Seven-year-old Hollister boy a national champ in BMX
Ricky Castro has won so many BMX racing trophies that his family
no longer accepts them unless they’re four-feet high or more and/or
from a national event because they simply don’t have space in the
house for them.
Seven-year-old Hollister boy a national champ in BMX
Ricky Castro has won so many BMX racing trophies that his family no longer accepts them unless they’re four-feet high or more and/or from a national event because they simply don’t have space in the house for them.
The catch is some of those trophies are as tall as Ricky himself – the reigning National BMX Champion in the 6-year-old Expert Class, who one day hopes to be a professional BMX rider.
“We have trophies everywhere – in his room, in the family room, in the living room and even in our room,” said Ricky’s mother Misty Castro, who, along with her husband has been carting her son around the West Coast for the last three years so that he can compete and pursue his dream. “He probably has won more than 100 races already.”
Some day he might add an Olympic medal to his collection, as the sport will officially become an event at the 2008 games.
In addition to being the national champion in the sport, Castro is also ranked No. 1 for the United States Western Region and the state of California. He will compete in those championship races in October and November. Top finishes at the state championship and western regionals will help qualify the Hollister youngster for the 2008 World Championships, which will be held in China.
Castro’s biggest victory to date came over Labor Day Weekend in Louisville, Kentucky when Ricky, who turned 7 this week, captured the national championship on the dirt oval track.
For Ricky, winning the national title was just another day at the office.
“I was very happy,” said the second-grader from Cerra Vista Elementary School in Hollister. “I enjoy just being out there and having fun and trying my hardest. When I’m racing I’m thinking about winning.”
What makes Castro’s victory most impressive was that he wasn’t able to get in much practice time before the championship.
“He won in Louisville five weeks to the day after breaking his collarbone. He had hardly trained for it,” said his proud mother.
Ricky got his first bike when he was 2 ½ years old. By the time he turned 3 he was ready to have the training wheels taken off and within a year he was competing at Manzanita Park in Prunedale.
His father Rick, a longtime BMX enthusiast himself, was the one who got his son interested in the sport. Since then, Ricky has raced most every Thursday night and Sunday morning at Manzanita. He also trains three days a week at the park for two hours at a time. And when he’s not at Manzanita he can often be found riding a stationary BMX training bike in the family room of his home while he watches television. Amazingly, he also does 150 push-ups a day – all in pursuit of his dream.
“We travel two weekends a month and all four weekends a month during the summer,” Misty said. “Most of the races are in California and Nevada. Louisville was the farthest we’ve gone yet.”
Ricky just can’t seem to get enough of it.
“The most difficult thing is getting him to come in the house each night because he rides his bike on jumps in front of the house until dark,” Misty said. “Even after a long racing weekend away from home, he always asks on the drive home ‘Is it going to be dark when we get home because I want to ride my bike?'”
The costs for Ricky to compete range anywhere from $10 a race at Manzanita to up to $300 entry fees for national events. All together the family typically spends $2,000 a month on the venture.
“He’s on a team right now that is sponsored by pro BMX rider Joey Bradford and it’s co-sponsored by GT Bicycles and other companies as well, which helps with some of the costs and equipment,” said Misty, who works for a mechanical contractor in San Jose.
As a sponsored rider, Castro received his bicycle for free as well as free training from Bradford. Ricky’s other sponsors include: Fly Racing, Bombshell, Little Dude Components, THE, Ogio and Circle E. All of which are factory sponsors. Ricky has also received individual sponsors from his pediatrician, dentist and Platinum Roofing in Hollister.
Over the next two months, the family’s hectic schedule will wind down a bit as there are only two more big races before the 2007 season comes to close. However, things will fire up again the day after Christmas when Ricky, his mother, and two older sisters Jessica, 15, and Melissa, 13, who also recently started competing, head for Ohio to compete in the President’s Cup – a national competition between all 50 states. Ricky will represent California’s team.
“My husband couldn’t get the time off that week so I’m taking the kids myself for the first time,” Misty said. “California is usually one of the best teams. We battle it out a lot with Florida for the title.”
Despite breaking his collarbone once while riding and the dangerous nature of racing around crowded dirt oval tracks that are laden with jumps, twists and turns, his mother is comfortable during races.
“As a mom, of course I’m going to worry,” she said. “But I’m confident in his abilities. He’s a very smooth rider for his age and he wears a lot of protective gear too.”
