The Importance of Skateboarding

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Skateboarding Helps People Mentally

Not only does skateboarding give anyone who tries it physical benefits, but it also gives you mental strength as well. What I mean when I say this is when you learn any sport it disciplines you to try harder at it in order to get better by improving your speed or landing a trick you've been trying for a while. Skateboarding helps you mentally by getting you doors and away from everyday life and the stresses that come with it. The more you skateboard the stronger your self-confidence will get which allows you to move on to more challenging tricks and pretty soon you could be doing tricks no one else knows how to do. Skateboarding also gives you better reflexes because you adjust to falling over or whether somebody might run into you or not and eventually adjust on how to avoid these situations by turning faster, getting off your board in time, and learning to crash without hurting yourself. Skateboarding also helps with overcoming fears, and if you were never to overcome your fears you'll never progress at the sport. Kids will naturally want to do the sport which will make them more happy with their family for allowing them to do the sport and giving them support.

Sources:

Skateboarding Helps With Obesity

We know that skateboarding helps physically with the health benefits of building muscles, keeping people from staying inside, and giving adults a sport to enjoy with their child or children, but skateboarding is also a good way to prevent obesity. Some schools have included skateboarding in their physical education programs as a way to fight against obesity. Riding skateboards helps burn calories and builds muscle. Skateboarding also builds cardiovascular endurance which will allow teens to progress at other sports, not just skateboarding. Parents are the biggest influence on the health of their teens, they can make sure their children are eating healthy and get them to do physical activities like skateboarding, which is one of the best sports to offer.

Here is a chart so you can gauge wether you or your child is obese:

Not only has introducing skateboarding to school physical education but it also has increased attendance in schools who have introduced skateboarding because they find it more interesting than the sports in school now.

Sources:

Importance of Skateboarding for Adults

Not only is skateboarding good for teens but for adults as well. If you've ever seen someone on a skateboard you might notice that most of them are physically in shape, and not all of the people on skateboards are teens, there are adults who can be pretty old sometimes. Skateboarding is a great way to build muscles especially in the legs and the stronger your legs get the easier it is to get speed using your strength and size to build speed on a ramp or bowl. If you can't get speed on a ramp the moment you start don't get angry or agitated, nobody can learn to do something instantly, you just have to give it some time , practice everyday for at least an hour, and never give up. Those who skateboard can learn to apply the skills they got from skateboarding to other sports like snowboarding or surfing, that is if they ever get the chance. If you think about it it's very hard to plan on going on a snowboard trip, surfing trip, or any type of sport that requires a specific environment, unless you have the luxury of living by a mountain or by the sea and have enough money to pay for the ski lifts or a helicopter, which can be expensive, but with skateboarding you can ride anywhere you want whether it's skate ramps, bowls, or even your neighborhood and all you have to do is buy a skateboard and the correct equipment. Skateboards are also inexpensive compared to the equipment used for sports such as snowboarding. Teens are able to skateboard so why not you? Sure adults might not be as strong as teens and can get hurt easier but who said you had to learn skateboarding at the pace of a teenager? If you think something isn't safe for you to be doing on the skateboard then don't do it but anyone can ride around and build muscles by "pumping"(the way of getting speed on a skateboard) and that isn't that much of a risk to take if your wearing the correct protective gear and trying to learn at your own pace. Skateboarding is a sport meant for everyone to enjoy, not just youth so join your child skateboarding whenever you want and encourage them to get better while they encourage you.

Sources:

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Importance of Skateboarding for Teens

When skateboarding first started many teens looked at it as a way to rebel aigainst their parents which many still beleive. However, skateboarding is very helpful and keeps teens out of trouble. Some parents don't beleive that skateboarding is safe for their teens to be doing can premote to the use of drugs and make them violent. The truth is skateboarding is a widely spread sport that allows teens to do a sport with friends they make along the way who will support them and encourage them to get better, just like any other sport. Not only is skateboarding a good way for teens to make friends but also keep them out of trouble by giving them something to do instead of going somewhere they shouldn't or doing any type of drugs. Also, teens may encourage their friends they know from family, school, etc. to do the sport with them and allow both to get more into athletics. Teens who do drugs usually don't care for sports or school which wouldn't be good for their future, so if they can get an early headstart on a sport, wether its the moment they learn to walk or now, it will prevent them from getting in trouble or doing drugs for a good portion of their life. You wouldn't want your child to be doing anything like drugs or failing in school so if they want to do skateboaring encourage them to get into it and push them to get better. Some beleive skateboarding is dangerous because their child can easily be hurt doing it but if you were to get a full set of pads for them they could easilt progress at the sport without to much injury, the required amount of pads from most important to least is a HELMET, many people get serious head injuries because they don't wear helmets I've been a witness to this and had it happen to myself once and it isn't a pretty site. Do not give your child a biker helmet it doesn't completely cover their head and they aren't made for skateboarding. Second most important is knee pads and elbow pads, the elbows and knees are the most common places to land on. In the event of a crash knee pads are a good thing to get used to so if anybody were to screw up a trick they can just jump and slide out on their knee pads. Skateboarding is a great thing to get started for your children.

Sources:
http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=9265
http://www.livestrong.com/article/337616-the-importance-of-skateboard-protection/
http://fitness.families.com/blog/skateboarding-to-better-health
http://www.scaponline.org/the-importance-of-protective-skateboard-gear

Other topics of interest:
http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article67448.html
http://www.skatelog.com/skateboarding/skateboarding-history.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2142470_buy-first-skateboard.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2142470_buy-first-skateboard.html