By Ben Cole ’21, Sports Writer

Participation in high school sports has increased dramatically over the past ten years by well over a million. More schools are expanding their athletic programs with more options for girls and boys, which has increased high school sports participation among girls and boys.  Many of Newark Academy’s sports reflect these participation trends throughout the past ten years, including track and field, soccer, basketball, and others.  

The expansion of track and field and cross country teams has given more students the chance to compete. The participation in these sports has increased by over 137,000 student-athletes nationwide. This upward trend in the participation of the running sports directly correlates with our own school’s participation increase in these sports from 19 to 30 male participants from 2008 to 2019. In regards to girls’ participation in cross country, the number of participants has risen from eight to eighteen cross country athletes. In track and field, the number of male runners participating has increased from 21 to 32 runners while the number of girls runners has increased from 20 to 32. The exact same trends of an upswing in popularity of these running sports with Newark Academy and the general high school population show the increased attractiveness to a sport that is open to a large range of talents and that offers the chance for students to get in shape and compete at a high level. 

The rise in popularity of soccer in the country is also reflected in the number of high school participants. For boys, this number has increased by 75,000 over the past ten years. For girls, the participation in soccer has also improved by 50,000 participants. Although soccer (nationally) still lags behind football, basketball, and baseball in participation, its rapid growth will probably make it a top three sport based on participation in the next five to ten years. While NA boys’ soccer hasn’t reflected this improvement, as participation has remained in the low to mid twenties over the past ten years, NA girls’ soccer participation has risen from 15 players to 26 players. 

Although girls’ soccer (nationally) has become increasingly popular over the last ten years, girls’ basketball has been on a steady decline. The participation in the sport has decreased by 50,000 participants from 2009 to 2019. Even though NA girls’ basketball has had generally low participation rates over the past ten years, the program hit an all-time low this year at seven participants. These trends show the migration from girls basketball to soccer, as girls soccer is quickly becoming the most popular high school girls’ sport. While girls’ basketball (nationally) still has a slight edge over girls’ soccer in terms of participation, its participation rate has fallen by 12% nationwide over the past ten years, and will likely fall even further in the next five.

An example of a sport in which participation has remained static is baseball. Nationally, baseball has only had a 10,000 player increase from 2009 to 2019. Consistency of the participation in baseball has been reflected in NA as well. From 2009 to 2019, the roster has stayed consistent in the low-to-mid-twenties range.

Some outliers in regards to national versus Newark Academy data include golf and volleyball. While the number of high school golfers has declined nationally, the number of NA golfers has skyrocketed from 13 players in 2009 to 30 players this year. While girls’ volleyball participation nationally has risen by 12% from 2009-2019, the Newark Academy roster number has essentially stayed the same throughout this ten-year period.

Even though our school may not follow all of the high school sports participation trends during this ten-year period, the data present interesting comparisons and contrasts between national trends and our own school trends. 

Data from:

www.nfhs.org/articles/participation-in-high-school-sports-registers-first-decline-in-30-years/
www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2019/08/31/examining-the-decade-long-trends-in-high-school-sports-participation/#5a63aafc77e5