Colby Copp, a professional motocross racer, from Los Banos and a 2020 alumni and Tigers football star quarterback spoke to juniors and seniors in a special rally on January 10.
Copp shared his experiences about life after high school, specifically his career into motocross racing. He spoke to the students about reaching personal goals and following and chasing dreams. He stressed to the group that anything is possible if they work hard enough for it. He used his own experiences as examples throughout his speech.
Copp’s family had been involved in racing for years and he was able to really get involved with racing at Los Banos’s very own May Day Merced County Fair and winning.
Motocross racing is dirt bike racing. Copp said each bike is around 230 pounds and explains how in order to race well you have to really hold onto the bike move it with your body to where you want it on the track. This takes muscles and ability to maintain speed and the weight of the bike.
He also spoke about his routine and what he accomplished over the years to reach his goals and be in the place where he is today in his life and career. He talks about how he maintains a fairly big workload throughout the season, waking up everyday to practice laps, which amounts to about 60 miles. In addition, he discussed his full gym routine and how he attended boot camps to build strength and prepare himself for the upcoming season.
Copp’s goal in this assembly was to show the students of LBHS that if they work hard enough, with apply enough dedication and effort to goals, they can achieve them.
Yahir Zuniga (11) said, “Colby really inspired me that if I work hard enough I can achieve any of my goals and his story about dirt bike racing was really cool.”
Valerie George (12) said, “The dirt bikes were cool to see but I really like how he talked about what it took for him to get to where he is today. It’s inspiring.”
During the assembly, four students competed by running laps around the gym using handlebars and wearing the motorcross gear. In addition, Copp shared a video of motorcross racing. His managers from his organization also spoke about the sport. At the end of the assembly, Copp signed autographs and posed with his motorbike with students and visitors.
