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closeSkateboarding camp gives children a big chance to shine on the ramps
A host of aspiring skateboarders perfect their skills with their peers
Shaun Scott
Seth Ivers didn’t want the festivities to come to an end.
Ivers, who is one of Puyallup’s most dedicated skateboarding instructors was in charge of Puyallup’s Park and Recreation two-week skateboarding camp taking place from Aug. 4 to 15 at the Puyallup Skatepark.
“We’ve had a total of about 40 kids here over the past two weeks,” Ivers said. “The kids’ age range goes from 6 to 10 years old. It’s been 10 full days of skateboarding camp. The first week of camp was for the majority of our intermediate skaters and the second week was more focused on our beginners.”
Ivers said he thoroughly enjoys seeing kids improve their skills during camp.
“It reminds me of me when I was a kid. They take ownership of this park. A lot of kids get intimidated by the park and the quality of skaters. But I tell every one of them, every kid starts somewhere. This is a place where we can get them started.”
Skateboarding is quietly becoming a mainstream sport in modern day society, Ivers explained.
“There’s more than 350 skateparks in Washington right now,” Ivers said. “I go to three or four almost every single day. It’s a good positive thing for kids to participate in.”
Ivers said kids need more positive reinforcement on a more regular of a basis instead of negative reinforcement.
“Most of the time the only attention kids get is negative attention. I think its about 80 percent negative and 20 percent positive,” Ivers explained. “Kids need a place where people are positive around them. That’s what we’re creating at this camp, a positive place where kids can have fun.”
One of the youngest instructors at the camp, 12-year-old Zack Hutt, embraced the opportunity to guide fellow skateboarding enthusiasts through a myriad of drills during the camp.
“It’s so much fun. They could be out doing other sports but instead they’re here skating,” Hutt said. “There’s so many opportunities out there to be involved in other types of activities and yet they choose to be here. They’re learning different tricks of the trade and how to do certain jumps. I like helping them out. Skateboarding is my favorite sport.”
Ivers echoed Hutt’s sentiment.
“They get a chance to be kids out here and learn at the same time,” Ivers said. “They get so excited when they land one of their new jumps. That’s one of the most coolest things about being at this camp.”