High schools losing programs

[Quigs10]

From what I've noticed the past 20+ years as a HS teacher/coach in So Cal...

By Level if participation/popularity for girls-
Suburban areas:
Soccer (I feel my DD is only girl that doesn't play. There's SO MANY teams)
Volleyball
Cross Country/Track
Tennis
Softball
Golf
LaCrosse
Basketball (Its sad how few girls in our area play bball. My daughter has tough time finding local team or league.)

Cities:
Basketball
Track
Soccer
Softball
Volleyball
Then Not many other sports

 

[Northball]

.... When I looked at my team there were two caucasians and the rest South Asian. I had to teach them everything. Their parents didn't own gloves much less how to use them. It was an eye opener for sure but 3 years later I see some of them moving into middle school and have a firm grasp on the game. AND a few fathers have taken a bigger interest...

I find that very interesting; with the demographic shift I'm presuming many are recent immigrants. That they would sign up their daughters for something they haven't played themselves or know very little about is intriguing, especially when there are many choices for activities. If I moved to India, I couldn't see myself signing my kids up to play cricket or imagining them wanting to play it.

 

[Eric F]

It's sad to say, but several high schools in our county, all playing in the same league, are suspending their softball programs for next year due to lack of interest. This is incredibly disappointing as you can imagine. Only one high school has both a Varsity and JV team but the JV team has only teams from out of the area to play. This school may get the few players from another school losing their program as the kids have an option to attend either school. With Covid affecting all teams this year, who knows what things will look like next year, but I'm guessing it will be difficult for freshmen to break onto the JV team now if other girls transfer over. My question is, is anyone else seeing this problem in other areas? We do have the travel teams here, but they end after 14u for the same reason. It's an affluent county so the girls have many options, even outside of sports to focus their attention on. It's just sad for the interested players that may not have any team to play on. Is there a better way to generate interest? Is it the travel teams not instilling enough joy in the game? Bad luck? What? It isn't just softball being affected either. I suggest better outreach from the athletic directors and perhaps, organized summer programs.

Interesting. Softball remains strong in our area (Pasadena). Every year, we get 60+ girls show up for HS tryouts. We only have Varsity and JV teams, so there are a lot of girls who don't make the cut. However, while the interest level is strong, the talent level (at our school) is not, and the JV team is typically almost all players who are new to the sport. That said, other schools in our league are very deep with talent. Travel ball through 18U is widely available within a reasonable distance, too.

 

[sluggers]

When I looked at my team there were two caucasians and the rest South Asian.

Badminton is booming in the Chicago burbs.