New Kids on the Prep Sport Block

We all know about the big three prep sport giants. There's football which dominates most fall Friday nights. Big flood lights, marching bands, and the distinctive pops of helmets crashing across that big 100 yard field. Next season comes high school basketball with full stands of fans going crazy. Quick moves. Sweet shots and if you're lucky, dunks and blocks to punctuate the night. FInally, there's 'baseball with it's tradition and tense calm waiting for the crack of a bat. We all know the big three but there's some new kids on the block and they're getting more popular every year. Let's take a look at which prep sports keep knocking on the door of high school legitimacy.

First, we have to talk about soccer. Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world. That's right...not Bakersfield but the World. The question has always been why it hasn't reached this level in the U.S. as a high school sport. Granted, it's popular but no where near the big three. The strange thing is that it's actually one of the biggest youth sports with one of the strongest organizations in the U.S. Everyone plays youth soccer? Maybe that's a function of the ease of the game. Any 5 year old kick can run around and kick a ball and the idea of kicking into the goal is pretty intuitive. Basketball, Football, and Baseball on the other hand are skill sports (not that Soccer isn't). It's really complicated for a 5 year old to understand what's going on with basketball. Dribbling is tough enough. SO every kid plays soccer but then it drops off around middle school. Some kids go to football which is a natural extension for soccer in terms of skill sets. That being said, Soccer as a high school sport is still very popular and gaining all the time. It's not exactly a "new" kid on the block but it's definitely knocking and wants in.

The other sport is relatively new at the prep sport level but has exploded in popularity over the past decade. La Crosse. Alright, before you conjure up images of smoking jackets and Judge Smails, think again. The sport is fun, fast, may we say "rough". Hand a bunch of 15 year sticks, pads, and a big field...what do you think is going to happen. If you went to high school in the 80's or even 90's, La Crosse probably wasn't even an option unless you went to a prep school and likely one on the East Coast. Now it's everywhere. It's probably the biggest change on the prep sport scene since 3 pointers hit high school basketball and we don't see it changing. La Crosse is legit now and it's definitely a new kid on the block who's knocking (with a stick) hard on the door.

Finally, you've got all the Individual Sports. This is everything from swimming to tennis (more traditional prep sports) to new entries like snowboarding and martial arts. The latter are making the transition from club sports to sport sports at the high school level.

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