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s the season is just beginning, riders across the nation are getting their equipment all ready, planning their 2014 schedule and perhaps making a few upgrades to their machine. Each new year presents an opportunity to set new goals and to develop new skills, and there is no better time for making a change than your first day on the racetrack. During these first few sessions riders have a unique window of opportunity for accelerated learning that few will fully take advantage of. Over the winter, most of us have gone through many months away from the motorcycle. In the first few sessions on the racetrack each season, riders become acquainted with the motorcycle and generally work to reestablish their habits from the previous season. These familiar neurological pathways quickly open up again and effectively are “burned” back into our muscle memory. This annual process of relearning your habits provides a unique window of opportunity to make serious progress that will likely be much more difficult to implement later in the season. It is often much easier to teach someone proper form in a particular sport when they have never played that sport before. For someone who has never swung a baseball bat, all of the motions involved in making a proper swing are new. The instructor has a blank slate to start with and can emphasize the proper motions from day one. This prevents the creation of bad habits and makes it much easier for the player to perform properly under “stress”. The biggest challenge when asking a hitter to make a change in their hitting form comes from the fact that most players seek coaching during the season itself. Coaches can teach SPORTBIKESINCMAG.COM | 125