Skating into a creative pastime

Over the past three months, skateboarding has become the new rave for children of Trench Town, St Andrew, with a few eyeing coaching and competitive sports.

In street-style, they skated up and down Second Street, manoeuvring a board ramp to perform simple stunta in the low-income community, which has been rocked by several gang-related shootings and murders this year. Their newfound pastime is a welcome distraction that could save them from recruitment into gangs.

Thirteen-year-old Dillon Barnes had a month of face-to-face training and has been watching YouTube videos to sharpen his skills.

“The first time I went on the skateboard, I didn’t know how to do anything. I couldn’t even balance, but now I am doing very well,” said the youngster, who wants to become a soldier.

Barnes explained that he is careful about the stunts he attempts to avoid getting injured doing an activity he is growing to love, adding that online classes remain a priority and that he does not venture outdoors to skate until he has completed his homework.

“I want to go a far way with skating. I think I want to represent Jamaica,” he said with a smile.

Eight-year-old Davion Beckford also harbours dreams of becoming a professional skateboarder.

“It feels good! I know five tricks,” he said, before proceeding to demonstrate the stunts.

Though he prefers to skate when it’s cool, he said that it is equally thrilling to do so in the sun although the latter requires more water breaks.

Kimona Brown-Atland has five children – the youngest of whom is two years old – who have taken on skateboarding as a hobby,.

She told The Gleaner that scores of children were given skateboards in June by a volunteer at Boys’ Town who has often sought to have students involved in extracurricular activities.

“It helps them to keep active. Some of them used to play with bottle guns, so skateboarding tek dem mind off of that and put them on something more creative. Everybody wants to prove their skills, so they compete with each other,” she explained.

Brown-Atland reasoned that a number of the children could have a future in competitive skateboarding.

“Sometimes I stand up and watch them, and I see likkle creativity in them, and even the girls want to get involved. They like it, and I think they can get a bright future out of it,” she said.

The mother, however, admitted to being nervous about the safety of the activity as they are not outfitted in safety gear.

“They need elbow pads and helmets so that if they fall, they can be protected,” said Brown-Atland.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old George Roberts got no formal training but learnt through observation and trial and error.

“There is no real benefit, but I love it,” he said, adding that trying new stunts is always exciting.

Mikayla Greenland, 13, was taught by representatives at Boys’ Town and has been improving her skills with the help of her male counterparts.

“They video me and tell me that I am doing good. Because of that, I think I would enter a competition. We are all doing good,” she said.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com