High School Athletics Participation Increases Again
MADISON- According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the overall number of participants in high school sports increased for the 29th consecutive year, thanks in part to a large increase of over 15,000 in girls’ sports programs. The total number of participants across the United States in the school year of 2017-2018 reached an all-time record high of 7,979,986.
With 1,035,942 participants, 11-player football remains the No. 1 participatory sport for boys. The gridiron action led the boys’ sports by a large margin as outdoor track and field was second followed by basketball, baseball, soccer, cross country, wrestling, tennis, golf and swimming/diving.
Outdoor track and field continued to lead girls’ sports with 488,592 student-athletes followed by volleyball, basketball, soccer, fast-pitch softball, cross country, tennis, swimming/diving, competitive spirit and lacrosse.
According to statistics provided by the four local high schools in the immediate Madison area, Bob Jones has 661 athletes with a breakdown of 394 male athletes and 267 female participants. James Clemens has 827 roster spots among its athletic program. The breakdown is 526 male and 301 female.
Sparkman, the fourth largest school in Alabama, only has 473 student-athletes partaking in sports programs at the school in nearby Harvest, while Madison Academy, the private school located on Slaughter Road, has 60-percent of its 325 student population participating in school sports. Of those playing sports, 65-percent were males.
Karissa Niehoff, NFHS executive director, said of the survey results, “There are many positives about the numbers in this year’s sports participation survey. First, the model or sports within the education-based school system continues to thrive in the United States, Second, we are encouraged by our efforts in reducing the risk of injury in the sport of football. In addition, states have enacted rules that limit the amount of contact before the season and during practices, thus the rate of concussions has decreased the past couple of years due to the more stringent rules related to protecting the head.”
The latest survey indicated participation by high school students in 65 different sports, as well as, 13 adapted sports for students with disabilities.
Two of the most emerging sports, even in Alabama, were lacrosse (210,217 participants nationwide) and bowling, which is up to over 60-thousand nationwide.
“Certainly the goal is to involve more young people in sports and activity programs because the benefits of participating in sports and activities is the same whether it is football, baseball, lacrosse, music, band or debate,” added Niehoff.
