HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS - UP OR DOWN?

     I, the Kornerman, wrote recently about the "good old days," when there wasn't the specialization in high school sports like there is today. In those "older" times, there weren't as many activities available to youth as there is today. The result was, that a majority participated in ALL the various activities offered to keep a relationship with all their buddies if for no other reason. Personally, the Kornerman had no skills whatsoever for track. Yet, I always participated......that's where all my friends were and, as mentioned, there weren't that many other activities offered. So track? Why not?
     This leads up to a couple articles I recently noticed......."High School Girls are Leaving Basketball in Droves......or Are They? and "Football in decline, but more popular than ever." The latter story was written by Iowa based sports reporter, J.R. Ogden of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
     Being a former staff member of the Iowa Boys High School Athletic Association, I'm familiar with the fact that there was a constant effort to keep track of participation numbers in all the offered sports.
     All states do that and they report those figures to the National Federation of State High School Associations to follow any trends that may appear.
     (1) In the story about high school girls leaving basketball, the question was asked, "why would 13,000 high school girls suddenly quit basketball, as the latest national high school athletic participation survey suggests happened last year?  The answer is: Maybe they didn't.
     The story mentions that the annual national participation survey indicated, that for the first time in 30 years, participation was down. However, the overall decrease of 0.5% was slight and there were several characteristics that suggest the findings should be viewed with caution.
     We, at the IHSAA, took the survey very seriously but some states may not. The reports are voluntary, some states are slow in responding and some just go with "estimates" rather than the hard work of trying to get real accurate counts.
     For example, in the case of girls basketball, the state of Texas drew some criticism. They indicated there was a 20-percent decrease in participation with 10,636 fewer girls taking part compared to the previous year. That alone had much to do with the national decrease.
     The state of Texas would not divulge its method of estimation, nor would it reveal how many of its 1,444 schools failed to provide data.
     Finally, Jamey Harrison, deputy executive director of the Texas Interscholastic League, conceded, "we think there has probably been a decline in girls basketball participation, but we're not sure it's as drastic as the numbers suggest."
     (2) Again, citing participation figures from the National Federation of State High School Associations, Mr. Ogden pointed out, that for the first time in 30 years, football participation numbers had declined.
     In football, there were 30,829 fewer national participants than the previous year. In Iowa alone, the numbers fell from 17,011 to 15,984.
     But J.R. points out that in the middle of basketball and wrestling seasons, the biggest "chatter" among Hawkeye state fans is about a pair of Iowa football stars entering the NBA draft.. In addition, some huge wrestling events were recently held........National Duals, the D-III title event and NAIA championships....... and none of them even made it onto television sets. He wrote, "It's cold, It's winter. Yet football remains king."
     Mr. Ogden quotes New York Times reporter Bill Pennington who said, "it's a sort of popular perception that football is in decline everywhere but that's really not so. It's sort of the dichotomy that's going on about this sport in America. There are people that see it as a danger.....and this includes colleges....and there are schools that see it as a panacea for all kinds of things."
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Richard Alber, Mesquite, NV. BHS-56. His parents, Royal and Pearl Alber, had a music shop in Boone while Richard was growing up. His dad was a musician, a saxaphone player, and Richard, naturally, became involved. He played the cornet and advanced to other horns and studied music at the University of Nebraska. After marriage in 1957, he began a career as an outstanding member of some of the nation's most famous dance bands, the Ralph Marterie and Tommy Dorsey units among others. He also spent much of his life as a background musician for Las Vegas house bands who supported many well-known entertainers. His wife, two sons and two daughters survive.............M. Bernyce Engquist, 96, Madrid. Survivors include two daughters, including Jerilyn McLeod of Boone..........Jona Mann, 86, Ames. She moved to Central Iowa with her partner, Lee Hadley, in 1969. They lived on an acreage just north of Madrid. She was a teacher in Des Moines schools and had earned her PhD from ISU in 1976.
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