By Colleen Janssen
Asked ‘who is the best skater here?’ all fingers pointed to one person. Unassuming and humble, Eric Lord, 16, was undeniably a great skateboarder as he glided smoothly on the ramps at the skate park located at William Peak Park, located at 7225 El Dorado Drive, Buena Park.
By Colleen Janssen
Asked ‘who is the best skater here?’ all fingers pointed to one person. Unassuming and humble, Eric Lord, 16, was undeniably a great skateboarder as he glided smoothly on the ramps at the skate park located at William Peak Park, located at 7225 El Dorado Drive, Buena Park.
After weeks of rain, the sunny day was welcomed by the group of more than 30 teens who spent some after-school hours enjoying the sport of skateboarding. Most were on skateboards, with a few on scooters.
A ‘crack’ was heard, along with sympathetic groans when one skateboarder broke his board performing a stunt. The board was irreparable, and most skaters took a quick look and offered some empathy.
With a group this size, one would expect collisions and a lack of cooperation, but the opposite was true. Everyone found a way to skate around each other with some boys offering advice and help to more inexperienced skaters as new tricks were attempted. The spirit of cooperation and respect for others was evident.
The one sentiment expressed by all was ‘we would like a bigger skate park.’
“They should extend it,” said Lord. “Take down the fences; it needs to be bigger.”
One teen expressed the opinion, ‘There’s too much grass. They could get rid of the grass and make the skate park bigger.’
“A big problem is the fencing,” said Micah Grayun, 16. “When our boards hit the bottom of the fence, they get chipped and cracked. There is a park in Stanton that has concrete bricks. The boards don’t get damaged there.”
Don’t think the teens lack appreciation for the park, but, they are the experts on what works for skaters and would love to have the opportunity to give their opinion to the City’s park designers for improvements.
“We need more smaller stairs instead of the big ones,” said Andrew Jimenez, 13. “There are some small stairs, but they only go up a few stairs.”
“We would like a spine here, too,” said Anthony Deguzman, 14.
In addition to Lord, Grayun, Jimenez and Deguzman, some of the skaters included Jordan Passig, 13; Grant ‘The Legend’ Hays, 12; Keith DeJean, 13; Evan Huckabee, 13; Zachary Gersten, 12; Stanley Harris, 15; and Ernie Morales, 12.
The teens demonstrated skateboarding and scooter tricks and techniques on the stairs, mini-pad, rails, ramps, A-frame and ledge with benches. They showed ollies, where the skateboarder jumps while keeping the board attached to their feet, along with grinding, and other tricks that might make mom’s cringe.
In addition to the skate park, this 15-acre site has a pool, play structures, covered picnic pavilion, restrooms, three ballfields, horseshoes, lighted basketball courts, community building, and, to the dismay of the skateboarders, large grass areas on which to play.
For more information on this, and other parks, check the website: www.buenapark.com. On the site, follow the menus: city departments, community services, parks and pools, and park descriptions.
