Oh, but Major League Lacrosse is a thing! Average attendance in 2014 was over 10k in Denver. But it was only 1200 in Florida. Total average for MLL was about 6500 per game, which is better than I’d have expected.
http://media.majorleaguelacrosse.com/files/2014-Stats.pdf
Hockey in Canada in generally not a high school activity. Some schools have teams but the development system does not, for the most part, incorporate school teams. Hockey in Canada is extraordinarily organized, and Hockey Canada’s developmental program dictates almost everything about how it works. By the time a kid with serious hockey cred is in his third year of high school he would be playing in one of the branches of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, which are organized leagues that represent towns and neighborhoods, not schools. Players who are not destined for competitive play veer off into regional/municipal house leagues, which are still based on HC’s developmental guidelines.
Hockey in Canada is arguably the most advanced athletic developmental system in the entire world. It is almost impossible to overstate how focused they are on developing elite hockey players. If a 9-year-old shows promise, HC knows about her/him.
I wonder what the effect of places like Top Golf will have on traditional golf?
I think high school football is barely holding on and club football is raring to go. In our area club football goes up to 8th grade.
This is becoming more and more true in baseball and basketball, too. Not sure about football. But college basketball coaches are scouting *and recruiting *junior high school players.
Ultimate Frisbee is on a huge upswing. Last month, the I.O.C recognized the sport’s governing body. Expect to hear a lot more about the sport in the next few years (and give it a try if there’s a newbie league in your area - the game is an absolute blast).
Along the thought of ultimate firsbee, I’d like to see roller hockey become an olympic sport.
My son has played in the State Wars tournament so I see the sport on an upswing.