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I think participation in HS sports is something that really deserves major attention right now. Anecdotally, we are hearing of issues across the board — all sports, all areas, big schools, small schools, metro schools, rural schools, boys sports, girls sports.
There are successful varsity programs in all sports that suddenly can’t field JV teams. Sports that have been on a downward trajectory — i.e. football & girls basketball — seem to be hit even harder. But there doesn’t seem to be a limitation to specific sports. It’s everywhere.
It’s easy to explain this year. Kids aren’t in school, there are Covid concerns, overlapping sports, etc. But it is not a sure thing that interest bounces back when school is back in session, people are vaccinated, and we return to normal sports schedules.
Even at the college & pro levels, interest in sports has dropped significantly during the pandemic. I, like many, thought the opposite would occur. But even I find myself not paying attention to college & pro sports nearly as much.
What happens at the college/pro level trickles down. HS sports leaders need to be focused on this issue & working to brainstorm initiatives and ideas. Effects of Covid on HS sports won’t end when everyone is inoculated. This is a multi-year issue ahead & we’re at the beginning.
Let me add, going into Covid, @NFHS_Org data showed a national decline in HS sports participation for the first time in 30+ years. We’ve not received data from last year yet. But it’s hard to imagine (at least in NC) we will see anything that resembles a bounce back this year.
That NFHS data shows concerns BEFORE the pandemic. It’s not like Covid was a disrupter to a trend where HS sports participation was growing. It may have drastically accelerated a trend. We don’t know the answer to that yet. Was the drop a blip on the radar or start of a pattern?
I suspect when we do see the data (hopefully this fall) for this year, we are going to see drops across the board in sports, but I predict they will be much more significant when you look at sports that were already declining. Hard to see that bounce back without focused efforts.
Down the road, participation issues will likely be linked to lack of youth sports & middle school sports this year too. There will be kids coming to HS who haven’t played competitive sports yet. How likely are they to tryout for a team? Football will be hit hard by this, I think.
6th graders can’t play football, most 7th graders don’t get much time, and most middle schools aren’t playing football this year. There will be rising freshmen who have never played football before. How do you get those kids out on the field in 9th grade?
Without the opportunity to play this year for 7th graders, how do you get them on the field next year (assuming it’s allowed) and get them interested when they didn’t get the experience this year? What about youth orgs like Pop Warner that haven’t been playing?
Tackling this issue is going to take a coordinated approach with lots of stakeholders. Again, we will see the effects of this for years.
Then there’s the eligibility issue I’ve been talking about for months. Kids who aren’t eligible due to remote learning won’t be allowed to play this spring because state govt didn’t act. The state board of ed chose to leave them all behind. https://twitter.com/nickstevenshsot/status/1335040993423454209
Many of these kids aren’t eligible because they can’t effectively learn on a computer. Do we think that’s going to be solved this semester? Doubtful. Many will likely be ineligible again next fall. Once you can’t play, what are the chances you’ll return to playing next year?
It’s such a shame. HS sports are the best dropout prevention tool we have & they help kids improve academically — it’s a proven fact. That’s been taken away though. And from a participation perspective, this is hurting programs TODAY.
I’ve talked to many coaches, ADs & principals who say these issues are impacting underclassmen most — a lot of freshmen too. So again, failure to act on eligibility is likely going to harm participation for years to come. Another hurdle for HS sports to clear.
