By Rachel Laskow
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Skyler Siljeg was nervous the first time he rode a skateboard and jumped off before it hit the curb. He was only 5 at the time. Now 9 years old, Skyler doesn't think twice before doing a jump, twist, or a boneless tail tap.
"After you do the boneless, it feels like you are flying," Skyler said. "It feels really cool."
What's a boneless tail tap? It's Skyler's favorite skateboarding trick. As a sponsored skater, Skyler has performed in 18 competitions this year. He placed first in 15 of them. Skateboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and kids like Skyler are going at it full speed.
"Competing gives me a challenge and makes me a better skater," Skyler told Scholastic News Online.
Competitions are the way Skyler tests his abilities. For Skyler, practice really does make perfect. When he doesn't land a trick, he goes out and tries again and again—until he gets it right. Skyler practices for four hours every day on a ramp in his backyard and at local skate parks. Despite his hours on the board, he still finds time to do his homework. Luckily for Skyler, skateboarding competitions are almost always on weekends and over the summer, so he doesn't have to miss school.
Skyler may be a big name in skateboarding, but his friends treat him like one of the gang. He sometimes teaches them a trick or two when they're hanging out. And, like every kid, Skyler has his role models: skateboarders Tony Hawk and Bucky Lasek.
"[Hawk] is a good guy and cares about his family," Skyler said.
Skyler has met both Hawk and Lasek, and attended Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam twice. "They have done so much to bring skating where it is today, and I hope to do the same," Skyler said.
Skyler also had the opportunity to skate with boarder Andy Macdonald. "It felt like skating with a friend," Skyler said.
Skyler is sponsored by Jones Soda. In fact, a Jones Soda bottle, due out by the end of the year, will have his signature and a picture of him. Each month, Jones Soda sends Skyler more than 100 bottles of soda. Skyler gives some to his friends and hands some out at competitions.
Soda is just the start of what his sponsors give him. He gets clothes from Quiksilver, shoes from Savier, and much more.
"I want to promote the companies that promoted me and believed in me," Skyler said.
In the four years that he's been skating, Skyler's biggest accomplishment is making the finals at The Sound and The Fury competition, an all-age national competition. One day, Skyler hopes to become a professional skateboarder so he can tour around the world and skate different kinds of parks with other skate pros. He also thinks it would be fun to go on a tour bus. "I hope to be part of what keeps skateboarding going: fun."
For now, when Skyler is not skateboarding, he is swimming, rock climbing, snowboarding, and mountain biking. He even joined the cross-country team after his brother teased him that he didn't know how to get around without a skateboard.
Skyler continues to improve and overcome his challenges.
"The most difficult part is probably trying new tricks that are a little advanced," he said. But for kids who are just starting to skateboard, Skyler has one word of advice: "Never, ever say helmets are stupid. Helmets are cool."
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