Kayla Marsh (Graduate Assistant at University of Wyoming) with Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) mountain bike program students in Laramie, Wyoming

He stared up the rocky hill that marked the last part of the bike trail before the end of the ride. He was tired, frustrated, and thinking of giving up, but after some encouragement from his riding buddy, he made one more push and got to the top! Later, in class, he hit another wall, this time with a tough essay to write. Instead of shutting down and giving up, he remembered that hill. "If I kept going then, I can keep going now."

Middle school can be hard. Emotions run high, friendships shift fast, and students are understanding out who they are. Social and emotional learning (SEL) can help students navigate these challenges through learning to manage emotions, build relationships, make responsible decisions, or persevering when things get hard.

One powerful tool to practice SEL skills? Riding a mountain bike.

Picture a group of middle schoolers navigating a trail together. They're solving problems in real time, encouraging a nervous friend, managing reactions after a fall, or deciding the safest way down a steep slope. These moments naturally spark lessons in resilience, empathy, and teamwork. And because the students are experiencing these skills firsthand, the lessons stick.

With the support from Outride, we ran an after-school mountain biking program for middle schoolers in Laramie, Wyoming. This program used a framework called Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR); teaching life skills like respect, effort, self-direction, and caring for others through activities like biking. Students shared how they handled frustration on the trail, how they encouraged teammates, and how those same skills helped them both in school and at home.

Two TPSR participants reflected on some of their takeaways from the program:

“A strength I can continue to practice anywhere is trying my hardest and doing as good as I can and getting encouraged to just do the right thing,”

“Yesterday I had a big test in orchestra class, which determines my placing in the concert. So, I used some… management strategies [learned in mountain biking] to help… prepare myself for it and make sure I got every detail correct.”

Mountain biking offers more than beautiful scenery and exercise. With the right structure, it can also help students become more resilient, compassionate, and confident. Programs like this one show that what happens on the trail can echo far beyond it, including into classrooms, homes, and communities.

Are you an educator or program leader? Here are some takeaways from the program to consider:

Make SEL intentional: SEL skills develop overtime with intentional practice and design. Focus on one SEL concept at a time and be purposeful about embedding it before, during, and after lessons.

Know your students: Every student is different. Start by learning what your students need emotionally and socially, then tailor your program to those needs.

Encourage real-life application: Help students connect what they are learning on in your program to other areas of their lives. A short reflection at the end of each lesson can go a long way.

Our after-school mountain biking program in Laramie showed that with the right guidance and structure, bikes can become powerful tools for social and emotional learning. By encouraging perseverance, teamwork, and self-awareness, students gained skills that stretched far beyond the trail. Programs like these demonstrate how physical activity, paired with intentional SEL strategies, can shape more confident and competent youth!

Kayla Marsh - Graduate Assistant at University of Wyoming

Physical Education Teacher Education

Outride Research Partner

___________________

Interested in joining our research pool to learn more about other studies about biking? Join the research pool!

Follow us on Instagram to stay connected with Outride and see what they’re up to!