Welcome to Skateboarding!
Finding Many Paths to Progress
Q & A with Matt Williams!
This week, I reached out to my friend, Matt Williams, for help with my blog. A few years ago, I brought my class skateboarding where Matt worked as an instructor and programming coordinator. It was an amazing field trip with the appropriate level of challenge, modelling, and encouragement. The staff there just got it. The look on my students’ faces when they tried and succeeded at something new was awesome to witness. So, I invited him to share some of his insights in today’s post!
Q: Can you tell readers (my parents mostly, ha!) a little about you?
A: A bit about me? Well, I suppose friends would describe me as a big kid. I grew up in a small town (if you could call it that). It was difficult to get into organized sports because I was out of town and being a leftie didn't help either. I spent enough time playing outside and also found a creative side through drawing. When I was 12 years old, I got my first skateboard and it was something I could do on my own or with friends. Skateboarding was a hobby, a form of exercise, expression, and truly an outlet for all of those challenges that kids go through. Skateboarding got me through some tough spots and also created lifelong memories. I moved a bit growing up and I could rely on skateboarding as an outlet alone - and it also helped me make friends wherever I went. The fantastic thing about skateboarding is that it's very inclusive. It doesn't matter who you are; if you have a skateboard, you tend to fit in with other skateboarders. I didn't realize that at the time; however, it's definitely received some praise for being such an inclusive culture now. To this day, when I'm not doing grown up stuff, I still look forward to skateboarding, even if it's just a quick cruise to grab the mail.
Q: What drew you to teaching skateboarding to neurodivergent children (autism, ADHD, etc)?
A: I fell into teaching skateboard lessons as a weekend activity almost 10 years ago with a local indoor skatepark. I have always been grateful for what skateboarding has done in my life and if I was able to open that up for other kids, I was all for it. I'd never taught skateboarding - and it turned out that I was pretty good at it. I was teaching for a few years when that park eventually closed and although I kept skateboarding, I stopped teaching. A few years later, I was approached by another indoor skatepark. They found my name from the former owner of the first park. I was asked to work on special needs programming. I'd never worked with children with autism before, however I was more than happy to try. A few lessons in, I was concerned that I wasn't making any positive impacts so I took a step back to look at the program. I wanted to understand the expectations of the parents and be aware of any challenges and how to overcome them through skateboarding. In setting this road map and applying it to each lesson, there was very little in the way of a positive experience.
Q: What do you see as the benefit of skateboarding for the kids you worked with?
A: Skateboarding may look difficult; however, there are fundamentals that anyone can pick up quite easily. Like I mentioned before, skateboarding is an activity that's inclusive and it doesn't have the pressures to perform that many traditional team sports have. Skateboarding can be learned at any pace and has many paths of progress. The key there is that with skateboarding, there are so many small wins to celebrate which can be so encouraging for anyone. I'm not a psychology major, however I can say with experience that kids find motivation within themselves through those small wins and skateboarding can provide a lot of positive self-esteem. I feel that every child could use that boost. As an example, a child simply pushing off and standing on the skateboard independently for the first time is a moment to celebrate. All of these factors make skateboarding such a powerful outlet for individuals that may have challenges physically, socially or psychologically.
Q: Any favourite moments or memories to share?
A: On a personal level, it's always landing a new trick. The feeling you get when you finally land something you've never done before is wild. From sliding down a handrail for the first time or landing a technical trick I've been trying for hours, you never forget those things.
From working with the kids: the reactions from the kids from those small and big wins are my favourite and that's why I enjoy teaching. When I see that, it takes me back to when I felt those feelings myself. I'm aware that some of the kids that I work with don't get those feelings a lot and it means so much that I was able to create the opportunity for them.
Q: How did you motivate reluctant skaters? I can imagine first-timers might feel anxious and apprehensive!
A: Some kids can be apprehensive for sure. One thing to remember is that something originally drew them to skateboarding in the first place, so I always start out to get to know the kids better and why they're there. With kids that are non-verbal, I try to get as much information as possible from the parents. I like to find out where the interest in skateboarding came from, what other hobbies or interests there are and a few other things, so there are ways to relate that back to the first lesson. Another thing that I like to do is walk around and have the kids get comfortable with the new environment. We walk up and slide down the ramps and often times that takes away some anxiousness away as well.
Q: What was your biggest personal learning?
One of Kara’s students…
A: I wouldn't call this a learning, but it's something that I remind myself every time. Patience is most important. Every child I work with wants to do their best, just sometimes there are challenges in the way. My role is to be there to teach, encourage, and support them while I'm working with them. I'm there to make learning a fun and positive experience.
Q: What advice do you have for parents or teachers who may be reading this about good teaching?
A: The irony is that I turn to the parents and teachers for advice! (Is that irony?) In terms of good teaching, patience and positive reinforcement are the two pillars of my learning style. While I have the attention of the parents and teachers I would like to mention one more thing. I'm sure parents know their kids well. However, they may not know the world outside of traditional sports. Something like skateboarding really opens up possibilities for all children and it's not just something to do. Skateboarding helps kids stay active, creates a very inclusive environment to forge friendships, builds self-esteem, and is an amazing creative outlet. Whether it's skateboarding or something else (swimming, music, art, etc.), I would encourage parents and teachers to inspire kids to find a passion they can enjoy on their own and that will help them find a place within that community or culture. In doing that, the positive effects of them finding something that sticks will translate into other aspects of their life.
…skateboarding for the first time!
Q: What are you up to these days?
A: Aside from skateboarding, I love design and I've been in print for the past 6 years (and even longer as a hobbyist through mattmade.ca). I'm in sales & marketing at Screen Machine Promotions. We're an in-house screen printer and embroidery shop that also specializes in digital printing and promotional items. We're super excited to be working with Autism Canada on their #imausome campaign to support the amazing work that they do. With the pandemic going on, lessons are on hold. However, I'm looking forward to things finding a new normal where I can continue programming and even develop new ways to help youth through skateboarding.
If anyone reading this would like to know more about the #imausome campaign, they can find the campaign here.
Thanks for reading! - Matt & Kara