HS FOOT: A million players but some teams could use a few

National participation has never been higher in high school sports, particularly football, according to a news release Tuesday by the National Federation of State High School Associations. According to the survey, more than 7.5 million are participating in high school sports, including more than 1 million in football.

But in the Valley areas, there is a significant number of schools, large and small, that are suffering from dwindling participation - from public schools such as Antelope Valley and North Hollywood, which have been forced to cut its JV programs, to private schools such as Grace Brethren of Simi Valley and Flintridge Prep, which barely have enough players to practice 11-on-11 drills.

"I'm noticing across the board, especially at the smaller schools, that numbers are becoming a problem," Flintridge Prep coach Perry Skaggs said. "Football, quite frankly, is a dying sport except at schools that make athletics a priority like Oaks Christian. But for schools like us that allocate resources across the board, football just isn't a priority anymore. For whatever reason, the kids just don't want to play."

-- Gerry Gittelson