Rookie Week ends with new group of riders ready to prepare for Little 500

Watching first-year riders circle the track Thursday, junior Emily Loebig reminisced about her first week as a Little 500 rider.

“I did my Rookie Week two years ago, and we got snowed out for a while,” Loebig said, “so it got pushed back.”

Loebig, a member of the Little 500 Riders Council who races for Delta Gamma, then turned and adjusted her sunglasses in the nearly 60-degree heat.

“It’s definitely been warmer, and I think that has helped and made it a lot more fun for everyone,” she said.

Rookies took to the track Feb. 13 for Rookie Week, an annual 10-day tradition during which riders new to the Little 500 learn the basics of racing. Luckily for the riders, the weather has been warm — warmer than most can remember.

“I know Riders Council said this is the best weather that they’ve had for Rookie Week in a long time, so I can’t really complain,” junior Drew Manix said. “We’ve got
it good.”

Wing It Cycling Coach Tom Schwoegler, who is coaching his 47th team this year and has coached both men’s and women’s races, said he can’t remember the weather being this warm to start the season since the 1970s.

“If you’re cold and you happen to fall during exchanges or something like that, it hurts a little bit more when it’s cold out,” Schwoegler said. “It’s been good. It’s certainly been an atypical February.”

Manix, a Delta Chi member in his first year of riding, isn’t the only person on his team to enjoy the spoils of the warmth. While leaning on the fence and waiting for practice, sophomore Brandon Leviton said the weather is actually contributing to the new riders’ learning.

“It’s definitely nice not to have to bundle up for this Rookie Week, and definitely because you’re standing around a good amount,” Leviton said. “It makes it a lot easier to be able to concentrate on what the Riders Council’s saying.”

Both rookie Delta Chi riders said there was quite a bit to learn during the 10 days of Rookie Week, and both look forward to beginning full team practices Friday.

Loebig said typical lessons include making exchanges, riding in a pack and the basics of all the events, including a mock run of Miss-N-Out, which was won by Wing It junior rider Carley Dean.

Schwoegler said Rookie Week is the beginning of a process of learning the ins and outs of the big race, which takes place for the women April 20.

“You have to understand people aren’t going to go into kindergarten and do advanced calculus,” Schwoegler said. “They’ve got to build it from addition to multiplication and all the way up through it.”

The male and female rookies began this education by alternating practice times during the past two weeks, with slots at 2:30 and 5 p.m. each day.

Two days in the first week were affected by weather, but besides that, the track has stayed in good condition thus far into the season.

Wally Hansford, one of the two men in charge of maintaining the track, said the physical track is in better condition this year because of the warm weather. Specifically, the track doesn’t freeze and thaw as much as it has in colder years, which causes constant change.

Alpha Gamma Delta Coach Steve Gluff, who is coaching for his 11th year, said the talent level is similar to that of past years.

Schwoegler said this year has also been typical in that the rookie women have been a bit less aggressive on the track to begin their Little 500 careers.

He also said it won’t take long for that to change.

“The vast majority of women I’ve coached out here are trying to get their bearings,” Schwoegler said. “Once they get those bearings, just get out of the way. They’re going to be really good.”