Kids and Extreme Sports

Though traditional sports like football, basketball, and hockey aren't exactly going out of style, extreme sports keep growing in popularity. Some kids are happier riding their skateboards than dealing with the structure of soccer practice. Others like riding their BMX bikes until their legs just quit, surfing themselves silly, or spending the entireweekend learning new tricks on their inline skates. For many kids, traditional team sports mean a lot of coaching, rules, pressure, and competition. Kids love extreme sports because they're cool. And who doesn't like being on the cutting edge?

 

Paul Vail, 29, a BMX freestyle bike-rider, says that when it comes to extreme sports, "Today's kids who've been riding skateboards or BMX bikes since they were 12-year-olds are the parents of the future who will say, 'Yes, skateboarding, bike riding – perfect sports for my kid to do".

 

Extreme or not, it's important to encourage kids to express themselves physically, whether they choose the trendy or the traditional. Both solo and team sports can build self-confidence, relieve stress, and promote physical fitness.

 

Sports like rock climbing, snowboarding, inline skating, surfing, skateboarding, extreme skiing, and mountain biking require technical ability and strength. Plus, sports can help your kids develop positive qualities like discipline and determination.

 

Extreme sports can often lead to extreme injuries. Matt Donovan, a mountain bike racer said “When I first got serious about racing, I had a separated shoulder, a broken hand and multiple cuts”.

 

Boys get injured more often than girls, and inline skaters get injured the most. The most common injuries in extreme sports are broken bones, strains, sprains, serious bruising and facial cuts. But studies show that nearly 75 percent of all people who get injured participating in extreme sports got their injuries because they wore NO protective gear at all!

 

Team sports may cause more injuries - not because of the nature of these sports but because greater numbers of kids participate in them. Kids suffer the most injuries in the following six sports: basketball, football, baseball, softball, soccer and gymnastics. Just make it completely clear that safety, not fashion, comes first when you're out doing any sports.