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L/RAIN Temp: 37 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, December 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 26, 2002 Talent man starts club to give skaters positive outlet By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune TALENT — Cesar Flores would like to see skaters get a little respect, and he’s trying to help them earn it. The 21-year-old Talent man has organized a skateboarding club to give middle-school-age kids a focus for their energy and their passion. He wants to organize skate tournaments and encourage young skaters to do community service projects to improve their image around town. He hopes people who see skaters cleaning up the park and working on other projects around town will be less likely to disparage kids on skateboards. "I want to get them involved in something positive," he said. "A lot of people make generalizations about skateboarders," he said Monday at the Talent skateboard park. As he talked, dozens of skaters wheeled through gravity-defying tricks around him. "There’s a stigma to skateboarding," he said, and a group of kids clustered around him shared stories of being harassed by grownups and chastised for skating in parking lots and on streets. "They get the wrong idea about us," said Daniel Reyes, 11, of Talent. The club has been christened "Shocka," from a Hawaiian phrase for "Hang loose." The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Talent Boys and Girls Club, 309 W. Main St. "Every meeting will have a theme," Flores said. "I’m going to talk about safety on Wednesday. I’m going to talk about the responsibility of being a skateboarder. " "We’ll throw out ideas and see what we can do." Flores decided to organize a club after he met a number of young skaters at Tark’s Market, where he works in the deli. "A lot of kids came in and talked to me," he said. "A lot of them come from single-parent families." Flores understood their troubles — his dad died when he was in the eighth grade. He graduated from Phoenix High School in 1999. Now he’s attending Rogue Community College, working toward a degree in psychology. Despite his youth, Flores has experience working with young people. He’s worked at the YMCA in Medford and served as a volunteer track coach in the Phoenix-Talent School District. If the club thrives, he’d like to see it become a model for other communities. "Maybe if the idea gets spread around," he said, "other towns will want a club, too." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S