Before Stanford
- Attended the prestigious Riga State Gymnasium No. 2 in Riga
- Played his club basketball for Rigas Zelli in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League
- Starred for Latvia at FIBA U18 Eurobasket in Tampere, Finland, where he averaged 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point range and 96 percent from the free throw line
- Skinda ranked 10th at FIBA U18 Eurobasket in scoring and second in rebounding and co-led the event with five double-doubles
- Rated as a top-100 four-star prospect from On3, No. 92 in the country at the time of his signing
- Claimed a silver medal in the Latvian Basketball League during the 2023-24 campaign, and he was named the most valuable player of the finals in the Latvian Junior Basketball league in 2023.
- Attended the Basketball Without Borders camp in 2023 in Wroclaw, Poland.