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Dane Kerluck, 15, has full focus on training for BMX World Championships
Courtesy: Gina Forsyth

Dane Kerluck, 15, has full focus on training for BMX World Championships

CAMPBELL RIVER, British Columbia — Dane Kerluck, who is 15 and attends Carihi, has already participated in BMX for a decade. He also dances and plays soccer and basketball. He’s a member of the provincial BMX team.

For 2022, he’s set lofty goals: to compete at the BMX world championships later this year in France and to earn a national number one finish for his age group. He’s also hoping to turn pro as a young adult.

He placed in the top spot at the provincial championships for the last two years, which automatically qualified him for the world championships. For those who don’t win the provincial race, they can qualify by earning a top 8 spot at the Canadian nationals.  Dane competed at that race in 2021 and earned a fourth place finish.

His biggest challenge is travelling to races in Metro Vancouver and across the province, in the rest of Canada and throughout the US. “The more larger races I attend, the more experience I get and better I develop as a competitive BMX racer. There are less races available on Vancouver Island,” shares Dane.

Dane appreciates talking strategy with his dad, and enjoys the jumps, the competition and meeting a variety of people. He also focuses on the advice of a coach to not worry about what can’t control and focus on the things you can control.”

Before a game, Dane makes sures to do two or three laps to get a “good feel of the obstacles, then I essentially break the track up into quarters and then sprint each quarter at full pace. If I am feeling really good, I will do a lap at full pace too,” Dane says.

Outside of his sport, Dane likes to hang out with his friends, family and his dog Indi. He’s building a BMX trace and looks forward to working on that as much as possible.

“Being a member of a team has taught me how to take feedback from all the great riders and coaches on my team. It has also taught me how to race at higher levels of competitions.”

When it comes to competition mistakes, “I have hesitated at critical moments in a race. My parents record my races and I review them regularly. By reviewing the races I can see where I need to react quicker and then  I visualize and mentally prepare for those potential moments so I am ready,” comments Dane.

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