Is the traditional American high school experience of playing sports dead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is only true in the UMC/wealthy school districts- which on a whole, are are small percentage of American high schools.

Your kid could play on almost any varsity team at a title 1 or even middle class district- and many of these are D1 schools.

That’s a pretty much uneducated opinion from someone who knows nothing. You obviously don’t follow sports. Many of the top names in basketball grew up in poverty. By high school the top are recruited to residential schools specializing in their sport.

Pro sports are also recruiting more international players. Eastern Europeans are playing basketball, Dominicans make up a large amount of baseball players, Canadians play hockey year round.

Students in middle class or low income school districts cannot just play any varsity sport. I can’t figure out why you would even think that.

Exceptions might be swimming, soccer, track, sports that nobody cares about. They might be walk ons.

This is a braid dead take that’s about 20 years behind the times.

Some of you wish this wasn’t the case. So many brag about their high IQs and your children all have high IQs. There’s also genetics that involve athletic ability most involving the legs and running. Height is genetics. Muscle tone is genetics. Kids with determination might be able to overcome what they are naturally lacking and play competitively but it’s not as easy as naturally athletic.

What exactly do you think is from 2005?

No one is disputing athleticism being largely genetic. But WHY do you think only poor kids have athletic genes?

[Anonymous]

Schools are too big around here that is a big part of it.

They should offer more sports that are games that allow everyone to be able to join some kind of team. Frisbee is a good option, but there should be intramural teams for rugby, soccer, basketball etc. this would be possible if schools weren’t so overcrowded. Rec is nice and all, but lots of programs just don’t have high school programs — our soccer team dissolved at 8th essentially.

Track and cross country aren’t anywhere near as fun or have any sense of teamwork — it’s sad that’s the only choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools are too big around here that is a big part of it.

They should offer more sports that are games that allow everyone to be able to join some kind of team. Frisbee is a good option, but there should be intramural teams for rugby, soccer, basketball etc. this would be possible if schools weren’t so overcrowded. Rec is nice and all, but lots of programs just don’t have high school programs — our soccer team dissolved at 8th essentially.

Track and cross country aren’t anywhere near as fun or have any sense of teamwork — it’s sad that’s the only choice.

Schools are big everywhere in America. Most high schools in any suburban parts of America will have 2000-3000 students. Most high schools in Texas have 4000 students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son made two freshman teams this year for sports he had never played before.

This isn’t very helpful because you didn’t name the sports. It’s not basketball or baseball but there are sports that can be easily picked up.

Which sports?

Fall football, winter basketball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are too big around here that is a big part of it.

They should offer more sports that are games that allow everyone to be able to join some kind of team. Frisbee is a good option, but there should be intramural teams for rugby, soccer, basketball etc. this would be possible if schools weren’t so overcrowded. Rec is nice and all, but lots of programs just don’t have high school programs — our soccer team dissolved at 8th essentially.

Track and cross country aren’t anywhere near as fun or have any sense of teamwork — it’s sad that’s the only choice.

Schools are big everywhere in America. Most high schools in any suburban parts of America will have 2000-3000 students. Most high schools in Texas have 4000 students

Agree. We moved from NoVa a few years ago, to Mechanicsburg PA - by Harrisburg. The high school has over 3000 students. This isn’t a large city by any stretch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are too big around here that is a big part of it.

They should offer more sports that are games that allow everyone to be able to join some kind of team. Frisbee is a good option, but there should be intramural teams for rugby, soccer, basketball etc. this would be possible if schools weren’t so overcrowded. Rec is nice and all, but lots of programs just don’t have high school programs — our soccer team dissolved at 8th essentially.

Track and cross country aren’t anywhere near as fun or have any sense of teamwork — it’s sad that’s the only choice.

Schools are big everywhere in America. Most high schools in any suburban parts of America will have 2000-3000 students. Most high schools in Texas have 4000 students

Agree. We moved from NoVa a few years ago, to Mechanicsburg PA - by Harrisburg. The high school has over 3000 students. This isn’t a large city by any stretch.

I’m serious, come to Loudoun! Schools are much smaller. Just don’t pick one of the 3-4 richest ones because they have a much higher percentage of gunner parents with travel sports kids. I can’t think of a single sport at our HS that you couldn’t play on a freshman/JV team with minimal experience.

[Anonymous]

Or not.

Let’s take Virginia.

In 1980 Virginia offered the following as official high school sports (the number of participants in the 1980-81 school year are included):

Boys in 1980-81 2024-25

Baseball (8250). (8816)
Basketball (11440). (9312)
XCountry (2685). (5383)
Football (22000). (22970)
Golf. (1920) (3067)
Gymnastics (190).
Lacrosse (4988)
Soccer (1875). (10773)
Swim/dive (780). (3745)
Tennis (2160). (2782)
Track indoor (3525). (10007)
Track outdoor (9555). (12711)
Wrestling (4575). (7499)
Volleyball (1775)

Girls 1980-81. 2024-25

Basketball (6859). (5720)
Competitive Spirit. (4143)
X country (1530). (4150)
Field hockey (1585). (4757)
Gymnastics (1170). (991)
Lacrosse (3916)
Soccer (1000). (8922)
Softball (3575). (6743)
Swim/dive (800). (4146)
Tennis (1830). (3730)
Track indoor (2400). (7883)
Track outdoor (8975). (9529)
Volleyball (1312). (8545)
Wrestling (913)

Nationally - the overall numbers in 1980-81 were Boys 3,503,124 and Girls 1,853,789. In 2024-25 those were Boys 4,726,648 and Girls 3,539,596. So still lots of work to do to comply with Title IX.

But obviously in Virginia and everywhere else there are a great deal of opportunities to participate.

The traditional “no cut” sports for boys are: X-country, football, Swim/Dive, Track and Wrestling. For Girls they are X Country, Swim/Dive, Track (and now also) Wrestling.

[Anonymous]

I know of at least two schools in Fairfax county that make cuts for track- and not just the kind where they allow you to join the team but not participate in meets. More like there are times you have to make or else you are cut.

[Anonymous]

I think the issue is parents want two things that are often opposed. They want the benefits of a big school, lots of class offerings at all levels, huge ranges of clubs, etc. They also want the school to be small so their kid can make a sports team. People simply need to accept that you cannot have both the advantages of a small school and a big school at the exact same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in Loudoun which has smaller high schools (350 a grade) and our school is 45% farms. Teams are very makeable. Maybe you won’t start unless you are very good (for certain sports.)

But yeah if you go to a large gunner school like Madison it’s hard to play sports.

It’s this. The FCPS schools at least are ridiculously huge. That is the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools are too big around here that is a big part of it.

They should offer more sports that are games that allow everyone to be able to join some kind of team. Frisbee is a good option, but there should be intramural teams for rugby, soccer, basketball etc. this would be possible if schools weren’t so overcrowded. Rec is nice and all, but lots of programs just don’t have high school programs — our soccer team dissolved at 8th essentially.

Track and cross country aren’t anywhere near as fun or have any sense of teamwork — it’s sad that’s the only choice.

Schools are big everywhere in America. Most high schools in any suburban parts of America will have 2000-3000 students. Most high schools in Texas have 4000 students

Agree. We moved from NoVa a few years ago, to Mechanicsburg PA - by Harrisburg. The high school has over 3000 students. This isn’t a large city by any stretch.

Wow. I grew up in a town right next to Mechanicsburg that had about 300 kids in its HS. I had no idea Mechanicsburg was so huge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know of at least two schools in Fairfax county that make cuts for track- and not just the kind where they allow you to join the team but not participate in meets. More like there are times you have to make or else you are cut.

Yes, a bit surprised by sports people have mentioned as no cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to high school in the US in the 90s and did not play sports. I did play sports before that, in fact played all MS sports available to me (basketball, track, volleyball). But in HS I wanted to focus on other activities (music, theater, speech & debate, student government) and sports took up too much time.

Only a handful of my friends played sports. I had a friend who was a dancer but also ran cross country. I think she also ran track for a couple years but gave it up because the meets overlapped with dance recitals. I had some friends in marching band, which was treated as a "sport" at my high school. But few athletes.

Yet my friends were the ones who went on to top schools and pursued advanced degrees and more challenging industries like law and medicine. The athletes did fine but were more likely to take over the family car dealership or become realtors. Some of them went to college but not all. Playing sports at my high school was considered a cool and worthwhile thing to do, but it was not something most serious, ambitious students did because it took up a lot of time.

I am continually surprised by how obsessive many parents are about athletics given this experience. I know some HS athletes go on to be very successful, but it doesn't seem essential to me at all. My own DD is a swimmer and is debating whether she will swim in HS. She loves swimming but hates the hours. We are neutral on it -- she has other extra curricular that she is better at. She's not going to swim in college. If she winds up swimming I'm sure it will be a good experience but she could do other things and that would be good too.

I don't see how sports are an essential part of the "traditional American high school experience." Most students don't play sports.

You realize that your personal anecdotal experiences is just that. Many other people can provide examples about how they and their kids loved sports, excelled in academics, and went on to amazing professional experiences.

People here truly love to hate on sports. I don’t know why it matters to so many people if they and their kids have zero interest in it. But to continually imply that the kids who love sports are intellectually inferior to the kids who don’t is insulting.

It also shouldn’t be surprising that in this highly competitive area, sports are competitive as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know of at least two schools in Fairfax county that make cuts for track- and not just the kind where they allow you to join the team but not participate in meets. More like there are times you have to make or else you are cut.

Yes, a bit surprised by sports people have mentioned as no cut.

Tennis is no cut at our large public high school (title 1).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son made two freshman teams this year for sports he had never played before.

This isn’t very helpful because you didn’t name the sports. It’s not basketball or baseball but there are sports that can be easily picked up.

Which sports?

Fall football, winter basketball.

I'm honestly curious, which large FCPS public is no cut for freshman basketball? Our school had around 50 9th grade boys trying out for 12 spots.