As a parent, when I consider the types of enrichment activities I want my kids to be involved in, I’m drawn toward those that offer a sense of community, challenge them, grow their skills, broaden their perspective — and bonus points if they give access to mentors who will encourage them in ways that extend into their daily life.
The Bay, a Nebraska-based nonprofit, checks all of those boxes by offering programming in skateboarding, gaming, music and beyond that helps connect a modern young person’s passions with real-world opportunity.
As someone who has always been skate-adjacent, with many of my friends being skilled on a board, I have long felt the skateboarding community’s positivity and camaraderie. So when our son Louis showed interest in learning last year, I eagerly bought him his first skateboard.
We watched YouTube videos together on proper stance, how to determine if he was regular or goofy-footed, and other basics to try to get him rolling.
Alas, I am not the expert instructor he needed to progress, and after an urgent care visit we had to make early on when he fractured his wrist, his confidence went down.
Enter, The Bay.
When I heard it offers a Skateboarding 101 Summer Camp at the Benson Community Center, I jumped at the chance to sign him up so he could learn what he could do with some proper training. And as I went through the registration process, a unique feature caught my eye that speaks volumes about The Bay’s mission: a pay-what-you-can model designed to remove barriers and open doors for more youth.
Now when it comes to physical activity and kids, a bit of groaning is to be expected, but Louis was all smiles as he left the first day.
“I loved it,” he said to me.
It was the whole experience that he raved about—the skateboarding, access to gaming during breaks, and yes, even the snacks.
He had fun, made friends, and by the end of the week I was proud to watch him sail goofy-footed across the floor with more ease than I had ever seen in the days practicing at home, even gliding up and down the double-sided ramps.
As luck would have it, a couple of weeks later The Bay hosted a pop-up at the new riverfront skating rink during Maha Festival as one of the interactive activities, and it was the highlight of the festival for us. It provided the boards, helmets, ramps, and other gear, so that’s where we posted up in between music sets, watching Louis do his thing.
The instructors were so great and encouraging, and he even learned how to do a half turtle flip independently that day. There’s no greater feeling than watching your kid accomplish something and grow a sense of pride and self-confidence.
We now have Louis signed up for skate school this fall so he can keep pushing himself.
Our experience with The Bay left me wanting to learn more about why they do what they do, and how the unique programming they offer—specifically, skateboarding—betters the community at large.
Andrew Norman, The Bay’s Executive Director, said kids today are facing a severe disconnection crisis, and The Bay is working to bridge that gap.
“The Bay creates a pipeline from curiosity to career,” he explained. “It begins with inclusive, culture-driven engagement that sparks belonging. It grows through skill-building and workforce education. And it culminates in young people reinvesting, whether by leading peers, working at The Bay, or shaping Omaha’s creative and economic future.”
Developing skills and fostering a sense of belonging is at the heart of The Bay’s youth programming.
Drew Newlin, Youth Engagement Director, said the inherent elements of failure and repetition across all of their programming help build resilience.
“Failing forward, as we like to call it, is a natural, necessary part of the creative process,” he said. “When a youth falls down while skateboarding with us, our skate instructors are trained to respond to any injuries first, then encourage them to get back up and continue trying, if they’re able and willing. Even when they’re not with our staff, this continuous repetition of failing, trying again, and eventually succeeding helps bolster youths’ self-confidence, resilience, and more.”
Another element that blossoms from The Bay’s offerings is mentorship. The youth not only look to their instructors for guidance on how to take their tricks and skills to the next level, but also as encouraging role models who are skating alongside them.
“Campers see our skate instructors fall, get back up, and succeed much in the same way they do, and I think that helps cultivate an even stronger sense of bonding, belonging, and community,” Newlin said. “They see themselves in us, in a way.”
And it’s not just the instructors serving in this role. Newlin says that older or more seasoned youth are often spotted taking younger campers under their wing.
Inclusion is another form of support. The Bay organizers said their programming is accessible to every child, and their pay-what-you-can model tells the families they serve that they belong, regardless of financial situation.
“We work hard to eliminate all barriers to entry, including transportation and cost, and we collaborate with dozens of partners who help share our opportunities with their youth,” Norman said.
“We take our programming into schools, we pop up at community events in the neighborhoods where underestimated kids live,” he said.
As far as the life skills and connections that youth can skate away with, the long-term benefits may grow over time, but the immediate results are clear.
In post-camp survey data collected by The Bay, 90% of participating youth felt more confident after completing camp, 99% felt like the instructors cared about them, and 86% felt more motivated to try new things.
“With guided activities like taking a field trip to a local skateshop to learn skateboard components or designing griptape art to take home, our Skateboarding 101 Camp emboldens youths’ self-confidence, self-expression, creativity, community, and then some,” Newlin said.
He added that even if the participants don’t end up pursuing skateboarding long-term, he hopes they walk away from their camps feeling confident, proud, and like they belong.
“It’s just as much their space as it is ours,” Newlin emphasized.
As far as this parent is concerned, I’m grateful that an organization like The Bay exists in Nebraska to give young people the opportunity to pursue their creative interests — whether it be skateboarding, music, fashion, art, gaming, and beyond — in a way that will stick with them for years down the road.