Skate park a creative outlet for youth
The art created by Troy Douthett requires math, balance, frequent exercise and practice, above all else, to pull off consistently. His minute movements atop a skateboard can give him the air for a trick, or send him off balance and falling to the ground.
Douthett said prior to the construction of Father Marinaro Skate Park in 2002, practicing his art around the city was seen as a nuisance, and he and other skaters were sometimes punished.
“Early skaters, that’s the way it was, we were basically criminals,” said Douthett, who is now 50. “That’s what skate parks are really meant to do, is draw people in.”
Father Marinaro Skate Park, which is off Kaufman Drive in Butler, was bustling with activity Tuesday evening, as skaters jumped ollies, grinded on rails and sailed over ramps with their boards mostly underneath them.
As Douthett explained, the city was not always so welcoming to skaters, and the skate park is actually the result of skateboarders getting in trouble for tricking around the city.
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