Only seven of 25 girls showed up at a recent rugby practice at Lisgar Collegiate. Declining participation in high school sports has led many phys-ed teachers to question why.
Participation in physical education and sports has dropped among senior students in recent years at Lisgar Collegiate, says the school’s gym teacher and coach.
As the head of athletics and coach of both junior and senior girls’ basketball, John Ruff says he’s noticed a decline.
This year, the senior girls basketball team has only nine members, and two of them are injured.
Ruff says he picked a large junior girls team of 15 members, hoping that more would stay on and play in their senior years.
Ruff says the decline may be particular to Lisgar Collegiate because “our kids are involved in everything.” Some girls missed a recent junior basketball practice because they were at band.
Ruff says the school tries to promote athletics but there is still little interest among seniors. As physical education is not compulsory beyond grade nine, many students decide not to take it.
Gym also is an open credit, which means students cannot include the course in their university applications, says Leslie Chaplin, a grade 12 student at the school. She says she stopped taking gym because she wanted to pursue other academic courses.
When Chaplin was in grade ten, she says about 40 girls tried out for the junior basketball team but last year there were only eight players on the senior team and most of them had only ever played basketball in gym class.
“It was a learning experience,” she says. “We got lots of playing time.”
Both Chaplin and Ruff agree that students don’t continue with athletics because many get part-time jobs and choose to pursue academics more seriously. Some also narrow their focus to a specific sport, says Chaplin.
Murray Shoup, the coach of the girls’ rugby team, says that if students can get credit for participating in band, they should also get credit for sports. He says sports teach students important life skills.
The girls rugby team has junior and senior girls,but only around 25 members. At a recent practice, only seven girls came.
Ruff and Shoup say players like Chaplin are an exception to the rule. She balances basketball, rugby and hockey with the school’s sports council, yearbook club and band.
Chaplin says, however, that none of her friends do as much as she does.