Kickstarting the next generation, getting youth involved in Corvettes
04-14-2014, 06:54 AM
#1
Safety Car
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Location: Charles Town WV
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2024 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Modified
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Kickstarting the next generation, getting youth involved in Corvettes
I got to partake in a pretty cool experience this weekend. A good friend of mine and me had been talking back and forth a few weeks ago and he was telling me about his 10 year old nephew who struggles with ADHD. He informed me he wanted to try and get his nephew into cars at a young age so he could help him focus and get him involved in the hobby. Apparently a Corvette is already one of his favorite cars. My friend is in the middle of building his fun vehicle so I told him sure I had no problem doing so and told him to bring him out and we would see what we could do.
Well yesterday evening a bunch of enthusiasts and myself were enjoying the great weather and standing at a local ice cream joint. My friend called me and asked where we were and I told him to come out. He brought his nephew and introduced us. Little dude was pretty shy at first but you could tell he was instantly drawn to frostbite... he kept walking around and checking out every angle. I nodded to my buddy and he tells him to go ahead and ask Mr Andy what I told you too. The kid then asks me for a ride and I tell him to hop in.
Once he was in the car all his shyness went away and he started telling me all about his video game cars that hes built. I played along like I knew what he was talking about as i took the car to a good straight away for a quick pull. He told me at this point he'd never been in a fast car before so i told him to get ready. I made a quick turn and turned traction off. Brought the car up to about 3 grand in first and smacked it. Short shifted it a bit and took it up to about 80 and let off. He had the biggest smile on his face Ive ever seen. We went back and he hopped out of the car and couldn't wait to tell his Uncle all about how awesome the car was. We all had a good laugh and talked for awhile until his mom showed up to pick him up. He didn't want to leave. We promised him he was welcome to come out and ride anytime and we'd even get him a ride in one of the faster cars soon.
I can say that in my last 15 years of messing with cars that this was probably one of the most rewarding and gratifying experiences to date. I still remember my first blast in a muscle car like it was yesterday and remember how it changed my life. I hope we started this guy down the right path and hopefully one day he'll be Vette owner too.
If you find yourself in a position to do so and your on the fence about, getting a kid involved in the hobby is a truly rewarding experience and highly recommend it to anyone!
Anyone else have any cool storys like this to share? Love to hear them if ya do.
Well yesterday evening a bunch of enthusiasts and myself were enjoying the great weather and standing at a local ice cream joint. My friend called me and asked where we were and I told him to come out. He brought his nephew and introduced us. Little dude was pretty shy at first but you could tell he was instantly drawn to frostbite... he kept walking around and checking out every angle. I nodded to my buddy and he tells him to go ahead and ask Mr Andy what I told you too. The kid then asks me for a ride and I tell him to hop in.
Once he was in the car all his shyness went away and he started telling me all about his video game cars that hes built. I played along like I knew what he was talking about as i took the car to a good straight away for a quick pull. He told me at this point he'd never been in a fast car before so i told him to get ready. I made a quick turn and turned traction off. Brought the car up to about 3 grand in first and smacked it. Short shifted it a bit and took it up to about 80 and let off. He had the biggest smile on his face Ive ever seen. We went back and he hopped out of the car and couldn't wait to tell his Uncle all about how awesome the car was. We all had a good laugh and talked for awhile until his mom showed up to pick him up. He didn't want to leave. We promised him he was welcome to come out and ride anytime and we'd even get him a ride in one of the faster cars soon.
I can say that in my last 15 years of messing with cars that this was probably one of the most rewarding and gratifying experiences to date. I still remember my first blast in a muscle car like it was yesterday and remember how it changed my life. I hope we started this guy down the right path and hopefully one day he'll be Vette owner too.
If you find yourself in a position to do so and your on the fence about, getting a kid involved in the hobby is a truly rewarding experience and highly recommend it to anyone!
Anyone else have any cool storys like this to share? Love to hear them if ya do.
Very cool. I'm sure you made his day.
04-14-2014, 01:25 PM
#3
Racer
Awesome
That kid is going to remember his ride for a long time. Probably see him on CF in the future.
Nicely done!
That kid is going to remember his ride for a long time. Probably see him on CF in the future.
Nicely done!
I got to partake in a pretty cool experience this weekend. A good friend of mine and me had been talking back and forth a few weeks ago and he was telling me about his 10 year old nephew who struggles with ADHD. He informed me he wanted to try and get his nephew into cars at a young age so he could help him focus and get him involved in the hobby. Apparently a Corvette is already one of his favorite cars. My friend is in the middle of building his fun vehicle so I told him sure I had no problem doing so and told him to bring him out and we would see what we could do.
Well yesterday evening a bunch of enthusiasts and myself were enjoying the great weather and standing at a local ice cream joint. My friend called me and asked where we were and I told him to come out. He brought his nephew and introduced us. Little dude was pretty shy at first but you could tell he was instantly drawn to frostbite... he kept walking around and checking out every angle. I nodded to my buddy and he tells him to go ahead and ask Mr Andy what I told you too. The kid then asks me for a ride and I tell him to hop in.
Once he was in the car all his shyness went away and he started telling me all about his video game cars that hes built. I played along like I knew what he was talking about as i took the car to a good straight away for a quick pull. He told me at this point he'd never been in a fast car before so i told him to get ready. I made a quick turn and turned traction off. Brought the car up to about 3 grand in first and smacked it. Short shifted it a bit and took it up to about 80 and let off. He had the biggest smile on his face Ive ever seen. We went back and he hopped out of the car and couldn't wait to tell his Uncle all about how awesome the car was. We all had a good laugh and talked for awhile until his mom showed up to pick him up. He didn't want to leave. We promised him he was welcome to come out and ride anytime and we'd even get him a ride in one of the faster cars soon.
I can say that in my last 15 years of messing with cars that this was probably one of the most rewarding and gratifying experiences to date. I still remember my first blast in a muscle car like it was yesterday and remember how it changed my life. I hope we started this guy down the right path and hopefully one day he'll be Vette owner too.
If you find yourself in a position to do so and your on the fence about, getting a kid involved in the hobby is a truly rewarding experience and highly recommend it to anyone!
Anyone else have any cool storys like this to share? Love to hear them if ya do.
Well yesterday evening a bunch of enthusiasts and myself were enjoying the great weather and standing at a local ice cream joint. My friend called me and asked where we were and I told him to come out. He brought his nephew and introduced us. Little dude was pretty shy at first but you could tell he was instantly drawn to frostbite... he kept walking around and checking out every angle. I nodded to my buddy and he tells him to go ahead and ask Mr Andy what I told you too. The kid then asks me for a ride and I tell him to hop in.
Once he was in the car all his shyness went away and he started telling me all about his video game cars that hes built. I played along like I knew what he was talking about as i took the car to a good straight away for a quick pull. He told me at this point he'd never been in a fast car before so i told him to get ready. I made a quick turn and turned traction off. Brought the car up to about 3 grand in first and smacked it. Short shifted it a bit and took it up to about 80 and let off. He had the biggest smile on his face Ive ever seen. We went back and he hopped out of the car and couldn't wait to tell his Uncle all about how awesome the car was. We all had a good laugh and talked for awhile until his mom showed up to pick him up. He didn't want to leave. We promised him he was welcome to come out and ride anytime and we'd even get him a ride in one of the faster cars soon.
I can say that in my last 15 years of messing with cars that this was probably one of the most rewarding and gratifying experiences to date. I still remember my first blast in a muscle car like it was yesterday and remember how it changed my life. I hope we started this guy down the right path and hopefully one day he'll be Vette owner too.
If you find yourself in a position to do so and your on the fence about, getting a kid involved in the hobby is a truly rewarding experience and highly recommend it to anyone!
Anyone else have any cool storys like this to share? Love to hear them if ya do.
04-14-2014, 01:52 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
That's awesome to hear! It's cool to get kids involved in cars at an early age. My dad got me involved in Vettes and working on cars in general and I'm grateful. Personally, I can't wait to give my 5 yr old nephew a ride in the Z06! He already talks to his dad (my big brother) about how cool Uncle Jesse's cars are. I'm excited to show him first hand haha. He even went so far as to draw me a picture for my garage!
NAILED IT!
NAILED IT!
04-14-2014, 02:23 PM
#6
That's awesome to hear! It's cool to get kids involved in cars at an early age. My dad got me involved in Vettes and working on cars in general and I'm grateful. Personally, I can't wait to give my 5 yr old nephew a ride in the Z06! He already talks to his dad (my big brother) about how cool Uncle Jesse's cars are. I'm excited to show him first hand haha. He even went so far as to draw me a picture for my garage! NAILED IT!
black wheels and all!