SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — We are in the thick of basketball season across all levels, however, one Sioux Falls girls coach is concerned about a trend he has noticed over the last several years: a decrease in participation numbers.
“We can’t shrink our funnel,” Washington head coach Jamie Parish said. “We can’t cut these kids before they’ve even developed into their bodies.”
Jamie Parish is in his 11th season leading the Washington Warrior program. With 25 years of coaching experience, he has noticed a shift in the game from a grassroot level.
“It’s really gotten away from developing kids,” Parish said. “What it’s turned into is wins and losses. Remove that emphasis from winning and losing and move it into more player development, retention, possibly some three-on-three. But ways to keep kids coming back.”
Over the last roughly two decades, participation in girls high school basketball has dropped nearly 20%, according to the Associated Press. Parish pointed to a lack of skills development and access to the game as two driving factors for the lower enrollment.
“We need to do a better job of finding free or very, very low cost things to promote to these kids,” Parish said. “Otherwise, this is going to turn into what, tennis and golf used to be, where you have to have money if you want to participate.”
He also touched on specialization, saying some kids are choosing to focus on one sport at an earlier age than before. Additionally, some players get discouraged from playing with the physical nature of the game and will then not take the time to develop their potential.
“There’s a lot of really athletic, tall kids who can move and do things in our building that are down to one sport,” Parish said. “Or there’s other kids who have developed late, and they’ve never played a sport.”
Parish also discussed the rise in popularity of women’s basketball from Caitlin Clark, saying a lot of those children drawn to the sport because of her are younger than high school age. We reached out to the SDHSAA but have not heard back.
