Nathaniel Wiebe has been mowing his parent’s lawn all summer so that he could afford to skateboard.
With his helmet on, his pads in place and his board in hand, all that mowing paid off as the 10-year-old took part in a Youth Zone skateboard clinic at Marina Park Monday afternoon. Watching from the shade, Wiebe’s father Stephen said he was happy to watch his son skate along with eight other young skaters under the guidance and supervision of the instructors.
"I thought I would get him into a clinic so that he could actually spend time with an instructor so he could really learn properly and not hurt himself when he’s skateboarding," Wiebe said.
Youth Zone special events coordinator Angelo Daniele said that’s what the clinic is all about. For $10, aspiring Tony Hawks can learn the basics of skateboarding from how to balance on the board to kickflips. Traditionally a self-taught sport, Daniele said it’s good for kids to learn the basics from clinics like his.
"With it’s popularity growing these kids are getting an opportunity to learn. It can be really nerve racking going out to the park and there are all these older guys and not really knowing what you’re doing. But having Youth Zone here and giving these kids the opportunity to learn the tricks they’ll easily become more comfortable with the environment and know there’s nothing to be afraid of and they’ll become more familiar with the sport and stick to it."
After learning the parts of the board and proper stance, the skaters were learning how to do an ollie, the most basic trick in skateboarding and the base for all other tricks in the park. Daniele said once that base is established, the sport becomes a little easier.
"Most kids often when they step on the board for the first time they just jump and when the board doesn’t come with them their mind is boggled they don’t know what to do," said Daniele. "We’re here to teach them the physics of the tricks and once they get the first few tricks down then they start to understand where they other tricks come from too."
With those tricks comes the scraped knees and bruised elbows which is why another important lesson is learning how to fall properly Daniele said. Knowing how to fall on your knees and when to bail is just as important as the tricks.
"When you’re starting out sometimes your feet kind of stay on the board and you didn’t know you were falling until you’re already on the ground," Daniele said.
Even the veterans fall and Daniele said sometimes a skater can spend all day on a trick attempting it 100 times before getting it right. That’s when all those bumps and bruises pay off Daniele said and the rewarding feeling of accomplishment kicks in.
"You keep trying and eventually you land it and you feel very accomplished and in that same time you got a great cardio workout," Daniele said. "Very physical lots of exercise but your focus is not exercise based your attention is all towards the trick and landing it."
