2012 Central Valley Am Jam dates and locations have been announced! The Central Valley AM Jam is a truly amateur skateboarding contest series throughout California. It's a great contest series for young or unsponsored skaters.

• Ceres, Ca Skate park - April 22, 2012(Sunday)
• Fresno, Ca Lions Den Skate park - May 19, 2012
• Rancho Cordova, Ca Mather Skate park - June 16, 2012
• Patterson, Ca Skatepark - July 14, 2012

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This weekend, Element Skateboards' Make it Count contest will ravage the Epic Skate Park in the Sacramento area, California. This contest is open to any skater, and costs one canned food item to get in. It's a jam session format, with a 13 and under division, and a 14 and up division. The winner gets into the 2012 finals, Element YMCA Skate Camp, and a trip to the Berrics! So, if you're on the West Coast and can get your grubby mitts on a can of beans, head to Sacramento this weekend! Registration starts at noon, and the contest begins at 1 PM. Read more about the Element Make it Count contest.

I've told you guys before about Windells - the skateboard camp that's also a full fledged skateboarding boarding school. It's a one of a kind place, and worth a trip! Recently Windells started coming out with "Schoolisodes" - web video episodes that show what it's like at their school. They have 3 out so far - if you're interested, check em out on the Windells Wesbite!

I received an email from a young skater who wanted to know what the basic skateboarding tricks were. That's a great question - a lot of skaters start off, and all they really know is that they should learn how to ollie.... aaand they have no idea what to do after that!

Let me start off though, but encouraging you new skaters out there - don't gun straight for tricks. FIRST, learn the REAL basics of skateboarding, like pushing, turning, stopping, balance and just being comfortable on a board. Your first day on a skateboard, I don't think you should be trying to ollie. That said, it's really up to you! Just don't get discouraged if you fall a lot and it's tough!

So, back to the basics - to answer this reader, I put together a list of 6 basic skateboard tricks. These tricks are foundational, and cover a large spread of what skateboarding can look like. If you focus on mastering these, each of them will open up a different wing of skateboarding potential. You'll be a well rounded skater then, and ready to focus on what you love. And, these tricks are fun!