Most Popular High School Sports in America
High school football is played in every U.S. state. Nell Redmond / AP Photo
Sports are a big part of the high school experience for many students. Today, over 15 million teenagers in the United States are in grades 9-12, and close to 8 million of them — 7,937,491, to be exact — play high school sports.
That’s a lot of athletes, but for the first time since 1989, participation in high school sports is down, according to an annual National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) survey. Why the drop? Fewer kids are playing youth sports. Public schools have fewer students. And more parents are saying no to tackle football.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Look at all the kids who are participating in high school sports.
Honorable Mention: Skiing (Alpine) — 10,099 total participants
States reporting for boys: 11
States reporting for girls: 11
Schools where boys participate: 577
Schools where girls participate: 560
Boy participants: 5,484
Girl participants: 4,615
Bottom line: You don’t have to be Al Roker to notice we’ve been having some strange weather. The latest winter forecast in cold-weather parts calls for teeth-chattering cold. That means snow. Lots of it.
As Bill Murray (Phil) predicted in “Groundhog Day”: “It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be gray, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.”
In other words, what a time to be a skier.
25. Dance/Drill — 10,354 total participants
States reporting for boys: 4
States reporting for girls: 5
Schools where boys participate: 65
Schools where girls participate:195
Boy participants: 576
Girl participants: 10,159
Bottom line: Think competitive dance is a joke?
Tell that to the 90-plus dance teams performing for the national championship at the University of North Texas in March 2020.
Teams (which sometimes can have up to 75 members) will represent high schools, middle schools, colleges, even Japan.
And their moves are far from routine.
24. Archery — 10,391 total participants
States reporting for boys: 7
States reporting for girls: 7
Schools where boys participate: 438
Schools where girls participate: 422
Boy participants: 5,394
Girl participants: 4,997
Bottom line: There are two kinds of people in the world.
Those who see a bow and arrow as a primitive weapon.
And those who are expert marksmen/women with eagle eyes and see a bow and arrow as the ideal tool to hunt giant zombie rats after the apocalypse.
Which one are you?
23. Flag Football — 12,154 total participants
States reporting for boys: 4
States reporting for girls: 7
Schools where boys participate: 33
Schools where girls participate: 378
Boy participants: 945
Girl participants: 11,209
Bottom line: A recent study by the Aspen Institute Sports and Society Program recommended that flag football be the only type of football played until high school — to protect the health of young athletes.
Many girls have known about this elixir of a game for years, playing high school flag football because “it’s more fun than any other sport.”