1. Football, 1,088,158 (1,086,627 boys; 1,531 girls)
2. Outdoor Track and Field, 1,053,611 (580,672 boys; 472,939 girls)
3. Basketball, 971,796 (538,676 boys; 433,120 girls)
4. Soccer, 782,514 (410,982 boys; 371,532 girls)
5. Baseball, 476,050 (474,791 boys; 1,259 girls)
6. Volleyball, 470,561 (50,353 boys; 420,208 girls)
7. Cross Country, 463,569 (249,200 boys; 214,369 girls)
8. Fast-Pitch Softball, 363,944 (1,456 boys; 362,488 girls)
9. Tennis, 338,363 (157,247 boys; 181,116 girls)
10. Swimming and Diving, 302,169 (138,177boys; 163,992 girls)
Was surprised to see in WSJ this week that soccer is losing numbers in organized play in US faster than football.
Hockey and lacrosse were the fastest gainers (percentage wise coming from very small number base).
I’m not quite sure which is more disturbing, the 1531 girls playing high school football or the 1456 boys playing high school softball.
At least in Texas, you generally don’t have to try out to get on the football team. I didn’t. What I really wanted to play in high school was baseball. Unfortunately, they had no use for slow pokes.
I expect in the next 5- 10 years, lacrosse will be in top 10. It has exploded in the south in the last couple of years and will continue to grow throughout the country.