Posted on: 11/12/08(0 ratings) Author: jameshodges
Man, memories of my youthful hours spent glued to TV coverage of the
X-Games just keep coming back to me. Today, one of our YN team members
mentioned a program to me called STOKED,
an action sports mentoring project. I went to their website, and it
turns out that their spokesperson is Sal Masakela, perhaps the biggest
TV personality in 'extreme' sports. Over the years, I've stopped
keeping up with big-budget action sport programming, but Sal's using
his notoriety to push for a really cool program. Call them whatever
you want, these sports have built strong communities capable of
teaching kids all kinds of positive life skills.
In this video
from the STOKED website, a mentor mentions that they prefer to use
mentors who are at the same skill levels as the kids they're teaching,
so that the participants can learn together, and learn from each
other. It's a great idea-- speaking from experience, it can be
intimidating to skate with experts when you don't feel up to snuff, and
there's a great, electric kind of energy that comes from learning new
things with somebody else at your ability level, bouncing energy off of
each other.
'Action' sports are a great tool for reaching
kids that might be unreachable by other methods, too. Since moving to
Brooklyn I've found that a skateboard is the best ticket into
kid-world. Skateboarding means being willing to fall on the ground and
roll through dirt and dust, something that most grown-ups try to
avoid. When a kid sees that you're willing to take a few falls and
keep a positive attitude, they know that you're a good role model.
STOKED has only gotten off the ground recently, but it seems to me
like a program that will have mucho longevity and see awesome results.
Check out the blog they've been keeping, and see what they're up to, see if there's a way you can help out or get helped. Stoked!
Take Action:
1. Apply to be a volunteer (helping as a skateboard/snowboard/sufring instructor or with marketing, fundraising, programs and more)
