ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — In the shadow of Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays staff decided to "drop in" and drop off new skateboarding gear to students at the Academy Prep Center.
“Taking skateboarding out into the community and giving these kids an opportunity to try it out, learn something new, and you never know where it's going to go from here,” Rays president Matt Silverman said.
This initiative is part of the Rays City Connect Grit X Glow uniform rollout, which features a skateboarding ray logo.
“When we started designing these uniforms, we tapped into the skating culture here,” Silverman said. “I didn’t realize until now how strong it is, and how fun skateboarding is, what it can do for these kids.”
The Rays donated 150 skateboards and protective gear to students for their first day of school
“It’s cool because I thought we’d be in a classroom, honestly, going over first-day rules,” Abiygayil Yeshoha, 11, said. “But instead, we get to come here and skate. That’s cool because not everybody gets to skate on their first day of school.”
A lesson they did learn — if you fail, get back up and try again.
“It is very hard,” Elyssa Bencon, 11, said. “I’ve tried to skate over here, and I almost fell on my butt.”
“It shows a lot of perseverance because even if you fall, you’re really determined and want to get better at it; you got to get right back up,” added eighth-grade student Christopher Butler.
Each student received a new skateboard, safety helmet, and skateboarding lessons from ‘Boards from Bros’ and ‘Girls Sk8’ volunteers.
“Everyone who is less fortunate can get a free skateboard and a free helmet, which helps them if they want to become a skateboarder. They can do their dreams because now Tampa Bay Rays is providing it for them,” Yeshoha said.
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