Monday, September 17

Enroll in Skate School

By Keith Eric Davidson
EXPN.com

Nothing beats summertime. Staying up late, sleeping in later, and skating all day, everyday. Nothing to worry about and plenty of time to hang out with your friends and learn tricks in the sun. Maybe you have a little too much free time on your hands and you need to be put back into a proper structured learning environment. Maybe you need to go back to school holmes. Wait! What is this guy saying? Summer is supposed to be about staying as far away from school as you can get. The last place you want to be is in school right? Wrong.

Jason Jones f/s blunts the flat bar next to the little boys room.

Well I'm not talking about going to school with a backpack full of books, pencils, and those pointy compass things are used primarily to carve your initials into your desk. I'm talking about heading back to school where all the sickest rails, ledges, and stairs sit unused and ready for your skateboarding abuse. Of course you can skate the same curb in front of your house all day by yourself, or you can enroll in summer school and work on your doctorate in ledgeology. Schools aren't just great places to mack on girls, they're also good places to hook up with other skaters in your hood. How do you think Daewon got so good at skating blocks? He and his friends worked on extra- curricular activities such as table and bench stacking at the hundreds of school yards that exist in Orange County. Schoolyards are practically skateparks in themselves. Plastic benches and tables are everywhere, as are handrails, blocks, and the occasional roof gap. A lot of schools have breezeways that have stairs(with handrails) that separate different floors of the school. Banks usually can be found around tennis courts and basketball courts to keep balls from rolling away.

James Frankhouse kickflips this fancy flagstone slope.

Occasionally, or if you happen to live in Huntington Beach, California, a skatepark might actually be attached to the school itself. This is very rare so don't expect this to actually occur. Don't be afraid to go out and explore all the schools in your area. Elementary schools sometimes have the lowest rails and blocks to accommodate their tiny students. High schools have a lot of the bigger stuff like double sets and central court yards with fountains. If you are lucky enough to live near a College or University, you've hit pay dirt, cuz these places have the best stuff with the most variety. Some of the bigger Universities might have so much stuff, it could take you the rest of the Summer to find it! Bombing around the streets during the week is all good, but on weekends, the schoolyards is where the action is happening. One given Saturday at a school in Los Angeles I counted 33 skaters mixing it up on the rails and ledges that dotted the campus. Unlike the police patrolled streets, janitors are usually your only worry(and they tend to be cool if you are) so don't even think about skating before 3:00 during the week or you might find yourself in the detention office. Enroll in skate school today!