We played a game called “Skate” which is a game where we exchange tricks on a skateboard. Although these kids didn’t know that many tricks, we still had a lot of fun. It doesn’t matter: if someone is a boy or girl, tall or short, black, white, or even blue we can all skate. Skateboarding is a universal language. I moved a lot as a kid.
There were lots of ups and downs in skateboarding’s popularity but the skating scene didn’t blow up until the 1970’s, when a guy named Frank Nasworthy created a special kind of skateboard wheel made out of polyurethane that improved the performance of riding significantly. At this point in time many people started investing in skateboarding and plenty of skateboarders started their own companies. As skating grew more popular with the American youth, competitions were held across the United States which only fed the appetite for skateboarding even more. By the 1980’s to early 1990’s, skateboarding continued to grow and with inventions of new tricks such as the “ollie”, which is a no hand aerial maneuver that led to the creation of many tricks that are done today.
The first skateboards where made from wooden boxes or boards, with roller skate wheels added to the bottom. A lot of people got injured in the early days. Boxes turned into planks and eventually companies produced decks of pressed layers of wood, skateboarding at this time was something to do after surfing and was not really a sole well known extreme sport. In 1963 Skateboarding was at its peak of popularity companies such as Jacks, Hobie, and Makaha started holding competitions either downhill slaloms or freestyle. Well known skateboarders at this time were Torger Johnson, Woody Woodward and Danny Berer.
Maybe because of my sprained ankle, it limited my abilities of activity in this sport. I also noticed that it was a lot more difficult to score and pass as it was to in floor hockey. One of the things that really bugged me about scooter hockey is the fact that it is hard to get the ball from your opponent. In scooter hockey one must sit on the scooter and use his/her legs to push oneself forward, that in itself is very difficult now try doing it while chasing someone or trying to go up to the ball. Mobility is also an issue when it comes to scooter hockey.
Break dancing I’m sure you’ve heard of break dancing before because its been around since late 1960s early 1970s and it requires a lot of skills. There are many different types of moves you can do in break dancing. Experts say that break dancing comes from different types of dances. In break dancing you listen to certain types of music. In brake dancing, you have to be physically fit and strong to do mostly all of the moves.
Recently I have come across more and more people labeling themselves as juggalos, including my 15-year-old sister and her boyfriend. With the help of the documentary “American Juggalo” directed by Sean Dunne, and the various juggalos I talk to at my job at Jimmy John’s subs, I was able to uncover a little more about the misconception of this lifestyle. A juggalo, or juggalette, can be defined as a devoted fan of the music group Insane Clown Posse or any of the other groups under the Psychopathic Record Label. Psychopathic Records’ symbolic is that of a little man holding a hatchet, the hachetman, and typically juggalos wear this symbol to associate themselves with the lifestyle. Although many juggalos are easily spottable wearing baggy pants, hatchetwear, piercings, tattoos, and colored hair put up in multiple little ponytails, or spiderlegs, some juggalos look just like any other person.
In the 1970’s vert riding, or riding ramps, was introduced. Vert riding became more popular because many skate parks were being built for the skaters. The design of the skateboard got a little bit more technical. Toward the end of the 1970’s is when street skateboarding was introduced. Street skating is where the real issue today is on whether skateboarding is a crime or not.
Seventy-nine percent of children play video games, and at least sixty percent of middle school boys have played one or more mature rated game. Some psychologists suggest that video games are positive- they are creating an alternate reality for adolescents to release their anger. However, studies have consistently proven that violent video games cause more aggressive behavior and, overall, are negatively affecting America’s youth. The debate whether or not video games are positive or negative has been a major controversy in the U.S. ever since Columbine, a tragic school shooting in 1999. News spread that one of the gunmen, Dylan Klebold, spent much of his time playing violent video games.
A large number of these young people are easily influenced. As soon as a new fad or way of speaking is shown to look cool on television, these young people and sometimes even older people try to copy these trends. When the show “Jersey Shore” televised in 2009, it contained fighting, humor, relationships, and excessive drinking. This show has been popular with a large number of today’s college students. Even though the show only aired once a week, it portrayed a bad image that parents did not want their children to be idolizing.
Michael Morrell Professor Thornhill Writing I 1 April 2012 The Evolution of Professional Basketball For many years, professional basketball has been one of the most popular sports in the world. Basketball is a rim-rattling, slam-dunking, high flying show adored by millions and millions of fans all over. Would you believe the first teams even used peach baskets for goals? Or that players were not allowed to dribble the ball? The sport has changed dramatically over the years.