Paul Foster wrote:
>
> Phil Ethier wrote:
> >
> > I personally don't think it should be the mission of a region to foster
> > nationally competitive drivers.
>
> As a Foster I just want to say WHAT!?!?! ;-)
I personally think it should be part of the goal of any region to help
every driver to improve, whether this is a novice or someone trying to
win nationally. It may not be the end-all and main goal, but it should
be one of the missions.
> I agree the mission is not to generate future national champions. But I
> don't think you can readily discount the training aspect of the sport. I
> push autocrossing as a safe way to learn car control. An extension of
> that would be to provide a way for people to increase their skill level
> over time so they could be competitive nationally whether or not they
> make the pilgrimage. I contend anybody can become a national champion
> given the desire and the experience. Natural talent has little to do
> with it. IMHO.
Not sure I would agree with that last statement. I would agree that most
people can become "not bad" with lots of practice (note, as in any
sport, this requires the right practice). But I have seen guys that were
very fast right out of the gate, and it does seem that some of us
plateau. I think this is a hard sport, just like any other sport, and I
don't think I can become a "great" soccer player or volleyball player. I
will settle for "not bad".
Part of this may be self-prophesizing, since the folks that get fast,
tend to stay with the sport and run Nationally.
I heartily agree with the rest of your paragraph. I just think that
given time, experience, money...most of us can be above-average in this
sport. National champion? Not so sure.... We were all not born with the
same reaction times and abilities.
>
> BTW, a foster is a saddle maker...
No..it's a beer. 8)
Randy Chase
'91 MR2 CS
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