How a teen and his family helped revive the BMX course at Goodells County Park

This story is part of a series created to elevate the voices of young people in collaboration with the Blue Water Area YMCA. These stories are based on listening sessions at the Y and are independently reported by The Keel with assistance from the YMCA.

When 17-year-old Evan Brown went to the Can-Am BMX course at Goodells County Park, the facility was overgrown with weeds and dotted with aged buildings in need of repair. With his father’s help, Evan found a former member of Can-Am BMX, and in July 2019, he and his father hosted a practice event.

He was the only participant, but that event got him hooked on BMX.

“I wasn’t playing any sports, so my dad recommended BMX and Can-Am. For a year we tried to get in, but the course was closed and no one responded to emails,” Brown says. “Finally, someone reached out, and we came to the first practice, and I was the only one there. I loved it, and my parents saw that the course needed help, so we got involved.” 

Can-Am BMX opened in 1999, but fluctuations in membership led to the course being shut down for the first time. The course was redesigned in 2007 to make it more challenging for experienced riders, but this did not prevent its demise in 2018.

In hopes of reviving the course, Brown became heavily involved in volunteering at the course and in soliciting rider interest. His family helped with renovating the buildings on the property and gaining local sponsors to increase revenue. 

“We began as a track covered in grass and sheds sinking into the ground with only 10-15 riders at races to having new buildings put in, an Olympic track builder rebuilding the course, and having 60 plus riders at each local event, if not more,” Brown says. 

Can-Am BMX offers first-time riders a free visit, supplying all the equipment, like helmets and bikes. Brown feels that BMX is affordable, but stresses it can get costly if riders travel to other tracks and compete in bigger, more expensive events.

“It doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t need an expensive bike to go out and have fun, but if you want to improve your bike it could get costly. It’s about the rider, not the bike.”

All ages are welcome, with the youngest rider being 2 years old and the oldest being a woman in her 80s. Brown emphasizes that anytime folks come to ride, they always make new friends.

One of the biggest concerns of local youth interviewed during a Voices of Youth session at the Blue Water YMCA was the lack of affordable activities to do within the county. 

Can-Am BMX helps answer this issue. 

“What we hear the most is how it impacts kids that really don’t have a sport that they’re good at. Now they can participate in something. We have riders from all over St. Clair, Macomb, Lapeer, and Oakland counties come, and it doesn’t cost much,” says Debbie Brown, Evan’s mom.

Next year, Evan will be a senior at St. Clair High School. When he graduates, he plans to start college at SC4 for engineering. He doesn’t know how much time he will have in the future with school and his job at a shop building engines, but he will always have fond memories of BMX. 

“It is something, knowing how far the track has come from when we started,” Brown says. “I will always remember my first national race and getting first place in the state last season.”

His mom and dad will continue to help him run the track until he graduates next year, but they don’t know what will happen after that.

Can-Am BMX meets on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5:30 p.m. Evan and his family run the practices. They also host special events like the glow race, which will take place on October 3.