“The crowd’s starting to respond to a battle for the lead, Jim. It's some well-needed support after the spill he took at the end of last season. Good to see him bouncing back. Can he bounce back all the way to the top and win this Motocross? Well, if you’re Tyson Webb, you’re going to have something to say about that.

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Wait, what’s this? Now it’s one of the KTMs in the lead! Could it be? As the rain is coming down, Tyson Webb around the outside, gaining— and he takes the lead! This time, he leads it from beginning to end. Tyson Webb takes the first Moto of the season!”

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Tyson Webb is bummed out that he dumped his KTM 60 dirt bike while riding in Kentucky. “Bummed out” may be an understatement. He says he was full-on “disappointed” in himself for crashing. When we ask why he felt that way, he candidly responds that he wasn't “fully committed” to his maneuver, and that’s why he wrecked.

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“[My mom] was scared because I hurt my ankle and stuff and she thought like, I would be scared to ride again,” Tyson reveals. Honestly, he says, he was scared to ride again. We would be. But Tyson doesn't quit. He recovered by trying again, and the turn that snatched the wheels out from under him transformed from an obstacle into yet another lesson for the heart to absorb. 

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Tyson doesn’t quit. On the mound, he’s been working on his 12-6 curveball. He has more control over his two-seam fastball, but can throw a four-seamer faster. He’s fully aware of what he can do and what he intends to do better soon. After all, he has plenty of time to prepare for the Yankees draft. 

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If he had the opportunity, what would he tell his younger self? “Don't be nervous, and then just try,” he explains, “If you don't get it, then ask for help.” He'd remind himself that it's okay to fail. Once again, Tyson doesn't quit.

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Sometimes even those who don’t quit will face circumstances that can damper their ability to try. Tyson lost his father in March of this year, and when we ask what he’d do with a magic wand, he’s curious about the specifics.

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“Could we time travel?” he asks curiously.

 

Of course, we say. This wand can help you time travel, make you a professional motocross racer, or conjure up Yankees tickets so you can see Aaron Judge. We tell him the sky’s the limit and then some.

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In that case, he’d like to go back in time: “I would go back in time and say ‘I love you’ to my dad one more time.”

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We’d expect nothing less from a young man who doesn't quit. At the center of giving up is someone who has quit dreaming. We don’t anticipate that will ever be a problem for Tyson. He throttles forward, and we cheer from the stands as he takes the lead.