Photo: Getty Images
An 8-year-old boy from Middle Tennessee is preparing to represent the Volunteer State and Team USA on the world stage.
Reid Autry, a second grader in Sumner County, was selected to rep Team USA in the UCI BMX World Competition in Nantes, France, in July, WKRN reports. The youngster has been competitively racing bicycle motocross for a while but has now won enough races to earn a spot on the national BMX team.
"You just try to beat them and they try to beat you, and you want to get first in every single race you do," he said.
His mother, Rachel Autry, said racing competitively has helped him gain confidence in a fun way.
"[Racing] has grown his confidence," she said. "It has grown his no-fear. It's competitive and it's just fun. It's fun."
While BMX racing may not be as popular a kid's sport as soccer or football, Reid's father, Chad Autry, said it's a skill that many children could pick up.
"There's probably tons of kids out there that are very, very good on bikes and they're like wait I didn't know that you could go somewhere and race those things," he said. "I would definitely suggest it to families and other kids that want to break out of the norma and do something different."
Not only will Reid be showing how well Team USA can perform, the trip to France will also be his first time traveling out of the country. He is excited to learn new languages while meeting other BMX riders from around the world.