How I got started

My Father raced MX in the late 70s and early 80s. We started riding together when I was 6 years old. When I was 11 my dad took me to Steel City to see my first Pro National and I was hooked. I thought it was a great sport and I could not wait to try racing. The following spring I entered my first race.

Goals for the Future

This winter I will be running the New England Regional Arenacross series And some of the Bookoo Races as well. Next season I plan on running a Bigger Race Series and will be training very hard to get better skills and become faster. I will be doing Mountian bike riding and light wieght training along with riding practice.

Why do you like this sport?

I really enjoy MX. I love competing against everyone and the challenges I get from going to the different tracks every weekend. I also like to see all my friends that live far away when we go to the races. The whole MX sport, and just being at the races is really cool. I also enjoy going to the races with my family and spending time with them. Racing is really fun and it will always be part of my life.

Some Personal Information About Me:

My name is Eric Shirk and I am 15 years old. I live in Selinsgrove, PA on a horse farm. I have been training to be a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do for the past 6 years and will test for my black belt this winter. I love extreme sports. I skateboard and have trained at Woodward Skateboard Camp. I attend Selinsgrove high School In 10th Grade and I have an A average In all of my classes. In my 7th grade year due to my accidemic accomplishments I was selected to take the High School S.A.T. Test and scored 890 as a 7th grader.

Do you train? What does your schedule look like?

I train for MX 3 to 4 days a week. I train with a local pro rider ( Damien Plotts) We have two practice tracks, one MX and one Supercross track. We ride two to three hours a day. I also attend Tae Kwon Do 3 Hours a week. I have just started to mountain bike and run to get in the best possible shape I can for the Arena Cross races.

Why do you compete?

I love individualized sports, because I control my own outcome. If I train hard I can see the results for myself. I like to race against alot of different riders that are better than me so that I can improve my own skills. When I do well I feel like all the training and hard work has paid off.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I do not really know yet what I want to be when I grow up. I am really interested in science, but I dont really know where that will take me. I am planning on going to college for a degree. Although I am going to college if I have the chance to make MX my job I will do that. I really love the sport and if that could be my job that would be great.

I started Racing on a cr 85 in 2004. The first year I won 2 races and placed in the top 5 in most of the other races I entered. The next season (2005) I had to move up to the 125 c class because I grew much taller ( 9 inches in 1 year). I won a local Supercross Series in the 125 C class and placed second in the School Boy class. The series was seven races. This Year ( 2006) I placed Second overall at Doublin Gap Mx In the four Stroke Open Class for the year end track awards.