Whether it was the Z-boys in “Lords of Dogtown” or the one skateboarder at your school who didn’t get good grades, your parents might believe the stereotype that skaters aren’t great students.
Luckily for your parents, that stereotype isn’t true. Researchers have found a surprising link between skateboarding and greater school success. The skills you learn through skateboarding positively affect you, and that can translate to the classroom.
(Pavel Danilyuk/pexels)
Researchers Say What?
Zoe Corwin, a researcher at the University of Southern California, began surveying over 5,000 skaters in 2018 to figure out the impact of skating on schoolwork. The study found that skateboarding, especially in poor communities, helps young people to find support in their academics and mental health.
The community that skaters find with one another is a major positive in the study’s results. These communities allow students and young people to learn communication skills, make new friends, and develop essential life skills.
Over half of the people responding to the survey stated that they skateboard for fun, exercise, and as an outlet for stress relief. Most skaters also believe in being leaders who can problem solve, speak up for others, be accountable, and stick to challenges. Many of these attributes are learned through skating, and a lot of them translate to success in the classroom.
Soft Skills Learned from Skating
In education and later in your career, soft skills (the communication tools you use to work well with others and be successful in school) set you up for success. These skills can be learned in the classroom, but for some of us, the deck of a skateboard is a great classroom, too.
Discipline
Learning to achieve goals through hard work is what skateboarding is all about. When you are trying to master a new trick, you have to devote time to that trick, no matter how frustrating it can be. Resisting the temptation to stick to tricks you already know is the only way to progress, both in skating and in other aspects of life.
In the classroom, you need to have the discipline to do your homework when you say you will. You can’t put off studying until the night before the test. Implementing the right study plan or after-school schedule can play a huge role in academic and professional success. Skateboarding can help teach kids how to commit to what is necessary, even when it isn’t the most fun, in order to progress and succeed.
Self-Advocating
When it comes to learning a new trick, sometimes skaters can get stuck. When they do, they always know that someone at the skatepark can help them figure it out. Learning to ask for help is a major part of learning to skateboard. It is also a huge help in finding success in the classroom.
To be a successful student, you need the confidence to ask for help on a difficult math problem or a tricky chemistry concept. Students who don’t reach out for help often fall behind. Skateboarding allows kids to find their voice and use it to ask for help and advocate for their needs.
Failing Forward
Even the greatest skateboarders have fallen off their boards a few (or more like a thousand) times. You tend to fall the most when you first get into the sport or are trying out new skills. In skateboarding, it is essential to remember that falling doesn’t have to be the end of the session. You have to learn to dust off your baggy skater clothes and hop back on the board.
Getting back up and trying those tricks again is the most important part of skating. Without the ability to recover, your failures become endings.
A bad grade or a hard class at school may mean that a few failures are in store, but those struggles do not have to turn into reasons to give up. Skateboarding teaches kids how to fail forward. In other words, difficult moments teach skaters how to learn from mistakes and not let them stop you from moving forward towards your goals. With a positive growth mindset and the ability to move past failures, academic success can be just around the corner.
Self-Starting
When motivation isn’t always there, the ability to get going on a task is critical to success. In skateboarding, the only way to start is to self-start. Skateboarding is an individual sport. While there can be solid and supportive skateboarding communities in certain areas, at the end of the day, it is up to every skater to put in the hard work they need to improve.
In school, there isn’t always a teacher around to encourage students to start working on their homework or other assignments. Each successful student needs to be able to begin working on their own and stay motivated and driven to complete it without someone looking over their shoulder. Skateboarding teaches this skill that can be easily applied to the classroom.
So, if your parents are concerned about your grades falling behind because you bought a skateboard, let them know it’s only going to help them out. (Then go hit the books!)