More than 8 million high schoolers are active in school-sponsored sports, an all-time high, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), as reported in K-12 Dive.
Sports participation grew by 210,469 between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. Engagement declined in the 2018-19 school year, and the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic continued the decline, with many schools restricting in-person classes and activities.
The growing popularity of girls’ flag football is one of the drivers of increased sports participation. Participation more than doubled in the past two school years. Expansion of flag football programs has the NFHS writing national playing rules for the sport for both girls’ and boys’ teams. Rules are expected to be implemented during the 2025-26 school year.
Flag football promotes diversity. It can be played in any season (weather dependent), is fun, without physical contact, and youth can play and others can coach or officiate without serious threat of injury.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Tennessee have all sanctioned girls’ flag football. Another 19 states are piloting similar programs.
Outdoor track and field, volleyball and soccer are the top three high school sports for girls, based on participation levels. For boys’ sports, the top three are 11-player football, outdoor track and field, and basketball.
Here are statistics from NFHS:
42,955 – number of girls who participated in flag football in 2023-24
+173% – increase of girls participating in flag football since the 2021-22 school year.
1,031,508 – number of students participating in 11-player football, the most popular boys’ sport.
+25% – increase in the number of participants in boys’ wrestling since 2021-22.
+102% – increase in the number of participants in girls’ wrestling since 2021-22.
859,301 – number of high school athletes in Texas, making the state No. 1 in terms of student sports participation. California — with 834,103 players — came in second.
65 – number of different sports — including archery, badminton, bass fishing, mountain biking, rugby and snowboarding — high schoolers are participating in.
K-12 Dive
