Photography: David Bulmer

Some say change is good, some say change is bad.  I guess it all depends on how things have gone for you in the past.  I’ve never really liked change, but recently I’ve been thinking about change a lot.  In the last month I’ve moved to a whole new city, have started, count’em, three new jobs, and am teaching with a new school board at new schools I’ve never been to before.  I was getting really stressed about all of this change, but then I started thinking about what it must be like for our favorite riders at this time of year.

Take a look back at this time last year. James Stewart was engulfed in change with new everything from head to toe.  Things were a little sketchy in the beginning for James, but he persevered and became the 2009 Supercross Champion.   And what about Ryan Villopoto and Josh Grant?  Moving up to the 450 class, new teams, new people to work with, even living and training in new parts of the country for Josh, he moved from his familiar Southern California home to the Joe Gibbs racing headquarters in North Carolina.  Now, their seasons didn’t go exactly as planned, but you have to admit, there were moments of brilliance from both riders.  But then there was Jason Lawrence; venturing out on his own with a new team funded from his own pocket.  Big changes needed to be made or Jason’s career would be in jeopardy.  Well, we all know how that ended.  Change is scary and hard to deal with, and we’ve seen many riders fail to produce the results we expected when they moved to what was thought would be a great team for them.

So far this year we haven’t heard too much about change.  There are a lot of dollars being held firmly until a few critical pieces fall into place.  It sounds as if Ryan Dungey will be back at Makita Suzuki, hauling the mail on their highly successful 450f.  Chad Reed seems to have found a new home with Monster Energy and Kawasaki.  It should be very interesting to see if that powerhouse team can keep their riders happy and make a serious challenge at both 450 championships in 2010.  And then there’s James Stewart, again surrounded with change.  A new bike is never an easy adjustment, and when I say new I mean it.  That YZ 450f is ground breaking.  It’s been compared to the ill-fated Cannondale MX400 because of some design features but clearly, Yamaha got this thing right.  James was flat haulin’ at the U.S. Open and was diving to the inside of people like it was nothing.  I can’t wait to see James on a little wider track with some real obstacles, and of course, after he’s done more testing.  Changes are also happening in the rule book as we enter 2010 with a new age restriction for pro riders.  I’ll have more on that later as I’m working on a piece that you’ll be able to read on Vurb Insider soon.  Change is all around us and it can be great, or it can be as terrible as the first time you forgot and used premix with your 250f.

So how do you ensure a change will be for the better?  Well, if we can learn anything from Stewart’s 2009 season it’s to never give up.  From Villopoto we can learn to take the good with the bad and stay positive.  And from Grant we can learn that new things don’t have to be intimidating and that home is where you make it.  The common fact between any successful change is hard work.  Maybe change is what you make it.  If you sit back and fear it, and never really commit, 9 times out of 10 you are not going to be happy.  But take that new situation and own it, make it yours and create the ending you want out of hard work and perseverance, and you will be begin to embrace change as a new beginning to be welcomed.  As I write this it’s beginning to sink in that kids are kids, no matter what school I teach at.  They have the same energy, creativity and also the same problems and fears.  And sure this city is a little bigger than back home, but there is so much more to discover.  So is change good or bad?  I’ve decided it’s whatever we make it.  I’m psyched that every morning when I leave my new home I get to drive down Stanton road instead of just Buchanan Dr.  So to help me with this change, every morning I’m going to channel a little bit of Jeff Stanton and give it my all.