(Photo: Tracy Stephens)Name: Caleb Hansen
Age: 13
Residence: Sherwood
Grade/school: Seventh grade, Laurel Ridge Middle School
Sport: “BMX (bicycle motocross) racing. There are two local outdoor tracks in the area. One in Newberg and one in Molalla. It is a sport that was huge in the 1980s and is making a comeback.”
Team: Phoenix Pro Cycles
Coach: Tom Floyd
Highlights: At the 2011 Columbia River BMX state championship races, he placed first in his age group in the “cruiser” category. “Reno National Race 2011 — finished fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth.”
How he got started: “I started riding bikes at the age of 2 (without training wheels). Our family friend Greg Folk introduced BMX to me. I started racing BMX at the age of 4.”
Coach’s advice: “Go hard, don’t quit.” “Always try to pick up one more spot.”
Favorite meal the night before the big event: “Hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes.”
Other sport: Basketball
Rules to live by: “Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.” “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.” — John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach
On his iPod: PRo, Ashes Remain, Deitrick Haddon, Lloyd Will, LeCrae, Lord Have Mercy, SKRILLEX, Deadmau5, Worth Dying For
On his nightstand: The Bible, biographies of football player Walter Payton and basketball player LeBron James
The one thing someone may not know about him: “I love shoes.”
What’s next? “Working toward qualifying for the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships race being held this spring in Birmingham, England.”
(Originally published in The Oregonian SW Weekly story Saturday March 17, 2012 Sports Spotlight- Caleb Hansen
