Sheffield Tigers: Drew Kemp happy to take small steps as he looks at big picture

Talented teen Drew Kemp says settling for baby steps will help him grow in the long run.
Drew Kemp. Picture: Taylor LanningDrew Kemp. Picture: Taylor Lanning
Drew Kemp. Picture: Taylor Lanning

After an initial bright burst at the start of his Sheffield career, the youngster has endured quite a torrid run of form.

But a 5+1 contribution in Sunday’s win over Somerset was certainly a step in the right direction and Kemp has praised the support he’s received from the Tigers.

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“I’m still nowhere near what I want to be scoring but it’s all about taking small steps I guess,” Kemp said.

“The past few weeks when I’ve been scoring noughts, ones and twos it’s not been great and it has been getting me down a bit.

“I want to be going out there scoring a load of points every single meeting and with the way I started the year I couldn’t have asked for much more to be honest.

“But the past couple of months have been very tough and it’s hard to enjoy it when the points aren’t coming your way.

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“At the end of the day though, even for me, it’s hard to remember that I’m a 16-year-old riding at No.2 in the main body of a team in the second highest league in British Speedway.

“It is very important from time-to-time to remember how big a learning curve this is.

“It’s a whole different ball game, there’s a lot more aggressive racing, I’m riding against people who’ve got years more experience than me at this level and I was kidding myself if I ever thought it was going to be easy.

“Thankfully though everyone at Sheffield has been so supportive and for that I’m really grateful.

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“For the past few weeks now I’ve been doing some extra practice after the home meetings because I want to learn where things aren’t quite working and put things right going forward.

“Steady (Simon Stead), Danny (King) and Ty (Proctor) in particular have been a massive help and I can’t thank them enough for going out their way to spend time with me, trying to help me with different tips and advice.

“Slowly but surely I’ll get there again and I’d like to think I’m saving my very best for the second half of the season where the meetings always seem to mean that little bit more.”

Tigers take on Redcar at Owlerton this Sunday (5.30).