Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff Alex Midler, 9, of Calabasas, practices a kick-flip over an eight-stair routine while at Skatelab.

He brought it into restaurants when the family went out for pizza. It occupied a seat in the car during trips to visit relatives. His parents discovered it by his side whenever they tucked him into bed.

Alex Midler carried his skateboard absolutely everywhere.

So it wasn't a complete surprise when Alex decided to ditch the bats and balls and devote all his energy to grinding rails and jumping stairs.

"He played every sport under the sun. But when he turned 8 and I signed him up for soccer and roller hockey, he wanted to quit," said Alex's mother, Shari. "He said it took too much time away from skateboarding. My husband and I figured we couldn't fight it anymore. This is what he wants to do."

An up-and-comer on the skateboarding scene, Alex's time investment is paying dividends.

The 9-year-old Calabasas resident finished last season ranked No. 1 in the 8 & under division of the California Amateur Skateboard League, and is ranked No. 3 in the Sponsored 10 & under division this season.

Alex will climb to another level on Sunday by participating in the 18 & under Open event at the Free Flow Tour at Skatelab in Simi Valley.

The Free Flow Tour is the amateur series of the AST Dew Tour, and the winner of Sunday's Open event receives a trip to the Free Flow finals at the AST Dew Tour Toyota Challenge in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September.

Although Alex will be competing against skaters twice his size and some twice his age in the Open event, the Bay Laurel School fourth-grader isn't backing down.

"I don't mind because they are better than me, and I know I am not going to win against them, so I just take it as fun," Alex said. "It's just great to meet new friends and do your best."

Alex was born in Westport, Conn., and his fearless attitude was evident from the time he was old enough to crawl.

He started riding a two-wheel bike before turning 3, was skiing by 4 and snowboarding at 5.

During preschool, Alex regularly scurried to the very top of the jungle gym as other mothers looked on in horror.

His skateboarding fascination blossomed once the family moved to California four years ago, and Skatelab quickly became his second home.

His board skills have netted him sponsorships with Val Surf, Almost Skateboards and Etnies. Skatelab co-owner Todd Huber recently included Alex as one of four young "Lab Rats" the park is sponsoring.

"For his age bracket, Alex is one of the best, if not the best, I have seen in the whole country," Huber said. "If you dream a trick up and tell a lot of kids about it, they have a hard time visualizing it. He is a kid where you tell him a trick, and he will just do it."

Alex usually has a personal videographer capturing raw footage of each attempt. His older brother, Todd, 13, has become adept at compiling skate videos of Alex and posting them on YouTube.

Todd's latest creation — "The Destroyer" — has received nearly 12,000 hits at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8-YymaQCR8.

"It's a whole different world for these kids today," Shari Midler said. "They know every single professional skater and who they are sponsored by and their PR company. It's almost like my husband was with baseball cards when he was that age."

Alex, who enjoys listening to the Beatles and eating sour candy, envisions himself turning professional in a few years and "skating for the rest of my life."

His mother has little doubt her son's skateboard will remain his constant companion.

"Maybe one day he will quit and go back to baseball, but I don't think it's going to happen," she said. "This is his little dream and his passion."