YOUTH : NEWPORT BEACH : Blade Schools Get Skaters In Line

Perched stiffly in her black, above-the-ankle boots, Dixie Pearson of Irvine skated gingerly across the beachfront blacktop at the end of 13th Street on Balboa Peninsula. Flanked by another newcomer to in-line skating, Dana Caputo of Aliso Viejo, and instructor Mike Fenne, Pearson rolled nervously through the first lesson of her new sport.

“I want to learn how to skate under control, how to stop, and how not to be dangerous” to others, Pearson said.

Those are precisely the goals of the two-hour skating classes sponsored by Rollerblade each Saturday afternoon this summer, lessons offered against a backdrop of crashing surf 100 yards away.

Fenne, who has appeared in television commercials for Rollerblade, needs only about two hours to take a rookie skater to the point where he or she can skate forward, employ three techniques for stopping, and begin skating backward.

Fenne says the purpose of the beginner’s class is simply to teach the fundamentals of in-line skating so that rookies are not a hazard to others who use recreational roadways and beachfront boardwalks throughout the county.

Subsequent classes include instruction in crossover skating, roller-hockey and speed skating. This is the first year Rollerblade has held classes in Orange County. They are held in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Tustin and Mission Viejo.

Blades, helmets and pads are loaned to those who show up to class without equipment. Classes are $15 for adults and $12 for children under age 12. A four-session package, designed for advancement from beginner to master skater, costs $50 for adults and $45 for children.

Vince Castelnuovo, 29, of Newport Beach was a novice in the sport when he attended his first Blade School class four weeks ago.

“It was just the first day, and he taught me how to skate backward,” Castelnuovo said, demonstrating his newfound skill on the same blacktop where Caputo and Pearson where learning. “I didn’t think I would be able to do it.”

Since that time, Castelnuovo has practiced his moves and mastered those fundamentals.

“In that month, I have lost about 20 pounds,” he said, recounting what the sport has done for him. “I feel good about it, and it is a new thing to do.”

Rollerblade also conducts Saturday morning classes in the parking lot at Tustin Marketplace and Tuesday night lessons at La Paz Intermediate School in Mission Viejo. On Thursday nights, classes are held in Huntington Beach near Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard.

Fenne and the nine other Blade School instructors are certified by the International In-Line Skating Assn. For more information, call (310) 455-3265.