Last week was the largest Girls Rule Week at Woodward West, to date!

I was privileged to be a part of the camaraderie at Woodward West from June 24 – 30th 2018.

All the girls who actively participated saw their skills flourish both on and off the skateboard.

As we heard from guest speaker Nina Buitrago, BMX pro, we all start as beginners.

Being willing to begin is a huge accomplishment because it means we are pushing through our fear.  We learned so many ways to push through our fears including making Growth Journals, which is a safe place for us to write about our goals and the progress we make towards them.

Falling in skateboarding and life are inevitable, so learning how to learn from mistakes and having tools to keep us motivated and focused are keys to success.

To show our focus and what’s important to us we made vision boards.

To share our love of skateboarding we joined Skate Rising in a Learn to Skate Clinic for all campers.  Helping others learn to skate is just one way we spread kindness, which is a pledge we made at the beginning of the week and a pledge we keep making daily.

Moving forward we will always have the memories of camp, plus we were introduced to programs like Feed the Need which will allow us to continue contributing to the community while having fun skateboarding.

When we accept ourselves & others, failures & imperfections included, we are able to focus on what really matters:  having fun skateboarding & making the world a kinder place.  Girls really do rule when it’s sisterhood before competition which is what Girls Week with Skate Rising at Woodward West was all about.

click the girlsweek2018 tag below to see all the posts

Woodward West is known for its large variety of action sports facilities.

Plus it offers camps in

People come from all around the world to visit Woodward West and learn from the best.

Usually campers focus on their action sport, but this week all campers had an opportunity to participate in a Learn to Skate Clinic with  Skate Rising,

Several pro skateboarders participated in the clinic.

Above Allysha Le and below Meagan Guy

I love to see people try new things.  Trying new things is the true spirit of the Growth Mindset because all new things can be scary.

We each have the choice to power through the fear because as we heard from Nina on Tuesday fear is not real.  We all start as beginners and with willingness to practice and learn from mistakes we have the ability to achieve our goals.

Everyone’s goals are unique to them.  If you’re having fun skateboarding, you should keep skateboarding and set goals that you are comfortable with.

It’s better to be the girl who tried skateboarding and did not like it then the girl who just wondered because she was afraid to try.

I hope that whatever it is you are going to try, you have the benefit of those who will “hold your hand” and cheer you on.  Yes, you have to believe in yourself but it’s so much easier to do that when you surround yourself with those who believe in you.  And please pay it forward by encouraging others.  It’s so inspiring to see pros take time to help beginners.

Woodward West might also be known for it’s weather.  It gets HOT during the day. So there’s tons of sun screen application and drinking water plus there’s time for water balloon fights!  It’s so hot the water dries super quick!

Fighting is not the answer unless it’s water balloon fighting in the heat.

It’s hard to believe Wednesday is over.  This week is going fast and next week is the start of

Hope you are enjoying the posts as much as I am enjoying writing them. For more pictures click below.

Monday night at Woodward West with Skate Rising saw the girls pull out the glue, magazines, and stickers to create vision boards.

Before the creating, the girls learned what a vision board is and how it helps you be your best. A vision board is a tool used to help visualize and concur goals. Vision boards have worked for many.

Studies show that visualization increases athletic performance by improving motivation, coordination and concentration. It also aids in relaxation and helps reduce fear and anxiety.

There is no wrong or right way to create a vision board. Every person’s vision board is unique because it consists of their hopes, dreams, goals, and things they love. The key is being creative and capturing what you want your future to be.

Below are a few of the vision boards.

Personally, I am a big fan of vision boards. I use them and have blogged about how Skate Rising encourages their use.

I love seeing my vision board become reality. My board helps keep me on a path that allows me to achieve my goals. Creating vision boards is not a one time event. As you grow your vision grows and you create new vision boards.

For behind the scene commentary on my vision board Dreams, Goals & Love & why learning is important to me click here.

After completing our vision boards, we headed off to sleep so we would be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the next morning.

In the morning, we talked about the importance of powering through our fears.

To show that everyone has fears and that fears do not have to stop you, we shared memories of how we conquered our past fears. Sometimes we forget that things we used to fear are things we now do normally.  How did something go from being a fear to normal? We faced the fear and even when we fell we did not give up.  Falling is not failing, it is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes.

To further inspire the girls to believe that they could power through their fears, we heard from guest speaker Nina Buitrago, an accomplished BMX rider.  She talked to us about how she handles fear and gave us tips on how to power through our own fears.

The message I heard was that fear is not real, it’s the self-talk that your mind creates.  Fear causes you to second guess yourself.  She, like everyone else, still has fear.  Some people are just better at hiding their fear.  She handles fear by breathing, centering herself, preparing/training, and surrounding her self with friends.  To hear her click below.

Full of inspiration, we headed off to skate.

How do you face your fears?  For me it helps to realize that they stand between where I am and where I want to be. The vision board makes it clear as to where I want to be. So then it’s my choice to pursue the vision or let the fear stop me from achieving my vision.

Fear can be healthy.  Let fear be the motivation to wear safety gear, practice, learn from mistakes, listen to good advice, but don’t let fear stop you.

If you can believe, visualize, and work you will succeed on & off the board!

So far Girls Week has been amazing – what do Skate Rising and Woodward West have in store for the rest of the week?  With Calli as our leader, I’m sure there’s much, much, more to come so stay tuned!

 Woodward West Week 4 has started off with a bang!

This week is all about spreading girl power and kindness through action. Skate Rising founder Calli Kelsey is working with us to create daily service projects.

Today’s project was

Learning the Power of a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset enables you to believe that you are capable of anything you set your mind to. With a growth mindset you are kind to yourself and others as you practice. Even when you fail, you stay kind knowing that failure is an opportunity to learn.

Progress might be slow, but if you keep practicing, believing, and learning from your mistakes you will succeed.

Girls created growth journals. Each girl’s journal is a place to write her goals and her progress towards them. The journal is for camp week and life after camp.

A growth mindset becomes a way of life when you have  a journal to help you remember to focus on the positive and keep working towards progress.

Each goal you achieve is an inspiration to try the next goal.

In addition to the Growth Journal the staff and girls were challenged to Commit to Kindness by pledging to:

• Speak up and say no when they see bullying
• Report intimidation of all kinds
• Not join gossip
• Help anyone they see that is sad or hurt
• Be a good friend and example

To show how Committing to Kindness is Contagious every person that pledged got to put their name on the Kind is Cool Tree and

received Random Acts of Kindness Cards.

The cards are physical reminders that each of us has the power to spread kindness and that kindness comes in all sizes.  Something as small as a smile might be exactly the thing that can turn someone’s day around.

Day one has been amazing!  I’m excited for the upcoming projects and will post them as soon as they are completed. I encourage everyone reading this to take the time to make your own Growth Journal and Commit to Kindness.

For now we are off to skateboard with our new tools.  A Growth Mindset, to know every trick is a trick we can work towards and a kindness reminder to encourage ourselves and our fellow skaters with words & smiles both on & off the board.

For more photos click below.