So today Ry's skate Instructors informed me that he feels that learning the fundamentals are boring, and he wants to do the "big stuff." Those who have known me and my husband from childhood will probably find this funny...and somewhat reeking of karma. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Mind you, this kid won't really skate down a small incline by himself yet, but in his mind, he's ready for the big time.
Here's another skill he can actually do himself...
We will be investing in Super-sized amounts of ice packs, children's tylenol and gauze.
This week marked one of the most anticipated camps of our Summer, Skateboarding Camp! Society Skate Shop in San Carlos runs this camp through the Redwood City Parks and Recreation Department (a little shameless self promotion...from me, Leslie Knope) I also have to mention that this camp took no encouragement or bribery to get him to go, just an investment on our part for the right equipment...coupled with a zillion..."You'd better REALLY want this" since equipment-wise, we were starting from scratch.
The Skatepark itself is awesome. It was constructed with a lot of input from local skaters and named in memory of one of Redwood City's resident Pro Skaters, Phil Shao, who passed away in 1998 by way of an auto accident.
Big daunting bowls, rails, stairs, you name it. Ry is just psyched to learn to conquer the flat, but did spend a good part of lesson one learning how to fall "correctly" sliding down the sides of the giant bowl. His pads already look as if they have been annihilated by a full season of X Games training.
Here are a couple of pics from Day One... And a Vid. I'm totally impressed by how much they taught him in one day - he even rode down the stairs, solo!
Ramp assistance.
Learning to ride fakie in the big bowl!
First injury... "belly burn." I was also told that he got a "shark bite" that day. He was a champ and told me "I got hurt, but it didn't stop me from skateboarding." Attaboy.
At my son's School, there is a tree. In that tree is a tree house. Now, you may think, "oh how cute and fun." Then you see the giant Oak.
Dangerous, you say? Well, let me preface this entry by saying that the methodology around these parts is, "If you can do it, then you CAN do it." No one should be doing this feat if they need help, a boost, and so on. It's all about you, your confidence and your upper body strength, of which it seems small kids have at a disproportionate rate. I cannot even haul myself across the monkey bars these days!
What I love about this treehouse is what it stands for. The kids try tirelessly to climb up the wrecking ball to reach "Stage one," gaining confidence as they contemplate stage two. Through their own creativity, they then find their way up a rope or inch up by using loose tree bark as foot-holds. Usually, we see 7th graders up at the top, while the younger kids struggle to just find a way up the wrecking ball. From the moment these children start school, this is the goal, a rite of passage, a must-archive moment prior to 8th grade graduation.
Today at Summer Camp, I watched as a bunch of soon-to-be first graders made it past stage one, stage two and so on. As I said, I love the tree, but not sure my blood-pressure is ready for this...
So.... I'll just keep reminding Ry to look down every now and then, and make it very clear that he is on his own getting himself out of the tree. He has made it to the first branch - which I will refer to as "Stage 2"- but I am not ready for the rest.
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