NASHUA – This summer, young students of Nashua have enjoyed learning how to skateboard from a professional.

In a summer skateboarding camp hosted by Nolan Munroe, a 2012 X Games bronze medalist, students ages 7-13 have learned the basics of skating and skateparks. The camp started in July at the city’s David W. Deane Skateboard Park.

Munroe has been skateboarding since he was 5.

“I was 4 years old and we were at a family cookout. My cousin’s boyfriend at the time had a skateboard. He told me to lay down in the driveway and he did an ollie over me,” Munroe said. “My mind was blown at 4 years old. For my 5th birthday, I asked for a skateboard and never stopped.”

Munroe, who is originally from Rindge, quickly found his passion in skateboarding. After high school, he moved to San Diego to participate in skateboarding contests and demonstrations.

His dedication led him to participate in professional contests across the world, from New Zealand to Brazil and beyond. In 2012, he was invited to participate in X Games, finishing as a bronze medalist.

He stayed in California for a few years.

“In the skate industry, once you hit 24 and 25, you start to get old,” Munroe said.

He decided before it was too late that he would move home and go back to school. He said he had new goals. Now he is studying business management and marketing at Rivier University, with hopes to one day combine his love of skateboarding with business.

“It would be cool to have a job one day where I could travel with pro skaters and instead of being in the contest, be part of it in a different way by helping run it. That would be a big dream of mine,” Munroe said.

This summer, Munroe is running his camp with skateboarders Ben Anthony and Logan Black, who he met while working at Vans.

“They both skated and we cliqued. That’s how the skateboard community is. You go anywhere and you meet someone that skateboards and you’re instantly friends,” Munroe said.

The idea of a skateboard camp came to him the first time he saw David W. Deane Skateboard Park. Munroe said since the park was right near the YMCA and walking trails, he wondered why there hadn’t been a camp like this. He decided to run a camp of his own and said it has been going great. The camps, which have a capacity of 10 students, have been full nearly each week.

Munroe is appreciative of his support from Black and Anthony, as he said it is nice to have three people running the camp so that each individual can work in a different skills category. They take turns rotating through groups of kids. This, in turn, provides the students tips, tricks and different teaching styles.

This summer, the trio has hosted five one-week camps that run from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday.

In the morning, once all the campers arrive, Munroe said they do a group huddle to talk about their goals and learn more about each other. From there, they stretch and get on to their skateboards.

“On the first day, we categorize the campers based on their level. They do some weaving around cones in the parking lot and we can get a good look at where the students are at based on how comfortable they are on their skateboards,” Munroe said.

The campers are then split up into groups. Beginner students will practice on small hills and ramps.

“This week, within two days, we had almost every kid going down the big ramp,” Munroe said. “Usually every week we have every kid going down the skate ramp without help.”

Munroe said his goal is to get students comfortable enough so that after camp is complete, they can go to the skatepark and use the ramps by themselves.

Munroe said many of the kids will come in believing they won’t be able to skate.

“We tell them, ‘No. You can do it. You never say you can’t. We believe you can and we know you can.’ We drive that into their heads and it works,” Munroe said.

By the end, when the students are going down the big ramps, Munroe said, “They’re pumped. We’re pumped. It’s a good little cycle of positive energy going around for them.”

As an instructor, Munroe said, “I love it. For us, it’s awesome. We love skateboarding; we love teaching. For the kids, this is huge. It gets them more comfortable on a skateboard and you just really see their comfort level go up,” Munroe said. “This is a very intimidating skate park. Everything is really big. We push them in the right direction.”

He added, “For me, it’s learning about the kids – who they are and how awesome they are. The kids that come here want to learn. They’re all great.”

As the camp is coming to a close, Munroe said he believes more students should participate, given that there is a beautiful park in Nashua.

“You see a lot of kids playing video games and staying inside all summer and they should really get outside and do an activity, which all of these kids have,” Munroe said.