HS football participation declines for second consecutive year nationally

LOS ANGELES — For the second consecutive year, participation in 11player high school football declined nationwide, according to the annual survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

In 2017, there were 1,035,942 high school students participating in 11player football, a decline of 21,465, or 2 percent, from the previous year. In 2016, the decline was 27,865, or 2.5 percent.

Football remains the No. 1 participatory sport for boys by a wide margin. No. 2 is track and field with 600,097.

Track and field leads for girls with 488,097.

For the 29th consecutive year, participation in high school sports overall increased, led by an increase of 15,009 in girls sports programs. The total number of participants reached 7,979,986. The number of girls participating reached an all-time high of 3,415,306 and boys were at 4,564,680.

Among boys sports, soccer had the largest gain with 6,128 additional participants.

In 2017, 20 fewer schools fielded 11player football teams, or 14,079 compared with 14,099 in 2016.

“We are encouraged that the decline in high school football was slowed, due in part, to our efforts in reducing the risk of injury in the sport,” said Karissa Niehoff, the NFHS executive director, in a statement. “While there may be other reasons that students elect not to play football, we have attempted to assure student-athletes and their parents that thanks to the concussion protocols and rules in place in every state in the country, the sport of football is as safe as it ever has been.”

In California, football participation dropped for the third consecutive year. There were nearly 10,000 fewer students playing football in California in 2017 when compared with 2015, the last time there was an increase in participation.