# Should US high schools drop sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 19, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037 "2020-09-19T22:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/282 "2020-10-05T14:51:06Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > Maybe we don’t get the participation because we don’t provide the best opportunities for playing. One reason why England has around 7,000 soccer clubs is the way the structure provides such a wide range of skill levels at which to compete. > > When you get down to the 20th tier or so we’re pretty much talking about pub teams who might get together once a week to practice and drink beer (or vice versa). Still, they keep score on Sunday afternoons and if they beat their peers often enough, they can win promotion to Tier 19! So in England what ties the community to the local schools? I mean here in the US one way a town can support the local high school is to go to sports games or be in attendance at other school activities like school plays. Are their activities or events put on thru the high schools in England that bring out the community? ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/283 "2020-10-05T14:52:37Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > I live in one of those Texas towns but I don’t see it. I see parents of all the different levels, Academia, Sports, Band, Debate, they are all vocal , about their kids interests. > > That is the common theme. Parent’s of all stripe of kid want the very best experience they can have for their children. Except you might have 50 band kids, you have 3-400 football kids. So sports ends up as the vocal majority. So lets say there is a band or choir concert. Does anyone go whos kids are not in it? ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/284 "2020-10-05T14:53:23Z")
Not many no ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/285 "2020-10-05T15:31:57Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > So in England what ties the community to the local schools? … having your kids go there? Why should adults, without any kids there or otherwise in the education field, be tied to local schools? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/286 "2020-10-05T18:56:28Z")
> [@urbanredneck2](#): > > So in England what ties the community to the local schools? I mean here in the US one way a town can support the local high school is to go to sports games or be in attendance at other school activities like school plays. That " ties the community to the school " business only applies to certain places - the type of places where all or nearly all of the kids in town go to the same high school. It doesn’t really matter in places where there is some choice in high schools. If there are 20 high school kids living on my block, they may be attending 20 different high schools and they certainly won’t all be attending the same one. It’s not uncommon in some places for siblings living in the same house to attend different high schools. ---
**Author:** ![urbanredneck2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/5f8ce5/32.png) [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/287 "2020-10-06T09:51:48Z")
Well thats true also where you have numerous high schools and why it makes more sense in those areas for sports to be run thru clubs than schools. I believe in New York City sports are run thru an [Athletic League](https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/sports-and-staying-active/public-schools-athletic-league) which seems semi independent. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037/288 "2020-10-06T10:40:04Z")
No, it’s not independent, it’s part of the Department of Education. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037.md?page=14)