Hey kids: Don't try this at home

Matt Wilhelm may perform daring bike tricks like the Boomerang, Tornado and Megaspin, but he knows a thing or two about bike safety.

The three-time X Games medalist from Aurora recently brought his message to Scott Elementary School in Naperville courtesy of the Home and School Organization.

"I'm hoping they'll understand safety is an issue they all need to be aware of as well as perseverance and persistence," Assistant Principal JeanE Kloepper said.

Wilhelm immediately grabbed students' attention with his signature tricks, spinning and balancing on his bike.

But he told them that when he was growing up, people said he'd never be good enough for the X Games.

"After practicing as hard as I could every day, I finally made it and when I made it there my first year to prove everybody wrong, guess what place I got my first year," he said.

"First place!" students yelled.

Not quite.

"Wilhelm said his nerves kept him from being able to perform his tricks well and he came in last.

"When I came home I wanted to quit," he said. "I wanted to give up because this was my dream to get to the X Games and to win and I blew it. But, you guys, I didn't quit, I didn't give up. I … learned all new tricks and I practiced even harder than ever before."

The next year he won a bronze at the X Games. He now has three X Games medals.

But along the way he's also suffered six broken bones and been hit by a car twice.

He told students not to try the tricks he performs and said they also need to be safe when simply riding their bikes around the neighborhood.

Wilhelm stressed the importance of wearing a helmet and told the children about the three main places bike accidents happen -- the street, driveway and intersections -- and how to be safe at each.

"I do some pretty crazy tricks," he said. "Do you think I do crazy tricks when I ride my bike on the street? No way."

Wilhelm called two students to the front to ride his bike including fifth-grader Marcus Cushing, who stood on the front bike pegs while Wilhelm held onto the bike to keep it steady.

Marcus said it was nerve-racking but fun and he knows how important it is to be safe.

"Don't be stupid when you're riding your bike," he said. "You could end up never riding again."

Kloepper also got called to the front, but instead of riding a bike, the assistant principal was laying on the floor as Wilhelm did a jump over her.

"It was a little bit frightening at first, laying on ground and knowing the bike would be coming over me," she said. "But exciting because I had great faith in his abilities."

Wilhelm's abilities also include playing the saxophone. He graduated from Millikin University on a music scholarship. At the assembly, he encouraged students to develop their own talents.

"Find something you like to do and practice like crazy," he said. "And maybe someday you guys can be on TV doing something you love."