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Football, wrestling on the decline, according to NFHS survey

By Jim Halley, USA TODAY High School Sports August 13, 2015

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There were nearly 10,000 fewer high school football players in the last school year.
There were nearly 10,000 fewer high school football players in the last school year.
Concerns about concussions may be hurting numbers for high school football and the decline of college wrestling may be hurting participation in high school wrestling.

The National Federation of State High School Associations released its annual sports participation numbers from last year and while the overall number of sports participants was up, the number of boys participants was down, mainly because of a decline in the numbers for wrestling and football.

The NFHS figures showed more athletes than ever are participating in high school sports, with 7,807.047 high school athletes in the last school year, an increase of 11,389 from the previous school year. While the number of girls athletes increased by 20,071 participants, there were 8,682 fewer boys participants.

Of the top 10 girls sports, competitive spirit squads and cross country had the biggest jumps. Track and field remains the No. 1 girls sport in participants while volleyball moved ahead of basketball for the No. 2 spot.

In the top 10 boys sports, soccer grew the most with an additional 15,150 participants while wrestling, which has seen a precipitous drop in college scholarships, had 11,306 fewer participants and 11-player football had 9,617 fewer participants. Baseball grew by 3,928 participants and boys basketball grew by 425 participants.