When it comes to teaching and learning skateboarding, falling and getting back up are a part of the process. But more importantly, so is having fun on your skateboard.And that’s true for all skaters and at all skill levels.
Whether you’re hoping to one day make it to the X-Games half pipes or just enjoy using your skateboard to get around, at GOSKATE, we’re dedicated to helping you reach those milestones of success that keep you motivated to skate.
However, even if you feel ready to hop on your board and head to the local skate park, there are a ton of factors to consider before purchasing private lessons or punching your ticket into group lessons.
Regardless of age or skill level, action sports require a ton of know-how. Everything from protective gear, safety equipment, to having a keen understanding of skate park features and skate tricks for beginner skateboarders.
Does Tic Tac, Acid Drop, Kick Turn sound familiar to you? What about Mini Ramp, flat ground or quarter pipe? Or what about if you or your loved one want to enter a skate contest but aren’t sure you’re ready?
Luckily for you, there’s finally an article that has all the particulars for age and skill level in one place. We’ve got everything from age to skill level and everything in between.
Take a look! And you or your loved one will be well on their way to accomplishing their skateboarding goals.
Here is what GOSKATE will be covering in this article:
- Teaching the “Foundation of Skateboarding”
- Skateboard Transportation Basics for Beginners
- Proper Safety Equipment
- Age Range and Lesson Count for All Skill Levels
- Beginner to Intermediate to Advanced Learning Curve (Obstacles and Tricks)
"Foundation of Skateboarding"
The “Foundation of Skateboarding” is something we teach to all of our students regardless of age. We’ve seen tremendous success with students when we open lessons by focusing on the foundations of maintaining your balance from your first step onto a skateboard and eventually while riding.
During our instructor’s GOSKATE lessons, we teach the foundation of skateboarding which covers essentially everything a new skateboarder needs to safely ride their skateboard from point a to point b and eventually learn skateboard tricks.
These first lessons of the foundation of skateboarding contain but is not limited to the following:
- Learning how to stand on a skateboard: Believe it or not, standing on a skateboard is much more different than standing on scooters or a surfboard. And there are actual proven techniques to help you feel comfortable standing on a skateboard faster and more safely – first of which is learning to stand on a skateboard in the grass and how to feel your center of gravity.
- How to balance while shifting weight on a skateboard: Shifting weight on a skateboard is paramount to being able to maneuver and maintain balance. GOSKATE instructors will teach you at a maximum of 4 lessons to master our proven techniques.
- How to push and generate momentum: While learning to push and generate momentum might seem like the scary part, is it also the most rewarding. That being said, it is also one of the easiest ways to develop poor habits. For instance, never take your front foot off to pedal, only ever your back foot.
BONUS: How to tic tac (basic skateboard trick): At GOSKATE, we prioritize having fun. And most beginner skaters want to learn how to do tricks. The tic tac is the perfect beginner trick that stems from mastering the above techniques. Most GOSKATE students can learn a tic tac in less than four lessons, with some even capable after their first.
Skateboard Transportation Basics for Beginners
Skateboarding from point a to point b isn’t as simple as the foundations of skateboarding taught above. In the real world, there’s obstacle the board rides through, like little rocks and cracks in the ground or even oil and sand.
And even more importantly, by learning the skateboard transportation basics for beginners, we take something for simple transportation and make it into a fun and invigorating sport.
In our skateboard transportation basics for beginners section of the lesson plans, you’ll be learning:
- Riding you skateboarding for transportation: Riding your skateboarding for transportation is essential to having fun on a skateboard. Our GOSKATE certified instructors have skated for literally hundreds of miles, seeing everything in their path. This knowledge will benefit students greatly.
- How to turn your skateboard by lifting the nose and leaning properly: Some students will intuitively be able to lift their nose and shift their weight, but we can help anyone perfect and master this technique. It is essential to being able to use a transportation skateboard throughout any environment.
- Knowing how and when to pick up your skateboard: Knowing when and where you can’t skate will help you avoid falling or skating in an area beyond your skill level. We help students recognize when to pick up and get off your skateboard to avoid injury and maintain a safety first mindset.
- Stopping and Starting on your skateboard: Could you imagine learning how to drive without knowing the gas or brake pedal? Skateboarding sometimes is more about stopping than going and mastering these techniques will ensure you can skate any and everywhere.
- Riding Through Obstacles: While you’ll certainly have enough time to ride into obstacles when doing tricks at the skate park, transportation skateboarding has obstacles like sand, tiny rocks or cracks in the ground you’ll want to avoid. Our GOSKATE instructors will help you and your loved one spot hazards and other obstacles which could cause you to fall so you don’t learn the hard way.
In all our GOSKATE lessons, we encourage students to not skip these crucial steps until they are comfortable with the basics. Furthermore, we guarantee these basics will be mastered as soon as four lessons (often times much sooner) depending on the person and their equipment.
Proper Safety Equipment
At GOSKATE, we encourage you to always wear the proper safety equipment no matter your skill level. We maintain a safety first approach and teach our students to be prepared when they fall. Because in skateboarding, it’s not a question of if you will fall but when.
With proper safety equipment and our GOSKATE certified instructors, you or your loved one will learn the valuable lesson of falling and getting back up. Most people who stop skating were not prepared to fall and almost certainly did not wear the proper safety equipment.
According to Injury Facts, about one-third of injuries in skateboarding occur between the ages of 5 and 14. Sprained ankles, contusions and abrasions are the most common form of injury, with 74% of injuries happening to extremities.
Head injuries account for roughly 20% of all injuries, with only 3% of all total injuries being considered serious. Here is a quick list of the proper safety equipment we encourage at GOSKATE:
- Helmet
- Knee Pads
- Elbow Pads
- Wrist Guard
- Proper Skate Shoes
- Proper Skate Attire
As always, skate at your own risk.
Age Range and Lesson Count for all Skill Levels
For Beginners, we encourage students to enroll in 6 – 12 one on one skateboard lessons.
For Intermediate, we encourage students to enroll in 12 – 20 lessons, both one on one and group lessons.
For Advanced, we encourage students to enroll in 20 or more skateboarding lessons. 1.15 hour lesson time.
At GOSKATE, we’ve started teaching students lessons as early as 3-years old. Our youngest students are 3-4 years old.
At this age, it is possible to teach them the Foundation of Skateboarding and basics of transportation. It requires the right instructor, the right skateboard and the proper safety equipment. Also, parent’s must be present at the lesson.
Under 9 years old, we have found it extremely important for children to enroll in one on one, 1-hour lessons. Anyone learning from a skate camp or skate class will take much longer to learn skateboarding. Groups are distracting and a liability as their chances of getting hurt rise tremendously. Especially at birthday parties.
Our students who are 9 and up have the most lesson possibilities but we always encourage one on one lessons over learning in a class setting.
Children 9 and up also have a better idea of what they want to accomplish on their skateboard, and we’ve found most kids want to learn tricks.
Beginner to Intermediate, to Advance, Learning Curve
Beginner to Intermediate
While our beginner students will learn the foundation of skateboarding and basics for transportation skating, achieving intermediate status usually means you’ve mastered riding a skateboard and now want to do tricks.
Our GOSKATE certified instructors pride themselves on being able to teach your loved one how to olle and perform other beginner tricks like acid drop, tic tac, wheelie manual, and how to pump on bank ramps.
For an ollie, our GOSKATE certified instructors will start you off on a patch of grass on flat ground, instead of crowded skateboard parks with bmx bikes and inline skates possibly causing accidents. Once they’ve mastered the grass, we take them to flat concrete, where we hold their hands to stay stationary.
Then we take them to a skate park and teach them to ride on a ramp. This is not a giant vert ramp you’re used to seeing Tony Hawk skate, but we teach them how to skate smaller bank ramps and mini ramps to encourage kick turns and pumping for speed.
Intermediate to Advanced
Once our GOSKATE certified instructors have helped the student master the above skateboard goals, they are officially intermediate skaters. The next progression usually involves learning how to ollie while moving in an empty parking lot.
A parking lot freshly paved with no traffic is a great place to learn a pop shuvit or even a kickflip. This type of one on one instruction is impossible at summer camps or a driveway with hardly a square-foot of flat ground.
Making the jump from intermediate to advanced is a lot harder than the first four lessons it takes to master the foundation of skateboarding or transportation basics.
It takes longer because the learning curve is more difficult. But once you get to these stages, you’ll be able to understand your goals as a skater in ways you can’t even begin to imagine yet as a beginner. With enough lessons, eventually you can move in the direction to become the next Tony Hawk or perhaps Daewon Song. When you’re an advanced skater, you are ready to enter local skateboarding contests.
Results From One-On-ONE Instruction
At GOSKATE, we’ve noticed that when selecting a skateboard instructor, there are pieces of advice that are applicable to all skill levels that can only be handed down from someone who is a trained instructor.
Yeah, if someone is looking to learn a heel flip or tre flip or a switch crooked grind, you can learn it from a video or watching a friend. But the BEST way to learn it is from someone who has taught it in a professional capacity.
While it is hard to find instructors who can teach all skill levels, GOSKATE has the most experienced training, including in competitive vert skating. We allow you the option of finding the best skate instructor for you or your loved one, where you can find a skate instructor who skates just like you; park, vert, street or cruising.
Skateboarding is one of the most creative outlets on the planet. At GOSKATE, we give our students the tricks to go out and create their own combos. We give you the tools to accelerate in the direction you want. In other words, we give you the ingredients to craft your own masterpiece.
The more lessons you get… the more ingredients.
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