Anyone who has ever watched a young skateboarder attempt to master a particular move knows how well the sport focuses the mind and body.

You can take a kid who isn't able to sit still in school, who won't follow rules or directions, who's impossible to manage -- and there he or she is at the skatepark, practicing over and over and over again, falling, sliding, tripping, slipping, getting scraped and scratched and still trying one, two, three, four, 20 more times. This can last for hours.

That's focus.

Skateboarding is a sport that attracts all sorts of kids, including those who aren't enamored of team sports and who may be loners.

Skateboarding skills translate to other sports -- snowboarding, for example. It builds endurance and fitness. The sport offers psychological and social benefits, too, say those who have studied it, since it allows kids and teens to practice together while at the same time it's entirely self-directed (no coaches). Plus, it's just plain cool for people to get on something that rolls and jumps and allows them to stand almost upside down inside a culvert.

A decade ago, Augusta's citizens and government officials had the wisdom to realize that a skateboard park would be an important addition to the city's offerings for its children and teens (and the occasional adult, too). With the help of the business community, police, local contractors and skateboarders, a park was built on Gage Street, in the shadow of the Statehouse.

It was roundly hailed as one of the finest skateparks in the state. But like everything else these days, the art and science of skatepark design has evolved quickly and Augusta's current one is no longer, well, current.

As Leif Dahlin, the city's community services director, said, "We're in the third generation of skatepark design, which has reached a whole new level of sophistication." Dahlin should know; he's the closest thing the city has to a skatepark veteran, having been involved in skatepark design and construction for three decades.

It's time for a new skatepark in Augusta.

A local group has formed to pursue one and includes the folks from the city's Boys and Girls Club, as well as professional skateboarder and new Augusta resident Toebee Parkhurst.

Park enthusiasts have identified the city's Williams Playground as the right site for the 15,000-square-foot project (the one on Gage Street is only 5,000 square feet), which would have its own 8-foot-deep, pool-style skateboarding area as well as benches, stairs, rails and green space around it.

And this week, the city council voted unanimously for a resolution to endorse the new park. They authorized city staff to "work collaboratively with the facility's proponents toward its fulfillment."

It will cost $300,000 to build a new skatepark in Augusta. A $10,000 grant has already been made by the charitable foundation of well-known professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. That leaves $290,000 to go.

By allowing the park to be built on city land, Augusta has already substantially contributed to the project; additionally, the city will contribute by maintaining the park.

The rest of the money to build the park should come from city residents, businesses and even the children and teens who want to use the facility.

Between donations of materials, labor and the proceeds of benefit concerts and car washes, this looks like a very reasonable challenge for the community, as well as one worth undertaking.