As many high schools across the country encounter budget cuts between 20% and 50% due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “we’re very worried” sports will get cut, National Federation of State High School Associations Executive Director Karissa Niehoff said.
High school state athletic associations, which in some states help support local programming while also staging postseason championships, are also hurting. State associations face losses ranging from $150,000 to more than $2 million, Niehoff said.
“We are hearing from states that there’s some creative thinking going on around adjusting seasons,” Niehoff said. “Which sports engage the most kids and when can we play them, while paying attention to sports medicine guidance?”
Innovative thinking will be vital to engage more students in sports and physical activity, especially as schools respond to challenges from COVID-19 and calls for greater equity in society’s leading institutions. Only 39% of high school students participate in sports, with rates the lowest in urban (32%), high-poverty (27%) and charter (19%) schools, according to a 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And that was before COVID-19.
The Aspen Institute’s Project Play launched Reimagining School Sports in America to find exemplary high school models and strategies to grow sports and physical activity in schools. On June 24, Project Play hosted a conversation with school experts and students about the challenges and opportunities ahead for high school sports. Here are highlights from the discussion.
Financial challenges and the case for high school sports
Karissa Niehoff, National Federation of State High School Associations executive director: “We’re very worried (sports will be cut as schools reopen from COVID-19). I would argue we take a really hard look at what percentage of the school budget is really allocated for sports or co-curricular programming. It’s really small. I would say the cut there is doing a lot more damage than good. But we are hearing across the country that schools are facing anywhere from 20% to 50% budget cuts – very dire straits. State (athletic) associations are looking at anywhere from $150,000 to over $2 million in losses to support programming and tournaments.”
Niehoff: “If you ask a superintendent about soccer in the fall, you get one of these (hands on ears). They’re very focused on getting kids back to learning. But we have to make sure we continue to … remind educational leaders that education-based athletics and performance arts activities and anything that is co-curricular is an important part of the second half of the school day.”
Natalie Randolph, Sidwell Friends School director of equity, justice and community/Title IX coordinator: “We’re in this time in the pandemic where in the fall we’ll be coming off five months being isolated in our homes. That takes a huge mental toll. At a time when adolescents are starved for social interactions, sports are absolutely imperative in the transition back to normalcy so that they can thrive academically. All the studies show when you feel isolated, that activates the same part of the brain as physical pain. I think we need to take the mental health aspect very seriously.”
Building new models
As we think about new strategies for high school sports, Project Play considers these three areas when evaluating schools based on sports and physical activity opportunities:
1. Quality: How relevant and engaging is your school’s programming for as many students as possible?
Jimmy Lynch, School District of Philadelphia executive director of athletics: “There are far fewer teachers going out to be coaches anymore. There are more external coaches that are not full-time members of a school district. … When they come from outside the school district, you have to be very intentional on coach training. You especially need to train those who don’t have an educational background in child development and human development that we know teachers go to college for many years to learn. Right now, there’s really no standard for how to train coaches.”
Niehoff: “(Quality) has got to be broader than wins and losses. I think of quality programming around five standards:
Guiding principles: The mission and vision of the overall program
Curriculum: What exactly are you including within your athletic program?
Resources and equity: I think this is rising quickly to the top in terms of priority
Quality of administration
The program and player evaluation
Randolph: “The integration between athletic programming and academic programming is really essential. A lot of times athletic programs tend to get left behind because they don’t have a clear lane and it’s not deemed essential to the academic program. … Co-curriculum sports is one way. (In most high schools, sports are extracurricular – supportive of the educational mission but still separate from it.) That takes resources and means you have to hire full-time staff for athletics, so that can be pricey. But there definitely needs to be a relationship link between faculty in the academic realm and faculty in the athletic realm. There should be intentional efforts to get teachers in touch with coaches and get coaches in touch with teachers. Have study halls. Have academic help during athletic time when kids are waiting for practice.”
Niehoff: “We have far fewer teachers who are coaches now, so we have to bring that conversation back and look at these experiences as being co-curriculum, even if the verbiage is just different. They’re not extra. They’re not outside the environment. They are a valuable part of the learning experience. I absolutely think co-curriculum is the model to grow.”
2. Access and equity: How many roster spots does your school have for anyone to play sports? How much does your school target available opportunities to underserved populations, such as girls, LGBTQ youth, students with disabilities, students of color, and lower-income students?
Randolph: “One key thing is getting kids in underserved communities involved in sports earlier, so it doesn’t start in high schools. Sports start (during the years children are in elementary school), where a lot of athletic opportunities are pay-to-play and some people just don’t do them. … I know in urban and primarily African-American (high) schools, a lot of girls won’t participate because at that point in their lives, the social pull is huge and they haven’t experienced (sports) before. Having to sweat, having to have contact in the sport, Black hair is a thing – those are real hurdles for kids, where if they were exposed at a younger age, they would be much more likely to participate. Also, leadership (in high schools) is not represented by the populations they serve, so you have blind spots in a lot of areas.”
Lynch: “It’s important to see what the (pay-to-play fees utilized by some high schools) actually go to. Even if it’s only a fraction of a percent (of the athletic budget), it’s going to prevent kids from participating. That’s a discussion to have with the school administration if it’s worth it. A lot of pay-to-play fees go for travel gear, team shoes and spirit packs. Instead of charging a pay-to-play fee, you could do that as an extra cost for fundraising and that way you’re not having any barriers for kids to play.”
Niehoff: “I would argue that the 39% (of students who play high school sports) is not reflective of a lack of desire. I think it’s the lack of number and type of opportunities. … (There could be) engagement in physical education and getting to learn lifelong wellness, or the co-curriculum experience, or intramurals, or pickup opportunities after school that may not even be competitive but it’s just the opportunity to have fun. … There needs to be something for all. And there needs to be adult resources to support and message to the community, ‘Here are the results we’re seeing. This is how these kids are growing and changing.’”
3. Innovation: How does your school try different approaches rather than the status quo in order to provide better outcomes?
Lynch: “I think we could take a lot from the college model, where they have the NCAA intercollegiate level, the college club level and then the intramural model, where probably most of the participants come from in college. … If you talk school sports, someone’s mind automatically shifts to the varsity and interscholastic play, whereas if you build out club sports and intramural and fitness opportunities, that’s where a lot of opportunity lies for schools to supply something for all.”
Randolph: “I think we can look at where and when we do sports and where it fits into the academic day. I think COVID has shown we can move mountains at the drop of a hat if we want to. We’ve had schools that, with a snap of a finger, everybody gets a laptop, whereas before it took an act of Congress.”
Niehoff: “I would like to see an opportunity arise out of collaboration and bringing the conversation into focus: Who owns sport? This is where Aspen has done such a tremendous job in telling us the journey from the first touch point (of youth) long before they get to high school. There’s a lot of disruption at the youth levels. We could bring National Governing Bodies, education leadership, athletic administrators, school leadership, and the NFHS together and really have an appreciative conversation about how we can protect the journey, so the very unique relationship in the United States of high school sports is part of the academic experience and a key catalyst in the community can be revalued, refunded and reimagined. … I think the high school age group is a huge link in the lifespan of athletic fitness and exercise activity pursuit.”
In their own words: Why high school sports matter
Alex Garcia-DeLaCruz, STRIVE Prep Smart (Denver) two-sport athlete: “Sports help me be competitive with myself and have personal growth in my life. Being in sports makes me have more confidence and makes me be more social with people, and I feel that’s really beneficial to me.”
Taylor Twellman, ESPN soccer analyst, former MLS/U.S. National Team player: “The main reason why I played high school sports is I grew up in a family that believed in – and I think it’s now very pertinent given where we are as a society and as a country – meeting different people. If I only played one sport, it was the same people. My baseball friends were completely different from my soccer friends, and they were different from my basketball friends. I think that helped me grow as a person and even as an athlete.”
Mya Burken, Rolla (Missouri) High School three-sport athlete: “We talk about in our (wrestling) program, product or process. I think the process is extremely important because it’s character building with leadership qualities, and these are formative years in high school lives. … My social group that I met through sports has been extremely amazing that I never would have met without those interactions – people from different grades, from different backgrounds, from different sports personalities. I think it’s been formative because you learn to work with other kids who are different from yourself, which is a very essential part of life.”
speaker responses to Audience q&A
A few professional leagues are re-opening under a bubble concept where all teams are within one location. If we transfer this model somewhat to high school sports, perhaps the transition will be where there is intramural sports within a high school as opposed to competition against other schools. What do you think of that idea and the potential to increase participation that way?
Lynch: “I think this is a great way to both mitigate further spread between different school communities, and also to increase participation for students at all levels. While it would not replace the interscholastic-level of athletics that our society has come to know and love, it would certainly provide an alternative for students to engage in safe play, but also be in alignment with health and safety protocols. Intramural sports at a school level would also reach a larger population of students, and even those who would not participate at the interscholastic level.”
We are from Arizona and there is a real possibility that we will not have a fall season in 2020. I'd like to take information back to our administration about how NOT having sports would impact our students. Does anyone have any insights on how it would impact mental health?
Lynch: “Sports are long proven to have a positive impact on leadership development and student outcomes as well as social and emotional learning. The thought of not having a scholastic athletic program at any level would be devastating to all students and the school community as a whole. I would strongly recommend your administration considering intramural (or school-based) sports programming as that is a way to continue to keep risks low while still offering the added benefits of participation in extracurricular activities.”
What do you foresee for the future of college scholarship availability based upon COVID challenges and the retraction of sports opportunities?
Lynch: “This is a tough question to answer as a lot will be dependent on how the colleges respond to the post-COVID world. We are seeing many colleges and universities cut programs due to budgetary strains, and the NCAA moved this past spring to allow students an extra year of eligibility due to the canceled season. I think college recruitment will certainly change, and schools will have to be innovative and creative in how they continue giving their student-athletes the exposure to college coaches they deserve.”
Many state associations don’t care about the club sport provider. How would you recommend we bring the state association to the table to collaborate so we can increase club/rec sport programs to complement varsity level programs?
Randolph: “I’m always a fan of the data approach. Collect data in your area to show the academic and SEL (social emotional learning) benefits of participating in sports and look up research on the importance of sport for kids and their mental health. In short, the more kids participate, the better off they will be. The more opportunities we have like club and intramural, the more kids can participate.”
With a million more sports opportunities going to boys compared to girls nationwide, how can we ensure schools and districts are affording girls equitable opportunities to play sports and be treated equally? Schools and districts nationwide are generally not Title IX-compliant.
Randolph: “Advocacy. People have to demand better and ask for the data. The law says that these things must be equitable so file complaints with the district and the U.S. Department of Education.”
Lynch: “These concerns continue to alarm athletic administrators across the country and they should be called out when they happen. Schools should not ignore the integrity and foundation of the Title IX law as it pertains to sports.”
How do you feel about incorporating esports into high schools? I’m torn because I know kids can gain social benefits but I wouldn’t want a student to give up a live sport to join esports and miss out on the physical benefits.
Lynch: “This is going to be an ever-evolving topic of conversation, and it will have increased exposure in the post-COVID world. Esports shouldn’t be looked at as a way to replace traditional sports, but rather as a way to complement it. The target population of esports may be widely different than that of traditional sports in your schools, which would then make the argument that the more students you can involve in structured extracurricular programming, the better your student outcomes will be.”
What are your thoughts on the idea of activity, process-based programs as opposed to competitive-based programs? Some examples might be cycling, hiking, rock climbing or kayaking, where completion of a personal goal would be ahead of “winning” an event.
Lynch: “I love this idea as a complement to other scholastic athletic programs that schools can offer. The ability to offer additional recreational and intramural level programming would be a great way to increase your reach to students.”
For your district’s hiring process, do your talent recruiters explicitly seek out teachers who coach? How much weight is that given in the hiring process?
Lynch: “We have a process outlined in our CBA with our teachers’ union that mandates any open coaching position to be posted within the school building first, and then it opens up district wide. After a certain posting period, if no district teacher is qualified or applies, then schools may open it up to outside applicants. Outside applicants who have a background in education are always favored due to the understanding of the foundation and training they received.”
What are the biggest barriers for coaches getting access to quality coaching education programs?
Randolph: “Right now most coach education is centered around safety and ensuring that coaches know how to respond to medical emergencies. More needs to be done in the realm of brain development and how kids learn along with SEL. The biggest barrier that I’ve seen is money. Most coaches are volunteers. There is less ability to obtain high-level skills in these areas if they are not compensated. More organizations need to come together to gather funding to provide free learning opportunities for coaches. We can’t require this knowledge until it is widely accessible.”
Lynch: “Some of the largest barriers are costs and limited funding. One of the reasons we were able to do this in Philadelphia was to invest our league championship revenue and membership into the continued education of our coaches through our Sport Leadership Institute. Many schools and/or leagues pass that cost on to the coaches, but as our league put this as a priority for further progress, we wanted to ensure we could eliminate all barriers.”
As an AD, what kind of resources do you feel schools need to ensure that high school sports goes beyond the wins and losses?
Lynch: “It all starts with continuing education for all levels (student-athletes, coaches, ADs, officials, parents, community, etc.). Last summer, the Philadelphia Public League launched our Sport Leadership Institute, which is partnering with a number of national organizations such as the Positive Coaching Alliance, the NFHS and the NIAAA to ensure we are providing an opportunity for all of our students and staff to continue building their own leadership skills as well as staying current on all of the up-to-date knowledge and information in high school sports.”
In Massachusetts, PE is an academic subject. How might athletics be positioned as the AP level course?
Lynch: “This is a very unique and outside the box idea that should absolutely be further explored. I would assume that a PE class at an AP level would have to incorporate a kinesiology and/or exercise science component to it, as well as a focus on sport leadership.”
Do you allow middle school students to fulfill their athletic requirement outside of school? If so, what do they do during the athletic period and what qualifications are needed to become approved to opt out?
Randolph: “We are very strict that students need to fulfill the school program, and sports are part of the school program. There are some unique cases (very few), where a student participates at a high level in something not offered, but they are still required to do something and that varies with the student. We are very clear about our program requirements and the fact that part of the sport experience is the social aspect and building community, so we do not often make these exceptions. I’m not aware of a specific protocol for determining eligibility (I am still fairly new to the school), but it requires several meetings and a very persuasive argument from the family.”
Do you have a topic that you would like Project Play to explore in future COVID-19 youth sports coverage? Email Jon Solomon at jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.
