Kids put wheels to the ground for a safe workout

Cassidy Blomberg has a secret.

“When I go to Target, they ask me not to Heely,” the 8-year-old with straight blond hair solemnly confides to a group of kids gathered in a circle on the gym floor of Mountainside Fitness in Mesa.

The children, who are all wearing Heelys, nod in sympathy between bites of pizza. What good are smooth store floors if you can’t skate on them?

The gathering isn’t a support group meeting for the pro-Heelys establishment under the age of 10. It’s a Heelys party, held the first Saturday of the month at Mountainside Fitness in Mesa. For two hours, kids can skate in a safe space, learn to be courteous of others and get active (video).

“The main rule is to have fun and learn to get along with others,” says Gina McDonough, fitness director at Mountainside Fitness in Mesa and the brains behind the party.

You may not know the term Heelys (or the verb to Heely, a marketer’s dream). But you’ve undoubtedly run into these children on wheels, careening with toes on one foot tilted up through the supermarket aisles and mall corridors. The shoes look like an average pair of athletic sneakers, but hidden within the heel is a stealth wheel. All a kid has to do is shift his or her weight and they’re off.

Since 2000, more than 4.5 million pairs of Heelys have been sold, and the shoes are available in more than 60 countries. Celebrities such as Usher and Shaquille O’Neal are reportedly fans of the shoes. Kids like Mesa resident Hallee Ivey, 7, want to wear them everywhere.

“She loves them,” says Hallee’s mom, Karen Ivey, who is volunteering at the Heelys party. “She wants to wear them to church.”

McDonough’s inspiration for the party came from her own daughter, Kori, 9.

“My daughter loves to Heely, and everywhere we went it didn’t seem safe to be doing it,” says McDonough.

Marlee Hotchkiss tries to jump the rope rather than limbo beneath it during the Heelys party at Mountainside Fitness in Mesa. In addition to letting the kids skate, volunteers organize games and exercises to help them develop coordination.

“It’s really important to me because it’s a health benefit, and we’re taking a lot of activities out of the school (physical education) programs,” says McDonough. “This gets their heart rates up and they sweat.”

After a two-minute skate around the basketball court, the kids are already panting and heading over for a sip of water. The warm-up session is followed by relays, races and games such as red light, green light and musical chairs. Volunteer moms such as Ivey and Cassidy’s mother, Dodie Blomberg, organize the games and teach the kids about Heelys etiquette.

“It’s a great idea,” says Blomberg. “Kids don’t move enough, and people don’t like Heelys (in public places).”

The games and exercises also help the kids develop coordination and teamwork.

Cassidy Blomberg got her Heelys for Christmas. She still has a scab on her left knee from a nasty fall.

“I like to skate anywhere that has nice tile,” says Cassidy.

But what about Target?

“Well, I don’t roll around,” says Cassidy, with a subversive smile.

“I just do this,” she says, shuffling her feet in place.