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September 2010 Interview with TN's Michael Williams
By Lucas Comeaux
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Residence: Vanleer, TN | Height:
5'11" | Weight: 160 lbs | Age: 17 |
Age Started Riding: 7 |
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Young 17 year-old Michael Williams recently won the '10 Indiana EnduroCross Open Amateur class and is currently dominating the Lite A class in the OMA Series [shown left] even with a spleen removal surgery mid-year. We took a minute to learn more about Williams, enjoy! |
(Williams was the '09-'10 Lite A Mid-South Cross Country Champion, '09 4-Stroke B OMA Champion, '08-'09 4-Stroke B Mid-South Cross Country Champion, 2nd place 4-Stroke C in '08 GNCC Series, '07-08 4-Stroke C Mid-South Cross Country Champion, and more!)
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So how was your busy weekend? [originally asked right after the Indiana EnduroCross and Round 8 of the OMA Series]
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What are your goals for next season?
For next season I am planning on consistent top
5 finishes in the OMA series. Also I am looking very forward to the
Geico EnduroCross series. I am training very hard for them and plan
on being a contender in the Pro class. Those will be the main
focuses and am very focused on them. I will also try some GNCC races
and see how I do with them.
Are you still in High School? If so where do you go to school? Any plans for college or does that depend on how the racing career is going?
I am a Senior in High School but I do it
virtually on a computer where ever I am. This helps out a lot with
my training, racing, and proper rest. It is also great because it
helps me stay focused being away from the chaos of a school. I look
forward to working within the racing community after my racing
career.
[during interview process Williams
hospitalized with ruptured appendix
Wow, how did you rupture your appendix?
I am not sure to be honest. After the
weekend of EnduroCross and the OMA i was not feeling good and got
real bad sick. I am sitting here in the emergency room in my
assigned room waiting for surgery. lol Planning out my race
schedules and bike work with mechanic.
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...Only a die hard racer! Good luck and I'll check up on how things went tomorrow. ok thanks I'm free for a while so
I can work with you whenever you are available
So how did it go last night /early this morning...how long will you be out of commission? Well, as of right now I am on
antibiotics to get the infection from the ruptured appendix
taken care of, and then after 6 weeks have surgery to remove
it. So that really disappoints me. If it goes that way
then I will stay here for about 3 more days or so and then
return home on the antibiotics. I'm doing pretty well right
now. Pain went from an 8 to a 3 without jarring around. Its
only been 2 months since my spleen removal. So plans of now
it to get feeling better within a couple of days and ride
ride ride and train very hard so that my rest comes after
surgery, about 4 weeks. I might be down for a little while,
but definitely not out that's for sure. I'm very excited for
the upcoming season. |
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Sorry to hear it, hope it all works out. I noticed riding a lot was on your training list. Does riding a lot just make you feel more comfortable on the bike, help with balance, ...all of the above? Do you think some of the muscles can only really be worked out while riding / not necessarily in a gym? Do you always have someone to ride with / if not do you back it down when by yourself?
I do ride a lot. But I also like to switch it up so I don't get burnt out. When I ride a lot, I don't like to do off bike training so much (cycling, rowing) so that I don't over work my body and get burnt out and sick. Vise versa, when I work out a'lot, I don't like to ride a whole lot. I do think that riding is where you are getting the most out of training. You can't really match riding/racing intensity while working out. On the strength side of things, most riding will take care of that as well. Along with body weight training. Only TRX Suspension Trainer, using body weight for strength is key to me.
When I ride around the house, I usually
don't have anyone to ride with me. I do have someone with me to
video which is also for supervision. He does lap times and keeps up
with what I have done throughout the day of riding. When I don't
have him with me, my best bud Craig, I usually just play ride or do
some technique work which is always fun. Then on the other side, I
stay with my mechanic Joey Still in KY. We ride at the Sipes
compound. Its always nice to have Ryan or Pooh out there with me.
They are a big help. So I'd like to thank the Sipes for putting up
with me while I'm up there (having I lost my spleen on the mx
track). We are always mixing it up and keeping it fun and always
beneficial.
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Cool, so how long can you hang with Sipes on the track?
lol haha, well let's just say on the
motocross track, I try pretty hard while also trying not to kill
myself, and I'm doing pretty good for myself. I don't have numbers
but its good enough for me. lol Take it to the woods and might go
pretty good for me. lol but I haven't really got to ride with him in
the woods yet. He is fast in the wilderness though that's for sure.
I can't wait till he comes to the woods for good. That's going to be
SWEET!
So riding all the time and racing has got to be expensive, how do you afford it? Got a part time job or something?
Yes it is very expensive. I will say my bikes take a beating and go through a lot of bikes on top of that. My grandfather Barry Heath, AKA Barry Heath Racing, is the man behind it all which helps make it all happen. Without him I would still be in a school getting in trouble and probably be over weight playing video games. I am more than thankful to be able to be doing what I am. No I do not have a part time job. lol There's no way that a part time job would work out with me. lol It would throw off my schedule way to much.
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Yeh I think racing at any level is good for all ages - just keeps their mind on something. So you've raced in a few different series, which one do you like the best and why? Definitely. I have raced almost all hare scrambles, GNCC, OMA, Mid-Souths, EnduroCross, and Motocross. I am signed up for the last round of National Enduro for this season but looks like I won't be attending it due to surgery. My favoritest would have to be EnduroCross and OMA racing. Endurocross is just so exciting. You never know what is going to happen. There's so many obstacles and it's so technical that you have to be consistent about making it around the course getting over the obstacles without problems than focusing on the speed side. I can not wait till next season. My other favoritest is OMA because the courses are so fun. Bill does such a great job putting on the races and having a great course. I am anxious to do the National Enduro series and see if I excel in that. |
...Are you watching the Steel City MX? Sipes just went down in the 2nd moto...
I didn't get to watch it. I heard he had a
great 1st moto though. My channels in the E.R. only has tbs and the
weather. lol I get another CT Scan and then I get to go home!
Hopefully I will get back to riding and training and then in 6 weeks
I come back and have surgery. (they couldn't remove appendix due to
infection)
You’re still young, don’t rush through all this. Any good looking nurses?
Na lol There hasn't been any nurses really
that have looked too good. My girlfriend Amanda coming up here was
awesome! She always brings a little excitement into things.
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Obviously you’ve got your plate full cracking the whip on doctors so we’ll wrap it up…anything else you want to throw in?
I would like to thank all of the people who have stuck behind me and support me. Barry Heath Racing for every aspect of my racing. Ed at Mid-South Motoplex for sticking with me and finding all of the support he can. My mechanic Joey Still is a mad man at making things happen! Without him it would be miserable. Realtree Outdoor Energy, Kawasaki Team Green, Pro Logics, Renthal, TwinAir, Moto Hose, VMX Graphics, Enduro Engineering, Scott USA/Moto, Rekluse, and Performance Supercycle.
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Barry Heath Racing |
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Pro Logics |
Thanks and good luck Michael!
