Skateboarding part of gym class?

Mr. C, as the students call him, is known for creating the traveling Skip It jump-roping team about 30 years ago and for helping develop an in-line skating curriculum for P.E. classes nationwide.

The idea to add skateboarding began after Klassen, a former professional snowboarder in California, moved to Boulder and started going to skate parks instead of driving to the mountains. His next epiphany came when he realized he wanted to pass on what he had learned.

"I didn't know how to teach skateboarding. Eric came in, taught me to do turns, how to push.

"I was skateboarding all around the gym. Me," Cendali said, raising his eyebrows. "I was terrified. I was panicked."

Both men say students can achieve balance and core strength with skateboarding, not to mention higher self-esteem, once they realize they can do it.

Fifth-grader Grace Kerber, a slender girl with a long ponytail, skateboarded for the first time in Cendali's class.

"I'm still a little scared of falling on my face," she said. "It's just like standing on the ground, except you're on wheels."