NFHS Voice: Time for Teachable Moments
September 6, 2019
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
Welcome to another year of educational opportunities through high school sports and other activity programs in our nation’s schools. These programs provide many teachable moments not available in the classroom, and we look forward to making an impact on the more than 12 million young people involved in these vital activities.
Many states opened their high school football seasons during the final weekends of August. Thousands of other high school students will be involved in volleyball, cross country, field hockey, soccer and other sports this fall. And then there are those boys and girls involved in speech, debate, music and other cocurricular activity programs.
The NFHS distributed its most anticipated news release of the year earlier last week – the Annual Sports Participation Survey. The number of boys and girls involved in high school sports has been spiraling upward annually since 1988 – an amazing 29 consecutive years. However, due to several factors, the 2018-19 figure dipped to 7,937,491, which is the third-highest total in the 50-year history of the survey.
We have been aware for some time that the number of kids involved in youth sports has been declining. In addition, a decline in the number of public school students has been predicted for a number of years, so there simply may be fewer students in schools.
Understandably, the focus will be on the sport of football. While there were no states with significant drops in boys 11-player football, most states reported slight declines, which amounted to 30,000 participants nationally. However, a comparison of the figures from the past two years indicates that the average number of boys involved in 11-player football on a per-school basis dropped from 73 to 70, which would include freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams.
In some cases, schools are starting and/or increasing programs in 6-player, 8-player and 9-player football as participation numbers were up in all three versions of the game. And participation by girls in 11-player football has doubled in the past 10 years to 2,404 participants last year.
The survey confirmed that schools are not dropping the sport of football, which is great news. We continue to work with our state associations and groups such as USA Football to reduce contact and teach proper tackling skills at the youth level to increase the interest level as kids reach junior high school and high school.
While we hope that the numbers will return in football, we are pleased with the continued growth in several other sports, including volleyball, soccer and lacrosse. Since 2012, participation in girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse has increased 19 percent with a combined 213,452 participants in 2018-19. Girls and boys soccer has gained 70,668 participants since 2012 (a nine percent increase) and now has a combined 853,182 participants.
Seemingly, schools have something for everyone as the survey indicated participation by high school students in 70 different sports, as well as numerous adapted and Unified sports for students with disabilities. Schools are providing opportunities in bowling, badminton, flag football, archery, Ultimate Frisbee, bass fishing, crew and many, many others.
Ultimately, the goal of the NFHS and its 51-member state associations is to ensure that all students have an opportunity to enjoy healthy participation, achievement and good sportsmanship in education-based activities. We are excited about these opportunities as another school year begins.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is beginning her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.
NFHS Voice: 'Commit' is Verb, not Noun
January 13, 2020
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
When is “commit” not a verb? According to Webster’s never – that is, unless the reference is to where the high school’s star quarterback is headed to college.
Even in game stories, the “top” players on high school teams are often referred to as a “(name of college) commit.” It seems innocent enough, but the continual focus on a player’s advancement to the next level is concerning given the current – and future – landscape of college sports.
With the NCAA’s recent decision to allow athletes to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness, high school sports governed by the NFHS and its member state associations will be the last bastion of pure amateur competition in the nation. And it must remain that way.
The focus on the individual rather than the team that often grabs the headlines in college basketball and football cannot become a part of high school sports. In college basketball, there is constant discussion about who the “one and done” players will be. At the end of the season in college football, the talk is about which juniors are turning pro and which players are sitting out bowl games to guard against injury.
Although we recognize that this decision by the NCAA was perhaps inevitable as a result of the earlier “Fair Pay to Play Act” by California Governor Gavin Newsom, we are concerned that it will further erode the concept of amateurism in the United States.
While only about one percent of high school boys basketball players and about 2.8 percent of high school 11-player football players will play at the NCAA Division I level, the perks offered to attend certain colleges will be enhanced and recruiting battles could escalate. Current issues with parents pushing their kids into specialization in the fight for scholarships could intensify as they consider the “best offer” from colleges.
This weakening of the amateur concept at the college level must not affect the team-based concept in education-based high school sports. The age-old plan of colleges relying on high schools for their players will continue; however, high school coaches and administrators must guard against an individual’s pursuit of a college scholarship overriding the team’s goals.
As the new model develops at the college level, the education-based nature of high school sports must be preserved. These programs cannot become a training ground or feeder program for college sports.
Instead, the focus should be on the millions of high school student-athletes who commit (an action verb) to being a part of a team and gain untold benefits throughout their high school days. Some of these individuals will play sports at the college level and move on to their chosen careers; others will take those values of teamwork, discipline and self-confidence from the playing field directly into their future careers.
There is nothing more sacred and fundamental to the past – and future – history of high school sports in the United States than the concept of amateurism. It is up to the NFHS and its member state associations to ensure that education remains the tenet of high school sports.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.