More and more kids are participating in high school sports, and
more and more girls are closing the participation gap
– both across the nation and locally.
A total of 6.9 million students played sports in America last
year
– the 14th consecutive year with an increase in participation
and the fifth consecutive year with a record number of
participants, according to a survey by the National Federation of
State High School Associations.
More and more kids are participating in high school sports, and more and more girls are closing the participation gap – both across the nation and locally.
A total of 6.9 million students played sports in America last year – the 14th consecutive year with an increase in participation and the fifth consecutive year with a record number of participants, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
At San Benito High School, more girls are trying out for sports teams, and at Anzar High School, female athletes outnumber male athletes.
“Having been a coach for years, there’s no question girls sports have jumped,” said Randy Logue, the new athletic director at SBHS who has been coaching sports at SBHS for 18 years. “I personally don’t think there’s a gap anymore.”
Anzar has about one third of its girls playing soccer alone, said Wayne Norton, athletic director at Anzar. More than half of Anzar’s athletes are girls, Norton said, mainly because the school doesn’t have a football team.
Football teams can skew number comparisons between boy and girl participation, Logue and Norton caution, because there can be as many as 50 boys on each frosh, junior varsity and varsity team with no female sport companion.
Nationally, the most popular sport for boys is football, and basketball remained the most popular for girls. For SBHS, Logue made a case for a tie between football and wrestling for popularity among boys and water polo for girls. At Anzar, volleyball is a popular choice for girls – it almost serves as the school’s football team in terms of popularity at the attention it garners, Norton said. The most popular choice for boys is soccer.
While girls are coming out in numbers, participation in boys sports is staying stagnant – as at Anzar – or dropping – like at SBHS.
“Girls sports – there’s more competition to make the team. Athletes have to sacrifice their social life, they have to sweat and hurt. Kids have so many more things they can do with their time,” Logue said about observing less boys being committed to sports.
There’s so much more interest in girls sports at SBHS that three new frosh teams were created in basketball, volleyball and softball, Logue said.
“The interest is definitely there. Now, it’s needed,” he said.
Not only is there more participation boys sports is staying stagnant – as at Anzar – or dropping – like at SBHS.
“Girls sports – there’s more competition to make the team. Athletes have to sacrifice their social life, they have to sweat and hurt. Kids have so many more things they can do with their time,” Logue said about observing less boys being committed to sports.
There’s so much more interest in girls sports at SBHS that three new frosh teams were created in basketball, volleyball and softball, Logue said.
“The interest is definitely there. Now, it’s needed,” he said.
Not only is there more participation by girls, more are trying out for sports. This year’s volleyball team at Anzar had to make cuts – something almost unfamiliar for Hawk athletes.
“Any kid who wants to play gets to play,” Norton said. “This encourages kids who wouldn’t play at a bigger school to play here.”
According to the national survey, Texas had the most sports participants with 771,633. California came in second with 652,333. The survey has been completed each year since 1971.
Last year, SBHS offered 24 different sports, 51 sports teams – counting frosh, junior varsity and varsity levels – and 920 students participated. The number participating counts students more than once if they played more than one sport, Logue said.
Norton said participation would be higher for both sexes if soccer and basketball weren’t played at the same time. Soccer is popular among students in large part because of the strong youth soccer programs in the area, Norton said.
From the coach and athletic director perspectives, both Norton and Logue said they believe Title IX has benefited females and the sports they play. Title IX is a federal law that requires equal athletic opportunities for males and females from preschool through college.
“Title IX has incorporated participation in youth leagues. Girls have someone to look up to,” Norton said. “It’s a chance to see themselves participating in sports and being athletes. It’s easy to do something when you see others doing it.”
For more information on the National Federation of State High School Associations survey, visit www.nfhs.org.
