![]() ![]() He said he makes a concerted effort to get students to try football, especially in the spring while looking ahead to the following season. He said about 130 students tried out, roughly 30 higher than in 2018 when Brant was an assistant coach. Coach Brant Smith said it’s hard to find coaches for the volunteer positions when they also have to pay out of pocket to go through the necessary administrative steps to even step on the field. That could affect maybe some of the less affluent areas and maybe why their participant rates aren’t as high.”Ĭlass 4A Desert Oasis doesn’t have a freshman team this season - not because of a lack of players, but because of not enough coaches. I think finances play a large role in playing sports, unfortunately. “I know that there are still areas in town where they are struggling to field all three teams. “I think it’s more geographical,” Muraco said. That’s not always the case at lower-level programs. Liberty, Arbor View and other Class 5A programs have the luxury of being able to field freshman teams. That includes about 75 coming out for the freshman team, a significant jump after last season ended with only 28. Liberty coach Rich Muraco said his program also had record numbers, with nearly 220 students registering for one of the three teams. The number dropped dramatically to 4,861 at 94 schools in 2019, but that’s because the NIAA switched to a new reporting system that didn’t accurately capture the number of participants. It compares especially favorably with 2018 when 7,083 students played for 96 schools. Nevertheless, that’s a significant increase from the 6,132 students who played at 96 schools last year and more in line with pre-pandemic numbers. That number is fluid because some players qualify late, and it doesn’t reflect charter or private schools such as Bishop Gorman and Faith Lutheran. ![]() ![]() ![]() Football participation is up statewide.Īccording to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, about 7,075 students are playing at 98 schools statewide. So it’s a much better situation than that.”Īnd it’s not just at Arbor View. But at the same time, I was the head coach at Durango for five years, and I remember having 85 kids for the entire program and trying to field three teams. “When you’re turning that many kids away, that’s no fun,” Gerber said. About 80 players were cut because of a lack of shoulder pads, helmets and other items, Gerber said. Not expecting such a surge in interest, Arbor View didn’t have enough equipment to accommodate so many players. (Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal)Īrbor View coach Matt Gerber was blown away by the interest in his program, with a possible school-record 256 students registered to play varsity, junior varsity or freshman football. Arbor View High School huddles up after beating Snow Canyon 7-0 in the first game of the season at Arbor View High School on Friday, Aug. ![]()
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