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| Chris Miller / Juneau Empire |
 Over the top: Logan Terry "ollies" over the tabletop at the Aug. 18 Sequence Skate Competition at The Pipeline Skate Park. Terry took first place in the second division in the competition and won best trick overall with a "pop shove-it" over the 16-foot pyramid. |
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When Logan Terry drops in at the top of the ramp, his movements are fluid and smooth.
His hair flutters under his ball cap and his T-shirt ripples as he leans forward on his skateboard, down the arched quarter pipe, across the cement floor to the pyramid ramp. Once there, he pops up, does a 180-degree spin in the air and floats for a split-second - as if held by a cloud - before landing onto the ramp for a perfect transition out.
Terry, 15, spends every day practicing his skills at The Pipeline Skate Park in the Mendenhall Valley.
"Everything that I do is centered around skateboarding," Terry said. "I don't look at a handrail as something you walk up, or I don't look at a bench as something you sit on. I look at everything as something to skate."
The city-sponsored skateboard park is a refuge for many other teens beside Terry who find skateboarding a fun activity that might even help build skills they will use the rest of their lives.
"It's something that can calm me down, 'cause it's fun," said Timmy Flood, 15, who has won as many as eight contests in Juneau. He added that skateboarding is relaxing and helps him when he's bored.
His father, Norman Flood, supports his son's dedication to the sport, adding there isn't much for kids to do in Juneau. "It keeps him out of trouble and gives him something to do in this town," he said.
Skaters at The Pipleline ride back and forth and up and down for hours and hours, practicing tricks over and over. In the process, they develop self-discipline, stamina and self-confidence.
Alex Jones, 17, has been skateboarding for eight years. He spends a lot of time at the park repeating the same trick over and over until he learns it.
Last Friday he was practicing a frontside 180 kickflip. After missing many attempts, he finally landed it, smoothly and expertly to the appreciation of his friends, who cheered when it happened.
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| Teri Tibbett / For the Juneau Empire |
| A skater's declaration: Graffiti graces the wall at The Pipeline Skate Park in May 2007. |
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"I can't even describe how it feels. It just feels amazing," Jones said about landing the trick. "Today's just been great. I've been landing everything I wanted to do. I'm just so happy right now," he said with a laugh.
"It definitely teaches you self-discipline," said Rob Abbott, 30, skateboarder and salesman at Sequence Skate Shop. "There's that mentality when you go out there, and you want to accomplish something. You practice it over and over for days and weeks at a time. And once you do it, you feel good about yourself and what you've accomplished."
Terry said skateboarding has definitely helped build up his confidence.
"When I spend an entire day on a trick that I don't think I can do, and then I do it, it's like, 'I can do this!' " he said. "So now I look at things like I can probably do them."
Some skateboarders even say the sport has changed them in even more profound ways.
"Skateboarding saved my life," said Wayne Smallwood, 30, who grew up skateboarding in Juneau. He sells cars at Mendenhall Auto and owns a skateboard clothing company, Acirema, that he hopes will one day sponsor up-and-coming Juneau skateboarders.
"After mastering skateboarding, I can handle anything," he said. "I've actually taken the same techniques of accomplishing my goals as a kid skateboarding and applied them to my business, to my lifestyle, now that I'm older."
Smallwood said that the focus a skateboarder develops can transfer into adulthood.
"Skateboarding is very similar to martial arts, where you have to practice 10-times harder than your worst fear to do any conquering," he said. "When you focus ... and you've mastered your art, you can do anything you want in life," he said.
Patrick Van Pool, 30, skateboarder and owner of Sequence Skate Shop in Juneau, said he believes skateboarding can pull people into a positive direction.
"It's not the answer to everything, but in general, people need a direction in life," he said. "Skateboarding and snowboarding is a direction."
Skateboarding can also be an alternative to partying and a way to keep kids off the street, said skateboarder Zach Andrews, 21.
"Skateboarding is definitely my anti-drug," he said. "It keeps me from doing stupid stuff. If I was on drugs, I wouldn't be able to skateboard."
"If you're hung over you can't skate," Smallwood added. "If you're doing drugs, I don't think kids know that it's taking away from their talent."
Smallwood recommends asking kids what they want and give them healthy, fun alternatives to getting into trouble and doing drugs.
"Supply and seed the talent," he said, "and you give kids the tools to master their own destiny."
• Teri Tibbett is a writer, musician, snowboarder and skateboarder living in Juneau. She received her first skateboard in 1968 and spent summer days riding long board style down the hilly streets of her suburban southern California neighborhood. She continues to skate today down the slopes of North Douglas Highway.
