discussing what I felt was holding me back that Mervyn invited me down to his track to train!
Entering a different world!
5am on a Wednesday and I’m driving 120 miles to Hampshire. Bike prepped and loaded the night before, mountain bike onboard and I have no idea what to expect.
I was excited to start my training journey and at the same time nervous for what it was going to be like.
I arrived just before 7am when I was rushed by Merv to get my mountain bike out the van. Literally minutes after arriving at Mervyns house I was peddling like a maniac trying to keep up with him, I remember shouting “wheres Max?” Merv replied “I’ve given him a head start, we have to catch him, that’s our goal, we have to beat him and he has to keep the lead and beat us!”
At this time max was 12 years old!
I had no idea where the hell I was going on this route so all I could do was max my heart rate out to keep up with Merv and aim not to get lost!
The route was pretty intense and Merv’s theory was to create a race like situation and mountain bikes was a very good way to do this because it involved up and down hills with jumps and line choice coming into the mix! It wasn’t a boring road cycle that’s for sure.
45 minutes into the route and we finally catch Max! As he became stronger over time he got less and less of a head start. It was a brilliant way to push a younger guy whilst I was having to push my maximum effort too, being a full grown adult. A game of cat and mouse!
We passed Max and got back to the house in around 50 minutes roughly.
Mervyn said “Right, Gaz that was a good warm up, get in the gym, Max get ready for school”
I have to say it was at this point my mind was saying "warm up" “What the hell” but my ego wasn’t going to show any weakness and I was just going to do what was needed!
Max went to school whilst Merv put me through my paces circuit training in the gym. He put some euphoric trance music on and started talking me through the workout. Merv built strong minds in the gym, this was his way of pushing people through mental barriers. He would shout out during the workouts “you are not guna let them beat you” “this is your race” “you’re in here, what are they doing?” “Noone’s training like you” and my favourite “it’s better to burn out than fade away” all kinds of motivational encouragement to forge a stronger mind!
I have to say that my first experience of this I honestly thought he was mental! Id never been pushed like that, as I spent more time with him I realised the method to the madness.
At this stage Max didn’t join us with those bits, but he was up each day before school to perform a workout of some kind including the mountain bikes.
After finishing in the gym I had a shower and we sat down for some breakfast. Honestly I could have used some sleep! But no we had more to do. We went through my current training plan from one of the well known MX personal trainers at the time and I’m not joking Merv threw it to one side and said “you won’t be needing that.” We made a plan for the day which included collecting Max from school (he was allowed Wednesday afternoons off for training), then driving to Merv’s private track to begin technique practice.
When we arrived at the track I was blown away! I’d never seen a place like it! Double and triple jumps ranging from 30ft to 120ft, multiple sets of whoops of different sizes for progression, every type of turn, ruts, off cambers! A full blown supercross track in the centre and start gates for both dirt and concrete! The place was off the chart! You could map out a track in multiple ways so it was built for training more than a set track like I was used to.
We spent 3 hours working on technique, low speed drills and Max showing me what jumping big double jumps was all about and showing off as he gave me the guided tour of this awesome place! I was physically tired from the mornings workouts but felt strangely relaxed too, the theory was that if you could hold position correctly whilst tired you could definitely hold position when fresh at a race. Race days should be easy and just a gauge to how good your training is, the training is where the hard work takes really place.
I thought we were finished! It felt good to push that hard and learn so much in one day! However Merv had other plans.
We packed up and drove to ‘Tony Moto’ for an evening session of more riding!
We used the sessions at the public track to run through qualifying routines, speed laps, section sprints and finished off with a Moto! We were finally finished! after driving back to Merv’s for some dinner and a debrief I set off home, another 2 hour drive and I arrived back at 11pm.
How did I push myself through all of that?
I used ego and pride to not give up or embarrass myself.
This was the start of my journey and waking up to what it takes to improve and win. That initial mindset using pride and ego to get through that day had to be replaced with a more constructive mindset, focussing on my improvement and the process. Over time things got easier because I knew the routine and it wasn’t such a shock to the system. I would train harder physically away from Merv with the goal of beating him on the bike ride! It was only when other professional riders joined us and moaned about the training being crazy and wanting to give up that I realised how far I had come, it was now my normal! Crazy like Merv.
That was the first of many stories with the Anstie’s and this was where my belief system began to expand and I began to take on new ideas and possibilities.
I remain forever grateful to Merv for opening my eyes and mind, and for everything he taught me. What I realise looking back is what people see as crazy is another persons normal and not everyone is ready for ‘the process’. I sometimes think 'what could I have done if I'd met Merv at 13 years old?', and I think it's that question that drives me to be the coach I am now, to be the person I needed at that age for other riders.
How committed are you to changing results?
How crazy are you prepared to be?
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Gary
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