How to Finally Get out of Beginner Skater Hell

My daughter (10) decided to pick up skating out of the blue this summer. Neither my wife nor I really skated before, so this was a bit of a shock. Not knowing anything about skating, my wife and daughter bought a cruiser board from Target or Walmart. They took it to a park down the street with a basketball court to practice, but my daughter was getting frustrated because she wanted to learn tricks. My daughter asked me to take her one day, and she did a bit better. I realized that she'd be better off with a popsicle board, so I took her to a skate shop and picked one up. That night we watched a few videos on YouTube on beginner skate tips. This one from Dan Webz [VIDEO] was our favorite that night. It gave her some ideas of things she could work on. We then went to our local skate park the next day. We are lucky that it's decently sized and not too busy most of the time. We were able to find a little area that wasn't too busy where she could slowly work on learning to skate without being in the way. She wanted me nearby for support, so I was standing there in the middle with her encouraging her along. A couple of regulars stopped by to encourage her briefly and give a few tips as w…