Break through mental blocks

Ask who’s the best among them, and half a dozen confident hands go up. Inquire about battle scars, and with a sense of pride, out come the scarred and scabbed knees under worn and torn jeans and pads.

Well, at least they have helmets.

On Monday, 16 kids ages 7 to 13 took to the rails, ramps, bowls and steps of Volcom Skate Park in Costa Mesa, their first day in the city’s Youth Skate Program which ends on Friday.

“They teach me a lot of things that help in everyday skateboarding,” said Mia Crysel, an 11-year-old from Costa Mesa. Mia and 15 others signed up for five days of instruction, where the kids will learn new tricks, improve skating techniques, and take an excursion to a skate park in Long Beach on Friday.

Will that lead to less bumps and bruises on the legs? It’s doubtful.

With seemingly reckless abandon the kids, most of them boys, attack the 15,000-square-foot skatepark’s numerous amenities.

There is a kidney-shaped pool, called a bowl, a quarterpipe “launch ramp,” sets of stairs with handrails for grinding, and other steps and hills ideal for practicing ollies.

“You can find wherever you want to go and whatever you want to do here,” Matt Murchet, one of the two skate instructors, said of the park.

Most of the kids have at least some experience skateboarding. The more experienced, like 11-year-old Sam Swanson, already have corporate sponsors.

For beginners, or five-year veterans like Sam and everyone in between, the program, which costs $60, aims for personal improvement. Though the kids will stir in with the other public skaters using the park, the instructors give them individual pointers.

“The best thing is to see when the kids break through that mental block and realize they can do it,” Murchet said. “It’s all about giving them experience and confidence.”

The program, now in its second run of the summer, should become a regular in the city. That makes sense for Murchet, who recognizes Costa Mesa’s influence over skateboarding.

“We just put two and two together,” Murchet said about finally starting a skating program. “Costa Mesa is the mecca for skateboarding companies.”

The city of Costa Mesa is accepting registration for the Dec. 31 to Jan. 4 Youth Skate Program. Kids do not always go to the same skate park on the last day. In the July session, the young skaters were taken to courses in Diamond Bar and Chino. School starts on Sept. 4 for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.