Prep sports participation is down overall in state

The participation numbers for high school sports are down slightly overall, but the reasons and theories behind that dip aren't clear.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association reported those numbers recently, but MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts said the public should be careful about making overall conclusions based on those numbers.

"It's a mixed bag. We are always careful not to use one year to make overall conclusions. As accurate as those numbers are, we should be careful and make sure we are looking at things in the bigger picture," Roberts said.

A total of 282,623 participants took part in the 28 tournament sports offered by the MHSAA last year - a 1.95-percent decrease from the 2013-14 figures. Since the 2006-07 school year, participation has fallen 9.7 percent overall.

One of the most troubling trends is in girls' basketball, which saw participation fall for the ninth straight season to 15,702 athletes, the sport's lowest total since records first were kept in 1991-92.

"Those numbers are interesting, and unfortunately disappointing," Lakeview girls' basketball coach Don Bussler said. "Because of those numbers, some schools are starting to think about not having teams at all three levels. Fortunately, we haven't had to do that yet, because our numbers are good."

One theory behind the dip in basketball comes from when the MHSAA changed seasons, moving girls' basketball to the winter and volleyball to the fall. Volleyball also saw a 3.3-percent drop in participation from last year to 17,996, it's lowest since 1991-92. Overall, there has been a decrease of 16.5 percent since its final season as a winter sport.

"Looking at the trends in girls' basketball and girls' volleyball, eight years is long enough to know we are in decline," Roberts said. "The change of seasons wasn't healthy for us.

"The biggest movements in these numbers reflect the change of season by the courts. The rest of the numbers are very modest and we aren't overly concerned."

Eight sports saw increases in participation, four boys and four girls. Baseball participation increased for the fourth straight year. Girls' lacrosse saw the biggest jump, setting a participation record for that sport.

However, as the numbers indicated above, 20 sports experienced decreases.

"I think it's the era of the society we live in. Lot more things to do, young people are choosing to do other things rather than sports. I came from an era where there wasn't a whole lot to do. There was chores and sports. Kids today do a lot of different things. Some are still very athletic and do sports and others, for whatever reason, choose other endeavors."

The MHSAA did see increases in attendance at postseason events throughout the year.

"Football attendance was terrible because the weather was atrocious, if you remember," Roberts said. "But almost every other sport saw an increase in attendance in the postseason, so we will make up for that."

Roberts said the move of the the state finals competition in baseball, softball and soccer to the campus of Michigan State University was a big hit.

"It was a very festive occasion at MSU. Standing there and being able to watch all three go on at the same time was one of the tournament highlights of my 29-year career," Roberts said.