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Baltimore police officer who berated skateboarder fired

TeenSkate — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:02:35 +0000

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III overruled a disciplinary panel's recommendation Wednesday & fired a veteran officer who was caught on video reproaching & pushing a 14-year-old skateboarder at the Inner Harbor three years ago.

A trial board consisting of three officers of varying ranks heard facts at a hearing last month & cleared Officer Salvatore Rivieri of the most serious administrative charges: using excessive & unnecessary force & uttering discourtesies.

The panel in lieu ruled that the 19-year veteran deserved a five-day suspension for failing to file a document. A department spokesman said Bealefeld disagreed & called Rivieri in to his office Wednesday & told him they had been fired. The spokesman declined to describe the decision further, pointing to confidential personnel rules.
The chief's decision — while not unprecedented — drew immediate condemnation from the union representing the city's 3,000 police officers. The union leaders accused Bealefeld of bowing to public pressure in a case that attracted national attention & became a sensation on the Web.

Hundreds of thousands of people on YouTube watched Rivieri confront Eric Bush as they tried to cease him & his friends from skateboarding on the waterfront promenade, sparking a debate over police tactics, parenting & apathetic teenagers. They were drawn to the officer's anger when the youth repeatedly called him "dude" & by the officer's incendiary rant, in the coursework of which they screamed, "Obviously your parents don't put a foot in your butt because you don't understand the meaning of respect."

Robert F. Cherry, president of the city's Fraternal Order of Police lodge, likened Bealefeld's move to a "jury coming back with a verdict of acquittal & the prosecutor saying, 'Hell no, put him in the chair & electrocute him.' That is what they did."

Police chiefs have the right to overturn trial board decisions. But Cherry said it was not fair for the commissioner to make use of that power to fire an officer for a process violation of the rules. They said the union would appeal the decision in Baltimore Circuit Court.

"It's outrageous," Cherry said. "It's well beyond the punishment that should've been meted out. … This is the mechanism to police the police. The trial board is judge & jury. They have seen this video over & over again. Officer Rivieri took the stand & testified & was cross-examined by city lawyers."

High School Offers Skateboarding As a Class

TeenSkate — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:55:53 +0000

Navasota High School is putting a new spin on physical fitness to get students more active in class. In the middle of the afternoon, on a school day, about 20 students can be found outside skateboarding.

"It seems like I am just at the skate park with a bunch of friends, just chilling and learning to get better at it," said Jamika McDowell, student.The school has a new physical education class."You get to go outside, you don't have to be stuck inside all the time, you get to skate around," Jon Valadez, student.The class takes place Monday through Friday. Once a week, the kids take the school bus to a nearby skate park. Safety comes first, but they can show off a few tricks of the trade.We have some that are very good and can do the jumps," said Lisa Mareck, a coach for the class "The kids honestly end up telling me a little bit and showing me how to do some things," said Nathan Brunner, also a coach.

While, the kids may be on a roll, there is a purpose."Sometimes in physical education, you may not have the participation that you are looking for," said Brunner. "We put them in classes where it is something they really enjoy doing and they want to come to class."A new government analysis shows a third of adults in the U. S. could have diabetes by the year 2050. Doctors believe a proper diet and more physical activity are the best ways to reverse the trend. The students say they work out more in this specialized class.

"This is something, I actually want to do this," said Hannah Clanton, a student. Navasota High School created two more specialized P.E. classes, this year, tennis and soccer. The school gets an A for effort and the students get a lesson in lifelong fitness.

Skateboarding passion becomes big business

TeenSkate — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:52:52 +0000

Two Poolesville teen skateboarders are catching more than just big air in their final year of high school. Sid Egly and Rudy Martin, both 17, went from skateboarding fiends to entrepreneurs in May when they opened the Skate Shack, a skateboard merchandise store on Fisher Avenue in Poolesville. Dreams of owning their own skate shop are about as old as the boys' friendship. They have known each other so long, they can't even remember how they met -- although their mothers say it was during elementary school. They have talked about opening a skateboarding shop since they were in sixth grade, Sid said.

The friends recently sat casually, but proudly, in the space they created. Hunched in the same position, they wore almost identical shoes and finished each other's sentences as they talked about merchandise, future plans and goals. The boys started skateboarding their first year at Poolesville High School. They would skate for hours after school along curbs and sidewalks, racing through the small, rural town. Although they skated less as they got older, their skate shop dream never faded. The idea went from playground planning to retail reality this spring.

Sid's mother, Stephanie Egly, owns Stephanie's Secret Garden flower shop, which is next to the Skate Shack. Rudy's mother, Nancy Martin, works in the flower shop. The women used to run the flower shop out of the space the Skate Shack occupies. In May, the women moved to a bigger space next door, and the boys moved into the room their moms vacated. Both stores rent from the same landlord. "This place opened up, and it just seemed like the logical thing to do," Rudy said. Soon the tiny room's flower arrangements and blooming fragrance were replaced by skateboard decks and the teenage scent of AXE deodorant spray. The boys painted the walls bright yellow and orange and the door green, spotted with a few accidental footprints from the painting process. The first dollar the shop made hangs next to the door.

Once they had the right space, the boys needed funding. Their parents fronted them about $3,500 to start the business, and the boys are slowly paying them back. "I think this is a really good experience for the two of them at their age in a small town like this," Martin said.The boys also got some business advice from their parents: Their moms taught them how to do inventory and price merchandise.

Skateboarding Tricks Explained

TeenSkate — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:55:58 +0000

Skateboarding is one of the many sports that involve displays of skill and expertise. It is essential to know a skateboarding trick or another to be considered a real skateboarder. Many skateboarding tricks have been developed through all the time people have been skateboarding. Here are just some of the most popular tricks:

1. Aerials - also known as airs, these general kinds of tricks are typically done on quarter pipes, pools or half pipes where vertical walls with transitions are available. Aerials are usually combined with other tricks such as grabs and rotations. Among the most popular subtypes of aerials would be the 540, 720, 900, Benihana, Body Jar, Caballerial, Christ Air, Finger Flip air, Gay Twist, Gnar Jar, Judo Air, Lien Air, Madonna, MCTwist, Samba Flip, Sean Penn, Sloth Air, Stalefish, Rocket Air, and Method Air.

2. Ollie - this is known as the father of skateboarding tricks because most tricks are derived from this. Invented by and named after Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, this trick involves getting on air without grabbing the skateboard but instead by stomping or popping the posterior end of the board. Variations of the Ollie involve the Ollie; switch Ollie, Fake Ollie, Power Ollie, Boned Ollie, Ollie North, and Pressure.

3. The Flip - as its name suggests, the flip is a skateboarding trick that involves the flipping or spinning of the board in the air. This trick was originally developed by Rodney Mullen, who then called it the Magic Flip. Among the most popular variations of the flip are the heel flip, kick flip, Casper Flip, Anti-Casper Flip, Backside Flip, Big Spin, Cab Flip, Disco Kick flip, Ghetto Bird, Hard flip, Hospital Flip, Impossible, Late Flip, Mother Flip, Pop Shove-it, Sal Flip, Salabanzi, Sex Change and the Scissor Flip.

4. The Grab - as these tricks are named, grabs involve holding the skateboard, usually during aerials. Grabs are quite useful in keeping the skateboarder on the board during in mid-flight. Examples of grabs are the Air walk grab, Backside grab, cannonball grab, Crail grab, Christ Air, Early grab, Front side grab, Gorilla grab, Indy grab, Japan grab, Melon grab, Mosquito grab, Nose grab, Roast Beef, Seatbelt grab, Tail grab and the Tucknee.

5. The Grind - this is a kind of trick where a skateboarder would hide on hangers of the skateboard truck. This trick can be done on any smooth object where the truck can slide. Some of the variations of the grind are the Barley grind, Crooked grind, Dark slide, Fandangle, Freebie grind, Gurl grind, Hurricane, Losi grind, Nose grind, Novocain, Overcook grind, Pole Jam, Salad grind, Smith grind, Sugarcane, Suski grind, Willy Grind, and Commit grind.

7. Lip Tricks - this skateboarding trick is done on mini ramps, quarter pipes, and half pipes. They are called so because they need to balance on ramp lips. Notable lip tricks are the Andrecht Invert, Axle stall, Blunt, Disaster, Egg Plant, Fakie-Bonk-off, Front side Invert, Good Buddy, Ho-Ho, New Deal, Nose pick, Nose stall, Pivot, Pogo, Rock and Roll, Smithvert, Tail Stall, Staple Gun, Stelmasky Plant, Sweeper, Tail Block, Tucknee Invert, and the Woolly Mammoth.

There are many other skateboarding tricks out there, and many others are still being developed. To now more about skateboarding tricks, you can read the leading skateboarding magazines or ask a skateboarding expert.

Ollie and nothing air skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to 1 foot Ollie and nothing air. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learning the 1 foot Ollie and nothing air, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

1foot Ollie:

A 1foot Ollie is when you Ollie and your front foot slips over the nose, so your foot is off...most of you might know this trick as an Ollie north. But its original name is 1foot Ollie...

To do this you have to be able to Ollie, it doesn't matter how high you Ollie, you only need some hard pop-power.

1. Ride at any speed you like.

2. Stand like an Ollie but with your front foot halfway on the screws.

3. Put your entire body weight on top of the tail truck.

4. Do an Ollie but now kick your front foot over the nose... look at your board and land like an Ollie.

Nothing Air:
A nothing air is when you do a no footed Ollie.
You have to be able to do a 1foot Ollie.

1. Do a 1foot Ollie...
2. Let your back foot slip off just a moment after you did the front foot.
3. Make a small circular movement with your back foot so you can land it.

360 Ollie skateboard trick tip

1. You should know how to 180 before trying to 360 Ollie.

2. First you pop your tail just like for an Ollie.

3. Then spin you shoulders, arms, and waist to get full momentum.

4. Now it is hard to just spin 360 on a skateboard so when you are about 270 you can pivot on your nose to get the full spin.

5.360's are hard on flat ground so try it off a ramp or a high ledge.

6. Remember when you land to try to have you feet on each the hardware...if you don't you can easily slip and get hurt!

Bomb drop skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Bomb drop. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Bomb drop, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

To do a bomb drop finger flip you have to be able to do bomb drops pretty well.

1. You grab the board with your front hand where you want.

2. Here’s the hardest part of the trick: jump up and flip the board with your hand, while shoving the board under your feet.

3. Now land on the bolts and be proud of yourself.

Bs half cab skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Bs half cab. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Bs half cab, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it. Also it would really help if you can fake Ollie already. And if you can do a regular 180, it helps a ton, but it's not required. A lot of people find half-cabs easier than regular 180's, but I think these look a lot cooler.

A Half cab is just a 180, but in fake position. It is a half caballero (which is a 360 in fake position).Start with your feet in a fake Ollie position, but some people like to leave their heel hanging off a tad, and others like to slant their feet a little. It really depends on preference. Now, before you pop your Ollie, start to spin your shoulders and upper body. When your body is about to hit 90 degrees, pop the Ollie, and your feet will follow around with your shoulders. Around this point people usually can't keep with their board. They let their back foot come off of it, but not you, you’re going to stay with the board and land it first try, right? Wrong. If you land it first try, then well for you. But if you can't then its normal and goes back and try it again. Stay with that board.

I've noticed that trick tips on a website don't help as much as an actual person beside you walking you through it does, so try to get one of your friends who knows what he's talking about to help you. This trick is quite easy; it's all in the shoulders.

Drop In skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Drop In. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Drop In, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

It’s not a "trick" but once you learn this cool technique, you'll have so many more options open to you! First set yourself up at the top of the ramp with the tail on the coping.

After this, depending on how you skate, put your left foot on the tail if you skate regular and your right foot on the tail if you skate goofy. The other foot goes at the front, just behind the bolts. Now for the tricky part! Brace yourself and push down on the front hard and lean forward. You can open your eyes now and be happy that you can drop in.

End over skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to End over. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the End over, but End over’s used as a transition trick in freestyle combos. To get them right, put your front foot on the nose of your board and your back foot on the tail of your board.

1) Know how to manual and how to pivot.

2) Going forward, do a 180 NOSE pivot, front side or backside, your choice, just don't raise the wheels too high and keep your weight nicely centered.

3) Now, do a pivot again, your body has to turn the same way as in the first pivot.

4) Your body has done a full 360 if you did it right.

5) Do it again a few times, if you practice hard, you can combine them with a few 360,540 or 720 spins now that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

Fakie 360 shuve it skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Fakie 360 shuve-it. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Fakie 360 shuve-it, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

1. Ride fakie and do you're feet in a rate possion

The possion of you're feet are the same for a SHUVE-IT

2. Don’t be a fool and shoot you're board away.

Stay in control and think what you must do. Now shove you're board

With CONTROL. This trick is hard to land it first try

So take it easy on you take time.

3. If you got this you can do the varieties like nollie, normal stance,

Switch

4. If you got the trick for the first time and you're friends see it don't be happy you must ride cool as you can if you can the trick for many years

Fs 180 Ollie skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Fs 180 Ollie. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Fs 180 Ollie, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

1. Ride at a speed you feel comfortable with or standing still if you prefer.

2. Put your front foot in the heel flip position with your toes hanging off at about 2 inches from the bolts, and put your back foot in the fs shove-it position with your heel hanging off a good bit, and the ball of your foot on the edge of the tail.

3. Wind your shoulders up in the opposite direction of the 180.

4. Start unwinding. When you become parallel with the board, pop the tail and keep turning.

5. When you get 180 digress stomp down to stop the rotation.

The fs 180 Ollie is moderately easy. As long as you can Ollie, you can learn this trick.

Tips:

It won’t go a complete 180 degrees.

Pop a little harder and turn a little faster.

If your feet will not stay with the board, Use your front foot to do the turning and let your back foot follow, also make sure your body is turning the complete 180 rotation.

Board flip skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Board flip. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Board flip, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it. This is a really hard trick to do even though it sounds easier than it is.

1) Ride at a rather slow speed with your back foot on the tail and your front foot really close to it (almost right above your back truck).

2) Now this is the hardest part of the entire flip. There is two ways to do this:

3) Push down really hard on the tail and jump as high as you can of your board, flipping it like an impossible without using your front foot. If you can jump high enough and flip the board low enough, this shouldn't be hard, which is hardly ever the case.

4) This option is easier, but more dangerous! You must (again) push down really hard with your back foot (on the tail) and jump of really high. But this time you let it go through your legs.

5) As soon as the grip tape comes back up again, put your feet on it and land.

Bs 180 kick flip skateboard trick tip

The following trick tip will show you how to Bs 180 kick flip. Reading this trick tip is just the first step to learn the Bs 180 kick flip, but know that you'll need lots of practice to land it.

The Bs 180 Flip:

A configuration of the bs 180 Ollie, and the kick flip..

1st. be sure your are decent at landing bs 180s, kick flips, and varial kick flips

2nd. Approach what your are going to bs flip

3rd. Twist your upper body for the bs 180, with your front foot in your varial kick flip position

4th. Begin the Ollie

5th. as you start rotating kick the flip into the spin

6th. if done right, the kick flip should be done by 90 degrees, and then you can just float the rest of the 180 into the spin

Tony Hawk remains an icon to skateboarders

TeenSkate — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:32:46 +0000

At 42, Tony Hawk remains an icon to skateboarders one-quarter his age. He was widely regarded as the world’s best by the time he was a teenager, and has spent most of the past two decades building his name into the sport’s biggest brand, including video games, a skate company (Birdhouse Skateboards), a clothing line, even roller coasters. Hawk, a father of four, played himself on “The Simpsons” and skateboarded last year in the White House. Hawk, who lives near San Diego, was in New York recently to discuss his second book, “How Did I Get Here? The Ascent of an Unlikely CEO,” and “Tony Hawk Shred,” the latest in a billion-dollar line of video games.

The skateboarder Tony Hawk once thought he would be a math teacher.
Q. What is your job?

A. Professional skateboarder. [Pause.] Still.

Q. How many professional skateboarders are there?

A. I’d have to say 200, maybe.

Q. At age 9, when you were given your first skateboard by your brother Steve, what would you have said that you wanted to be when you grew up?

A. I think I thought I was going to be a math teacher, because I really excelled at math. And all my friends would ask me for help.

Q. And you wanted to be a concert violinist.

A. I played violin until I was about 11, and I was getting good at it. I don’t know if I was a prodigy or anything, but I really enjoyed it. I was playing different extracurricular concerts outside of school, and after a while, it was really impeding my skate time.

Q. When was the last time you played a violin?

A. I tried to about a year ago. I took a few lessons, and I realized, like, I can’t just jump back on the horse. And I don’t want to learn from scratch. It’s too hard.

Q. Is a great violinist more impressive to you than a great skateboarder?

A. Not more impressive. But this is my life. I really wouldn’t want to compare one to another. They both take incredible discipline and passion. And they both lend themselves to a lot of creativity.

Q. Skateboarding has been cyclical since the 1970s, but it seems to be riding a wave of popularity now. Can it keep growing?

A. I think we’ve broken a ceiling of skating as a novelty. Before, the only ones who liked skating were the ones who were doing it. Now there’s a fan base that loves skating and doesn’t even want to try it. But they appreciate the difficulty and the passion of the athletes and the art of it. It’s a spectator sport now, and I think that’s really changed the risk of a huge downturn.

Q. Are you comfortable in a room of chief executives?

A. I’m comfortable because I know what I’ve done is successful. I don’t feel like I maybe have the same mind frame or experiences that those guys would, but it’s fun because usually they see me not as a novelty, but maybe as a renegade. So I feel like I do fit in, in some sense. For taking risks and making it work.

Q. Ever regret not sticking with the violin?

A. I’d have less scars. Maybe.

Valrico Family suing shooting suspect from Skateboarding incident

TeenSkate — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:26:34 +0000

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, contends that Trevor Dooley was negligent when they flashed a gun while confronting a teen who was skateboarding on a basketball court. The relatives of a Valrico man fatally shot in what authorities say was a dispute over skateboarders is suing the 70-year-old neighbor charged in the slaying. James, 41, was killed in the Sept. 26 confrontation at the Twin Lakes of Brandon subdivision. His relatives is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $15,000. Dooley also failed to prevent the gun from firing in the coursework of a later scuffle with neighbor David James, the lawsuit contends. Dooley has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, improper exhibition of a firearm & openly carrying a firearm. Investigators said James was playing together with his 8-year-old daughter when Dooley yelled at a 14-year-old skateboarder from his garage. They said Dooley had an ongoing beef with skateboarders in the neighborhood.

Witnesses said James & Dooley walked toward each other & exchanged words before Dooley lifted his shirt, exposing a pistol. They said Dooley turned & walked away but that James continued to yell. Witnesses said Dooley turned back toward James, who lunged at him. The men scuffled & fell to the ground & the gun discharged. Dooley, a former school bus driver, is free on $50,000 bail but has been ordered to stay away from his home.

A status hearing scheduled for today in the criminal case was postponed after prosecutors & attorneys for Dooley requested more time.