answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

For the 22nd consecutive year, more high school students are playing sports, according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey released last week by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

More than 7.6 million students played sports during the 2010-2011 school year, an increase of nearly 40,000 students compared to 2009-2010. The organization estimates that 55.5 percent of all high school students play a sport.

Though sports programs continue to grow, the rate has slowed. Over the past decade, sports participation has increased by roughly 100,000 students per year; the 40,000 increase over the past year is the smallest since the late 1980s.

NFHS director Bob Gardner attributes the slower growth to budget demands at many schools. "While the overall increase was not as much as we've seen in the past few years, we are definitely encouraged with these totals given the financial challenges facing our nation's high schools," he said in a statement.

The most common sport, according to the survey, is Basketball: 18,150 schools have a boys basketball team and 17,767 schools have a girls basketball team. Football has the most participants among all high school sports, with more than 1.1 million students playing at 14,000 schools.

[Read an opinion of Title IX's possible effect on male sports.]

The fastest growing sport is girls Lacrosse, where participation increased by 6,155 students between 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, a 9 percent jump. Girls made up 41 percent of all student athletes, a 5 percent increase from 1991.

"It's amazing that participation has increased for 22 consecutive years. Nowadays, there are so many diversions and distractions for students," says John Gillis, associate director of publications and communications at NFHS. "I think sports are so popular because they give students the opportunity to be a part of something. There's camaraderie on these teams."

Although playing sports takes a large time commitment, studies have shown that student athletes perform better in school than students who don't participate in sports. A 2007 survey of high schools in Minnesota found that student athletes had a mean grade point average of 2.84, while nonstudent athletes had a mean GPA of 2.68.

In the mid-'90s, theNorth Carolina High School Athletic Association studied the effects of athletics on academics over a three-year period. Athletes had a GPA nearly a full point higher than nonathletes, were absent fewer days per school year, and had a dropout rate of 0.7 percent compared to 8.98 percent for nonathletes.

Additionally, a 2007 study by Brigham Young University found that females who played a sport in high school were 41 percent more likely to graduate from college than those who did not play sports in high school.

NFHS's Gillis says students feel a loyalty to their school when they play sports. "You're wearing the jersey and representing the school," he says. "You learn life lessons like teamwork and leadership. Those lessons benefit you as you become an adult."

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

The popularity of sports is often gender-based with elementary school age students. For boys, football and basketball are the dominant sports in that order. For girls, soccer and softball are the two most popular.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What was the most popular sport in school?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What is the most popular sport in the Americans?

Football is the most popular school sport.


What is the most popular sport in American schools?

Football is the most popular school sport.


What is the most popular high school sport?

Football!


Which sport was the most popular sport in the 1970's?

you know i learned this when i was in high school. i used to ask this question a lot. the most popular sport was soccer! back then!


What is idaho's most popular high school sport?

football


What is the most popular sport in US high school?

Basketball


How popular was basketball when it was first invented?

It started as just an indoor sport for the students at Springfield High School. When it became a professional sport it was the most popular sport at the time.


What is the most popular team sport in Indiana at both the high school level and the college level?

Basketball is the most popular.


What is the Most popular sport played in high school?

the answer would be baketball and football


Most popular sport in Brazil?

Football is the most popular sport in Brazil.Soccer.The most popular sport in Brazil is football.


What is India's most popular sport?

cricket is most popular sport


What is el salvadors most popular sport?

The most popular sport in El Salvador is Soccer