Action sports used to be a niche interest, but they are growing in popularity, especially among younger generations.

Why are more and more people choosing sports like BMX, skateboarding and surfing?

The popularity of the X Games may have helped, but there are likely other factors as well.

First, participants can perform these activities in a way that suits their lifestyle and can express themselves freely – outside the rules, regulations and schedules of more traditional sports.

Action sports often give people the opportunity to discover their potential and develop their skills and talents, without coaches or sports organizations imposing rigid structures and expectations.

These athletes don’t have to worry about running laps to warm up or doing push-ups to punish them. Instead, they usually don’t have coaches telling them what to do, when to do it, and how to do it—they blaze their own trail.

From rebellion to acceptance

When action sports first emerged in the late 1990s, athletes began to challenge traditions and norms by embracing an anti-establishment, countercultural, do-it-yourself philosophy.

This became especially evident during the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, when snowboarders such as Norway’s Terje Haakonsen boycotted the games because of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) demands on athletes and their sponsors.

Some critics felt the IOC was failing to respect snowboarding’s unique history and values. Since then, several other action sports athletes have spoken out about their sport’s inclusion in the Olympics.

Over the past decades, participation in these sporting activities has continued to increase both locally and globally.

In Australia, an estimated 196,000 people aged 15 and over have taken up surfing since 2019, and 119,000 have taken up skating.

As action sports become more popular, the narrative is starting to change.

Instead of being seen as rebellious, participants in action sports are being recognized for their positive values ​​and behavior. For example, at the Tokyo Olympics, skateboarders were celebrated for their friendship, inclusivity, and teamwork.

These are values ​​that all sports can learn and benefit from.

Thriving on Independence: How These Athletes Learn

These changing circumstances have allowed researchers to investigate not only the values ​​and motivations behind sports participation, but also how action sports athletes learn and develop their skills.

Spoiler alert: they often differ from traditional learning methodologies and paths.

Instead of being coached from junior level, as in most traditional sports, participants in action sports often take responsibility for their own learning, such as going to the skate park or building their own ramps and obstacles in the sand or snow.

Some athletes, like BMX freestyler Logan Martin, have even built their own freestyle park in their backyard.

This symbolizes the flexibility, freedom and creativity of participants in terms of when, where and how they practice their sport.

For Martin it was an investment in his own professional development and it paid off: he won gold in Tokyo.

The role of peer coaching

In action sports, athletes often learn from each other rather than from coaches. They watch each other’s movements, talk about what works, and solve problems together.

This form of peer coaching increases self-confidence and team spirit, especially when everyone has a common goal.

In these sports that are considered risky, athletes rely on the advice and encouragement of their peers when attempting a new jump or trick. The emotionally safe environment allows athletes to transform fear into courage, which supports their learning and skill development.

Even at the elite level, many action athletes learn differently. While some have face-to-face time with performance support staff such as coaches, sports scientists, psychologists and nutritionists, many do not.

For many action sports athletes, this often only happens after they have been identified as an athlete with “stage potential” – meaning they have already met certain performance standards in addition to international competition performances.

Under these guidelines, athletes receive grants that allow them to take control of their own performance support.

While action sports participants remain independent athletes, insights from my research into the Australian BMX scene show that coaches are respected and accepted as “one of them” because they understand the BMX world; they created a positive, trusting environment where athletes could be themselves, share feedback and get the most out of their training sessions.

Out with the old, in with the new?

Undoubtedly, some coaches and clubs in traditional sports have begun to shift the goalposts to meet the demands of the younger generation. However, there are still many who can learn valuable lessons from the practices of action sports athletes.

Encouraging athletes to learn from each other, rather than relying solely on coaches, can improve skills and personal development. As in action sports, observing teammates, discussing strategies, and working together can lead to better performance.

Traditional sports can benefit from creating an environment where athletes feel supported, which will help them stay engaged in the sport and continue to develop both on and off the field.

Coaches can achieve this by prioritizing building trust and developing feedback-rich relationships between them and their athletes.

Coaches in more traditional sports can empower their athletes by giving them more control over their training, recovery, and mental well-being. This is where scholarships and personalized resources like physical therapy, psychology, and nutrition can be helpful.

So instead of coaches making all the decisions, why not let the athletes take over? What’s the worst that can happen?

If it’s safe in a risky sport, then it’s probably safe in a traditional sport too.