Running a skateboarding workshop.

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Permalink Reply by Hop on July 29, 2011 at 12:43

Where do you start - could be a daunting task.

 

Better to stand on the shoulders of people who have gone before you.

 

Bernie should have some info, maybe he could hit you up with some material. He is involved with Victorian Skate Association, they have been doing a schools program for a long time. That would give you some basics.

 

Is it a hands on skating type workshop or a class room situation?

 

There are teachers kits to help run a class for kids to build their own skateboards and longboards. 

 

Actual history of skateboards themselves shows the progression of skateboarding. The latest Disposible Book (version 2) is amazing with its photos and info on actual skateboards.

 

Have a look at Urethane Dreaming, that is Pangy's collaboration website. He has nicely divided up the eras of skateboarding. That would be a good starting point. Find skaters from each eras to outline important aspects of each.

 

There is extensive historical writings by people like Doctor Bill at Charle Dont Skate and Old Man Army

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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by PC on July 29, 2011 at 14:33

Hey Dan.  I might be able to help you out a bit.

I've coordinated quite a few skate clinic over the last 12 years for various councils on the Central Coast & Lake Maquarie plus Dept of Sport & Rec & Landcom. Mainly in skatepark situations, but I've also done a bit of slalom, sliding & DH coaching with the local kids too.

The main focus should be placed on safety & having well maintained equiptment to learn with.

Wearing appropriate safety gear & a helmet at all times.

If it's all beginers the place to start is Stance. Push off. Stopping & controling the board. ie. turning, carving & even tic tacs.

A few slalom cones set up will define a course for the kids to go through & you can use a few courses for a relay type race with small teams if you want a bit of fun racing in a confined area.

Another focus could be learning to crouch & grab the rail as you are carving an arc, toe & heelside. Developing good style & technique. ie. no stinkbug grabs, etc.

Now, before I depart anymore of my Skate clinic secrets to you. you can either give me a job or answer a few questions for me.

1. What type of skateboards will you be using, short,long, cruisers ?

2. What surface are you riding on ? If it's a timber floor, you might want to think about damage from axles, so wheels that prodrude beyond the axle end would stop damage to the floor surface.

3. How many skaters will be at the clinic ? I've found you need 1 instructor per 4 students in an intensive skatepark situation. You could get away with less instructors with beginers, as long as you can keep the focus.

Note:- You will be bombarded with multiple questions & many 'watch this's'.

4. Are you doing this by yourself or are you a teacher at the school ?

5. How did you get the gig ?

6. When are you starting it ?

 

Hops suggestion of skate history would be a good idea to cover as part of it. The kids need to know.

There is an article in Concrete Wave, a few years ago now. But it's about school skate clinics. It might be helpfull if you could read it.

 

Hope this helps get things rolling for you.

 

 

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ASRA AdminPermalink Reply by bernie on July 29, 2011 at 20:23

Dan,

YMCA have very good resources see http://www.skatepark.ymca.org.au/ourservices.html, however it is mostly related to skate park based activity. 

ie clinics focus on:

• Skill development
• Injury prevention
• Skate park etiquette
• Board Bike maintenance 

I will contact them next week and see what course materials they have that they can make available, so that hopefully some stuff can be sent to you.  PM your phone and contact info.

At VSA we are currently working on updating our course curriculum, to include the longboard skill sets and safety message.  Your classroom experience will be useful for the new course and I would like to see if we can get some sharing of info happening to make sure that a useful course is developed that also promotes the sport.

 

For history, there is the film, Tic Tac 2 Heel Flip, which might be useful, see. http://dvd.bigpondmovies.com/dvd/4454/Tic%20Tac%202%20Heelflip%20Au...  

 

SbA also has resourses see: http://skateboardingaustralia.org.au/Break-n-Enter/ not sure what they are charging at the moment.  The clip might inspire.  They also have coaching courses ASC accredited. 

Assuming you can get the safety gear, there might be a slalom start ramp not too far from you, which could really add to the experience.

 

PC is probably going to be your biggest help right now, and like he says, the main focus should be placed on safety & having well maintained equiptment to learn with.

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Permalink Reply by Dan on August 2, 2011 at 19:55

Hi Guys, Thanks for the great responses- they were a real help!

 

I had the first class today. there were around 20 kids skating on a concrete basketball court, mostly on short trick boards, but a few kids on cruisers. Their abilty levels ranged from only just learning to ride , to just getting the kickflip down.  We did a few slaloms tick tacs, carving, pushing, stoping, saftly chat etc. after about 1/2 hour we went free-skate and i went around to groups of 5 kids or so and ran through tricks for their ability levels. 

it was a touch chaotic, but i cant see a better way to teach such differnt ability levels.- i though some fun games might be doin the limbo or time trials through slaloms. 

 

one thing i found,and expected, was that all the kids wanted to learn kickflips and shuv-its. But there is only so much you can instruct until it becomes about practice. Does anyone have suggestions of little know- fun and intresting tricks to teach some learners. 

 

for pcs question- i got the gig cause its at my old school and the teacher gave me a call.

 

any advice or tips would be much appriciated- i think i could do with a bit of structure!

 

thanks again. 

 

 

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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by PC on August 4, 2011 at 13:47

Glad to hear it went well Dan.

If you can divide the kids into groups with the same skill level you will be able to get a bit more structure.

I used to set up different stations where the groups would spend 5 - 10 mins at each developing different skills.

The ones who want to get tech on the tricks should focus on learning to ollie as much as possible. Flips & shuvits will be easier to learn if they get ollies down.

Have another young skater to demo some moves while you explain the process is very helpfull too.

Fun tricks to start them off with are. Manuals, or wheelies if your OS. See how far they can do them. 

360s, learning to spin 360* in 1 move. Also learning to get low & slide the board & 180* slides are other skills that are fun to learn. If you have a gutter or small drop of they can learn to roll off the drop by lifting the front of the board. A very usefull skill to have when they're out in the streets skating.

Keep them going with the slalom as it develops balance & board control.

Good luck with the next round.

 

 

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