It’s a given that professional athletes spend hundreds of hours throughout their career practicing for their “next big game” or to sharpen their skills. They have coaches arduously training them.

Although any athlete can choose to take this path, sophomore Javon Lane decided to go in the opposite direction. Having a coach, he said, “would make me nervous, it’s too much pressure. I can progress on my own time (when) there’s no rules, ongoing games, or training.”

He doesn’t skate to prepare for a competition. He does it to enjoy himself. “It’s like I blank out (when I’m skating), I lose track of everything else. I’m lost, but I know I’m lost. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Lane has been skating since he was little, but it wasn’t until two years ago that he realized he should be taking it seriously. His older brother skates and that is how he discovered it and began doing it, too. When his brother stopped skating, he realized, “I couldn’t only skate to impress him, I had to be good on my own.”

The version of skating Lane practices is not the formal, follow-the-rules type of sport. He does it more as a recreation, not a competition. “I acknowledge I’m not as good as everyone, but that motivates me (to be better),” Lane said.

For Lane, it is easy to admit that he isn’t the best at skating. He says, “If you lie about it, it won’t take you further than an inch.” Unlike some athletes, he doesn’t envy those who are better than him. He likes to meet and skate with them because he learns from them. “It’s almost like their skills rub off on me,” Lane said.
Lane feels that no one can teach you how to skate, which is another factor that distinguishes it from other sports.

“When the coaches are pushing you, I don’t think that’s natural skill, it’s artificial. Someone’s taught you,” he said. “It’s like when your mom moves your legs to walk when you’re little, you’re moving but you’re not mentally doing it. She’s doing it for you.”

A lot of young athletes dream of going pro. They want to be on the National League for the sport they play, maybe even be in the Olympics. Lane, however, says he does not want to skate to be famous. “I don’t care about getting famous, I want to do it for fun.”

Some of the people he skates with are ambitious and want to do things to be noticed. Others like to record themselves and post videos about it, but “it’s not all about showing off. All the famous people go out and look for talent, they don’t sit on YouTube and search for them.”

“Let someone notice you, rather than you trying to get their attention,” he said.

For him, it’s not about the publicity. He feels that the harder you try to be noticed and brag about yourself, the less likely it will happen. But it’s not about fame. It’s about what he loves to do.

“If I happen to die, I want it to be from a skating accident, doing something I love.”