High School sports teams struggle with numbers

An annual survey recently released by the National Federation of State High School Associations contains some attention-getting statistics. Foremost is a decline in the number of participants in high school sports for 2018-19, down more than 43,000 athletes from the previous year.

While it must be noted that the decrease compares to record-high participation in the 2017-18 school year, there are some notable numbers. The largest drop was in football, which lost more than 30,000 players. It marks the fifth straight year that football participation at the high school level has dropped nationally.

A high-contact sport, football has been under increased scrutiny for the past few years. The biggest concern is the possibility of injury, mostly concussions. The issue has even been highlighted by the National Football League as a primary concern.

“It’s hard to field as large of numbers as we used to,” said Brooks Stafslien, Stanley High School athletic director. “There’s more worry about concussions. Parents are not willing to put their kids at risk anymore.”

Read more: https://www.minotdailynews.com/news/local-news/2019/09/high-school-sports-teams-struggle-with-numbers/