Extreme sports, or “alternative sports” as some call them, are more popular than ever. While traditional sports – football, soccer and hockey are going anywhere, the extremes of the world of sports are growing in popularity every year by leaps and bounds.
As to be expected, the audience of extreme sports is growing and evolving to include kids, too. From the risky to the your-life-hangs-in-the-balance-with-one-wrong-step sport, kids are being drawn into the cool, edgy galaxy of sports that more alternative than the norm.
Today’s kids finding extreme sports more attractive than the normal physical activities – why?
Let’s check it out.
Cool Factor + Increased Media Exposure = Attractive, Rebellious Fun
When you think of kids playing sports, your mind most likely comes up to images of football, soccer, baseball, hockey, and other sports that many kids participate in all the way up through college – with some even getting scholarships or full rides for their sport skills.
There is a growing number of kids who gravitate towards sports that highlight free-form expression, not regulated by teams, coaches, or structure like in football, soccer, and other sports. They find freedom and movement in an ever-regulated and virtual world; whether it’s the laid-back, cool style of skateboarding, the fresh and new look of scootering, the edginess of parkour, badassery of skydiving, wingsuit flying, or the lifestyle of surfing or trying out new tricks on their BMX bikes.
Alternative sports have always been cool and popular, to a degree.
Now, with constant innovation, social media, bigger and better international competitions, the world of extreme sports is finding it’s not only growing in popularity with adults, but kids are finding their foothold more than ever in the extremes.
It’s not surprising: a lot, if not all, of kids area attracted to extreme sports because they’re cool, on the cutting edge, and rebellious. Snowboarding was once not considered a legitimate sport, and had to go through its own wave of criticism by the traditional sports world and prove that it deserved to be in the “big leagues”. It was only really considered a true sport when it officially became an Olympic event at the 1998 Nagano Games. Today, it’s as normal of a sport as skiing, diving – and anything else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paEPzy91jaI
Extreme Sports are Catching up to Traditional Sports
The truth is, for many kids today, traditional team sports are full of rules, structure, competition, coaching, and pressure. And while none of that is a bad thing per se, it’s easy to see why some kids are attracted to the individuality and athletic self-expression of extreme sports.
The kids and teens of today that ride skateboards or BMX bikes, climb mountains, are parkour enthusiasts will be the parents who say, that skateboarding or any other extreme sport is completely acceptable for their kid to do. Their kids don’t need to be on the football team to be accepted, or play hockey or soccer. That’s no longer true.
It’s no longer true that skateboarders are just skating ‘round town or hanging with their friends. Kids who participate in extreme sports are expressive, highly skilled athletes. Sports like inline skating rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding require detailed technical ability combined with endurance, strength and mental fortitude, while developing skills like discipline, persistence, and determination.
Whether a kid’s interests are in extreme sports or not, it’s important to encourage their interests and let them explore new things. With solo and team sports being the perfect set up for building self-confidence, while relieving stress, and promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle.
Extreme Sports’ Injuries: The Elephant in the Room
The number one reason most people avoid taking risks is due to fear. When it comes to extreme sports, nearly everything is a risk, and conquering that fear is part of the adventure.
One small miscalculation is all it can take to have everything go wrong when a mountain biker is barreling down a hazardous single-track trail, when a skateboarding is skating off a 20-foot ramp, or exploring different parkour movements between rooftops. Injuries are a part of the game, but are often prevented by the razor sharp focus that extreme athletes must acquire in order to participate within these activities.
You might think that every extreme athlete has had at least one hair-raising, near death extreme sports incident, but you’d be surprised to find that most athletes don’t complain about injuries. Most have enjoyed relatively injury-free experiences in their sports, with skydivers taking thousands of jumps that have gone off without a hitch. Other athletes in sports like downhill mountain biking can get busted up during training and in their first competitions, and as they get better and more skilled those accidents and injuries happen less and less.
One thing is for sure, the interest in extreme sports is growing leaps and bounds. The kids and young adults of today are already pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and it’s no surprise that the next generation of adventure-enthusiastic kids will be participating in extreme sports at record pace and breaking records like never before.
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