Junior Riley Heidenthal was first introduced to skateboarding at five years old. When he was just six, his grandfather and sister built a half-pipe in their backyard. He practiced on that until he moved from Austin, Texas to Tyrone in 2013. After the move, Heidenthal stopped skating for a few years, but in the summer of 2016, he started skating seriously again.

“I think a part of why I’m so fond of it is because of the freedom it has. No rules, no coach, no bench. Nothing, it’s just you, your skateboard, and the concrete,” said Heidenthal.

Heidenthal, who can perform over 30 tricks, is arguably the best skateboarder at TAHS. He is passionate about the sport and says that of everything he’s tried, including football, soccer, and roller hockey, it’s skateboarding that ultimately draws him back.

“Riley has played several sports, but he always seemed to like biking, rollerblading and skateboarding more than anything else,” says Riley’s mom, Amy Heidenthal.  “As Riley has gotten older, skateboarding has definitely become his passion, his ‘go to’ sport. Every chance he has he is out skating.”

Without formal rules, teams, or referees, skating allows him to do what he enjoys whenever, and mostly wherever, he wants.

“Riley skates whenever he can, and in any weather. If it is raining or snowing you will find him skateboarding somewhere with a roof, or at SK8-14, the indoor skate park in Altoona,” says Amy Heidenthal.

Heidenthal has been skating with junior Bryan Kelly for well over two years. Kelly has noticed that Heidenthal’s hard work is paying off when they practice.  “I’m constantly seeing improvement from him,” said Kelly, “and he’s always teaching me new things.”

Although skateboarding is common, some still don’t give skaters the same respect as other serious athletes. However, serious skateboarders know that it is just as challenging as any varsity sport at any high school or college.  In fact, skateboarding will officially be a medal sport in the 2020 Olympics.

According to Heidenthal, learning the skills and techniques necessary to master a trick is much harder than it looks. It takes balance, concentration, and dedication.

”It is super hard, and frustrating,” says Heidenthal,”But nothing beats the feeling of trying a trick for weeks and finally landing it.”

Heidenthal has done all this despite dealing with some serious health challenges. He has a condition that has caused one of his lungs to collapse. It has happened twice on each side, and the third collapse of his left lung required surgery.

But even that hasn’t slowed him down. “It hasn’t affected my skating at all,” says Heidenthal, “Other than being bed-bound when it happens.”