Colorado high school sports participation has reached record levels.
The Colorado High School Activities Association released data last week confirming the 2016-17 school year had the highest percentage of student-athlete participation since they began collecting data after the 1988-89 school year. The CHSAAnow.com news release lists sports participation among students at 60.26 percent with 139,969 high schoolers on athletic teams.
“That’s amazing to see that many kids participating in high school activities,” recently retired CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico said in the news release. “Participation is our top priority, and recent changes with that goal in mind – including news classifications for three girls sports – seem to be helping.”
Girls golf, girls swimming and girls tennis have provided an impressive boost in numbers with 1,682 additional participants joining those sports last year.
Involvement in sports wasn’t the only bright spot, as non-athletic activity participation reached 83 percent – the fourth-highest since CHSAA began the survey.
Durango High School’s activities and athletics director Adam Bright is striving toward perfection when it comes to student participation.
“We want to get student participation in activities and athletics to 100 percent,” Bright said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “I think enough studies have been done to conclude that kids who are involved in extra-curricular activities and athletics do better in the classroom. The lessons they learn and the responsibilities they take on with their classmates help them succeed in college and in the workplace down the road.”
Bright said athletic participation at DHS was up 10 percent last year and overall participation in activities is up 14 percent. He expects those numbers to grow. When broken down into grades and genders, no group at Durango High School is as involved as the incoming junior girls. As freshmen, they had 132 participants in sports and activities. That number grew impressively last year with 168 involved as sophomores. To put the numbers in perspective, the boys in the same class had 121 participants as freshmen and 107 as sophomores.
Overall, DHS boys numbers have jumped modestly to 480 from 457 and girls are up to 533 from 431. If there’s one area to improve for Bright, it’s the engagement level between freshmen and sophomore years.
“I can’t really explain the growth for last year’s sophomore girls class,” he said. “They’re just more involved than normal. The boys had a more traditional outcome. I think a lot of them come in to school with wide eyes thinking that they want to play sports. When they realize the work it takes to succeed, maybe they think it isn’t for them anymore. I don’t know, but that’s something we have to look into and get a better grasp on.”
While the newly-added girls sports provided a healthy boost for CHSAA, others have also done very well.
In the last decade, soccer has grown rapidly. Boys soccer has gained 1,791 members since the 2006-07 year, while girls soccer is up 1,341. Boys cross country has gained nearly 1,100 athletes and boys track is up a whopping 1,532. Girls track has added 1,237 members. Boys lacrosse has seen a growth of 963 participants.
With some sports thriving, others are trending in the opposite direction.
In the last decade, football participation and spirit team numbers are both down by more than 1,000 statewide. Wrestling and girls basketball are also losing participants. The numbers have been fairly steady at DHS over the years, with freshman football being one of the few concerns. However, Bright feels like a recent sponsorship with Adidas and upgrades to the field are key in attracting kids to a sport that is clearly dipping in numbers.
“I came here from a place that had 18 kids on the football team and Durango had 53 last year,” he said. “I think we’re ahead of that trend, and Bayfield is, too. I think football is just part of the community in the smaller towns. Here, and many places, we have to find new ways to attract kids.”
In non-athletic activities, music continues to grow in Colorado. In the 2006-07 survey, 36,731 students were involved in music. The 2016-17 survey has musical participation at 40,195. Speech and student council are holding steady with minimal change.
jfries@durangoherald.com
