It is no wonder that high school students across America are more prone to violence, drugs, and mischief these days. If you ask any of them why, there’s a good chance you’ll get the answer, “I’m bored; there’s nothing to do.” Part of that stems from the lack of extracurricular activities available outside of classrooms; kids aren’t all going to want to join the football or baseball teams. In fact, the non-athletes in any learning institution far outnumber those that are interested in mainstream sports, which is a serious problem in itself. Since CBS News shows there are currently over 11 million overweight or obese teens in the United States, it is time for high schools to step up and provide alternate a few alternate forms of competition. Here are a few ideas-
1) Skateboarding/SnowboardingWhile skateboarding has numerous dangers involved while learning tricks of the trade, so does just about any other sport ever invented. The major difference, however, is that a player on a basketball team is much more likely to lose interest shooting free-throws and running laps than another teenager trying to master a half pipe. Unlike other sports where there are clearly defined rules and strict timelines to meet, skateboarding is about facing tough personal challenges and finding ways to overcome them. Teens are free to learn at their own pace without a coach breathing down their necks, and since this is already one of the most popular pastimes for the 11-17 age group it only makes sense for schools to use it as an outreach.
2) Mixed Martial Arts
Ask anyone who’s ever been through a week of wrestling practice about how tough it is. The coach runs them to death, the drills are agonizingly hard, and by the end of practice most teens are purely exhausted. Now, take that same training and add in what CBS called one of the fastest growing sports in America, and suddenly troubled teens have a way to vent their frustrations that will keep them out of trouble. Not only does the intense exercise burn off calories faster than running or weight lifting, but the mental dedication and discipline learned would set teenagers up to make better decisions throughout their lifetimes.
3) Paintball
Here’s another activity that teenagers love to partake in, but most of the time the target involves the neighbor’s cat or a series of mailboxes. While marksmanship may not be a trait that we want our younger generation mastering, the teamwork and strategy from this sport is very similar to a chess game. Combine that with all of the physical running and its one heck of a sport, plus the injury rate is surprisingly low.
Even if these types of sports are not the short-term solution that high school districts would consider, it is plainly obvious that more extra curricular activities are necessary. Any type of group activity leads to much more important life roles, so if we can use their favorite hobbies to instill leadership, discipline, team spirit, and dedication in our youth then there’s absolutely no way that it could hurt their future chances of success.
