According to a study conducted by Women In Sports, more than one million teenage girls quit their sport during high school. This worldwide trend is affecting athletics at Waterford High School. In a survey sent out to student athletes at WHS, there was a visible decline in female participation, with 72 females competing in their freshman year but only 41 in their junior year.
Chris Landry, Athletic Director at Waterford High School, sees the decline: “Definitely in female sports, and I have seen it a lot with other teams in our league, [participation] has gone down significantly.” Despite the efforts to revive youth sports programs, like encouraging participation in youth nights and high school clinics, select sports continue to struggle.
Freshman at Waterford, Audrey Westkott, participated in youth lacrosse, a program suffering from a lack of participation. When she first joined the program, she was playing with 30 or more girls. However, as she continued to play, more players left, making it necessary to combine eighth graders with fourth graders. Westkott also believes that these issues stem from players “focusing on one sport during all other seasons, preventing them from trying multiple sports.”
Taylor Shannon, a lacrosse coach at the high school, agrees with Westkott’s analysis: “If kids aren’t playing multiple sports at a young age, they tend to specialize in one sport, taking away from other sports.” Shannon noted that this trend is continuing in other districts as well. As a former lacrosse coach at NFA and current assistant soccer coach at Fitch, Shannon offers multiple perspectives: “Fitch had 30-something girls and barely enough for a JV team,” and NFA, a school with a total enrollment of 2,079 students, “Never had to make cuts.”
These patterns were also significant in girls’ soccer at WHS. This 2025 season, the girls’ soccer team only has 21 players, requiring at least 11 to field a varsity team, and even more for substitutions. However, in 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the team gained 19 freshmen, forming a roster of 44.
Joe Mooney, assistant coach for girls varsity soccer and paraprofessional at WHS, also believes that the low participation numbers are a consequence of COVID. Observing the behavior of high school students, both in the classroom and on the field, Mooney has noticed that “students would rather not do something than fail at it.” This attitude prevents students from trying new sports and putting themselves in an unfamiliar environment, ultimately leading to a significant decline in athletic participation.
Moreover, female sport declines are present throughout all three seasons, especially in the winter. Lucy Walker, a two-time captain of the women’s basketball team, has noticed an “unexplainable” decline during her four years in the program. “I remember watching the girls when I was in 8th grade; they had such a large bench, and every girl on the court was skilled. Since that year, the numbers have declined rapidly, barely allowing us to field a team.”
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Alongside the common patterns displayed among the declining participation in girls’ soccer, lacrosse, and basketball, multiple students have reported a dislike in the environment of the sports. Sports can become, or are, very competitive; especially team-oriented sports. There is consistently a fight for a position on the starting lineup or playing time in a game. Coaches tend to encourage this fight, as it provokes a greater passion for the sport and inspires a desire to win, however these drastic declines display athletes’ fear of failure that often ends their experience playing said sport.
On the other hand, programs such as cheerleading and volleyball continue to flourish, despite the massive decline. Every year, the Waterford High School volleyball team fields a freshman, junior varsity, and varsity team. Landry strongly believes this trend is due to the developmental programs offered to volleyball players: “We have a 7th grade team, an 8th grade team, a 9th grade team, a 10th-11th grade team. That development is why I think their numbers have been consistent.” In addition, a starting volleyball lineup consists of 6 athletes compared to 11 that are needed for soccer.
Volleyball also benefits from the involvement of highschoolers. Volleyball season for the middle school takes place during the spring, enabling high school students to volunteer for hours and help younger athletes learn skills of the game. This partnership joins the programs and allows incoming freshmen to be familiar with the team, creating a seamless transition.
With high school athletes giving time back to youth programs in events like a youth night or clinic, Landry has faith that these numbers will improve, since many younger athletes tend to look up to and idolize the leadership of older athletes. Landry believes that high school is a new opportunity to experiment with activities. Whether students have played sports in the past, or are looking for something new, the teams and captains at Waterford High School foster environments constructed from inclusion and personal growth, giving young students perfect opportunities to find a passion in athletics.
