This week's AOTW is Monster Army Captain John Short. John is 19 years old from Pilot Point, Texas. John is a very driven and dedicated athlete who knows that hard work and training is the key to success. John has big plans for the future and this is what he had to say:
-Who influences you and why?
My major influences in life would have to be
God, my family, and my trainer. They all push me to be the best that I can be
in whatever I do, and support me and help me make tough decisions in my life. I
have leaned on each and every one of them throughout life, school, racing, etc.
I can’t thank them enough for always having my back and being there for me.
-What/ Who inspired you to ride moto?
My dad was my biggest inspiration to race and
ride. From the time I was three he surrounded me with motorcycles. From the
time I was little I always dreamed of racing professionally. My dad and I
always had a great a bond when it came to anything dirtbikes. Nearly every
weekend we would go trail riding, or to a race. We started out riding local cross country events and it was a really fun thing to do as a family. The more
I raced cross country the more I loved the competitive aspect of
racing. When I was 14 I decided I wanted to start racing motocross. I knew I wanted to
compete in the amateur national events across the country in an attempt to
become a professional supercross/motocross racer.
-What are your proudest moments/
accomplishments in 2013/2014?
In 2013 I got injured at the Millcreek Spring
Classic in March, which put me out for the season until after Loretta’s. I just
moved up to the “A” class and that was my first “A” race. After Lorettas I raced a bunch of local races
to try and get back to where I was on my bike before my injury. After a ton of
hard work I came out in 2014 at the Spring Nationals and rode really strong.
The 2014 season started off pretty well. I have competed at the Millcreek
Spring Classic, Oak Hill GNC, and the Freestone Spring Championship. Between
the three nationals I went home with four podiums, and three top fives in the
“A” and pro sport classes. I had a lot of good motos where I battled inside the
top three and built a lot of confidence heading into the Summer Nationals at
Ponca City and Loretta Lynns.
-What part of your riding are you looking to
improve upon most this season?
The biggest thing that I feel set me back
this spring was my starts. In order to
battle for titles I need to start with the leaders every moto. I also need to
work on being able to go as fast on my first lap as I do the last lap of a
race. My last lap is always my fastest, but in order to win you must be able to
get a top three start and sprint hard the whole race. It's to hard to play
catch up when you're racing in a class with as much talent as there is in the “A”
class this year.
-Have you had to overcome any challenges that
made riding an obstacle at times? (i.e. Injuries, support)
Like I said before 2013 was a big struggle as
far overcoming my injury. I broke my humorous at the 2013 Millcreek Spring
classic and that was a six month recovery. It took a lot of training and racing
to get back to riding with the confidence that I had before I was injured.
As far as support, that has been an obstacle as
well. I am a part time college student as well as working part time. I work certain days of the week
in order to help fund my racing program. I do not have as much financial
support as I would like, but between my supporters, working and racing locally
to earn money, I always seem to get where I need to be.
-What is your daily routine and how do you
prepare yourself for a day of riding?
My daily routine normally consists of
waking up at 6am to eat breakfast and then driving to Fit-N-Wise in Decatur, TX
to work out with my trainer Beau Boynton at 8am. After my workout I eat lunch
and then head to the track. I normally start my day of riding at noon, where my
trainer and I have strict training regimen that we follow at the track. We go
to many different tracks in North Texas and are always working to improve my
weaknesses as well as my strong points. After I work out and ride, I clean up my bike
and gear and get it all ready for the next day of training.
-Where would you like to see yourself in the
next few years?
After Loretta Lynn’s this year I plan to
compete at one of the last three Pro Motocross Nationals. I also would like to
race the Monster Cup Amateur All-stars event this year to get my feet wet for
Supercross. In 2015 I plan on competing
in both the AMA Supercross series and AMA Motocross series. My goal is to keep
improving and getting better in order to reach the next level of our sport at a
professional level and sign on to a race team.
My ultimate goal in this sport is to be able race my motorcycle as a career.
If I continue my hard work and dedication I feel like that it is possible over
the course of the next couple years.
-When I’m not riding you can find me ____________________?
Doing anything active really! I love to
mountain bike, run, go to the lake, etc.
You can find me in the gym training, doing schoolwork on my computer, working,
or just hanging out with my friends when I am not riding.
-Who would you like to thank?
First off I would like to thank Jesus Christ
for allowing me to do what I love to do on a daily basis (race/ride). I would
like to thank all of my family and friends who have helped along the way as
well as all of my sponsors. I would like to think everyone at Horton Racing,
Fit-N-Wise, Ed Torrance with MX Solutions, Yamaha, Fly Racing, Rock River,
Excel, Matrix Concepts, Pro Circuit, ,Twin Air, Renegade race fuels, Works
Connection, Boyeson, Renthal, GYTR, Scott goggles, Speed Graffix, Gaerne,
Dunlop, RK, Motion Pro, Mac Tools, and CP Trucking. Thank you for the opportunity to be featured
as the Monster Army Athlete of the Week!
Follow John:
IG: @short147
Twitter: @Short147
