Football Participation On The Decline At Some Schools

Some Indiana high schools are seeing fewer students trying out for their football teams this year and coaches attribute the drop in part to increased awareness of concussions. 

Last year, Carmel High School had about 80 students try out for its freshman football team. This year, that number dropped to 55.

The school’s head football coach Kevin Wright says all the talk about concussions and football is partly to blame.

“I think it’s the perfect storm. Football is still the number one participation sport for youth in the United States and so as a result most of the stories are marketed toward that,” he said.

Wright says the drop in the number of kids playing football can also be seen in the middle school and youth leagues, and he says several other coaches he’s talked to around the state are seeing the same trend.

In fact, the trend has been happening nationally too. An ESPN report from last fall showed the nation’s largest youth football league, Pop Warner, saw a nearly 10 percent drop in participation from 2010 to 2012.