WHEELING — Though it might sometimes be tough to tell, education-based athletics are doing quite well in the United States.

Participation numbers are up for boys and girls sports across America, according to National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) Executive Director Bob Gardner.

“I think the fact that (participation) numbers are up, it reaffirms the value that students and their parents see in school-based programs,” Gardner said. “We believe so strongly in that and it’s one of the things we continue to work at to make sure young people take advantage of the opportunities they have before them.”

That goal and many other topics were discussed earlier this week when the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission hosted the NFHS and its annual Section Two meeting at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center.

“We’re holding section meetings all over the country and this is the sixth one of eight,” Gardner said. “It’s amazing how similar each of the sections are, but there is still some uniqueness to each state, too.”

Section Two is comprised of West Virginia, Ohio, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington DC.

SSAC Director Bernie Dolan — the former Wheeling Park principal and Ohio County Schools Assistant Superintendent — represented the Mountain State and served as the host of the event. Executive Director Dr. Daniel Ross represented the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

“Each state has its own issues that it’s working with, but a lot of things we hear are very similar,” Gardner said.

At the top of the list of items the NFHS is dealing with remains player safety. And in today’s sporting culture, when you talk player safety and health, concussions are are near the top of the list.

“Everything that’s happened in the NFL and at the professional level has certainly raised the proper concerns on the part of parents looking at their sons and daughters playing a sport,” Gardner said. “Football gets the brunt of that concern, but it’s certainly not the only sport.”

Gardner applauded the work being done by the state associations to develop concussion protocol for student-athletes. Ohio was actually one of the forerunners in such plans.

“Our states are doing a good job of making sure students are aware and going through the proper procedures before they get back (on the field),” Gardner said. “I actually think our sports are safer than they’ve ever been because there is more awareness now.”

Though the numbers for the 2017 season aren’t totally compiled yet, Gardner said football participation was “down ever so slightly” in 2016.

“There are 14,000 schools in the NFHS state associations that play football and it was probably a two percent drop,” Gardner said.

Football may have been down, but Gardner is pleased that sports such as soccer, lacrosse, boys volleyball were up for boys. He quickly surmised that those athletes aren’t giving up sports, but instead playing other things.

The second hottest topic on the list is the lack of officials. That’s one of the problems that’s facing every state and league in the United States.

According to Gardner, the average age of an official — regardless of sport — is 53 years old.

“We’re working nationally and with each state to try to recruit young people to go into officiating,” Gardner said. “We have to do a better job of attracting young people to give back to the sports.”

The NFHS is also launching a national campaign that encourages each state to tell it’s story. It’s working with students who attended the National Student Leadership Conference this past summer to help with that project.

“Every state has a great story to tell and we want to hear them,” Gardner said. “It’s called, ‘my reason why’ and the kids tell why they play. We’re really excited about that.”

With each state — and athlete — having that story to tell, the NFHS is also working to get more stories to tell by encouraging athletes to play more than one sport. The NFHS has launched a study.

“We’re looking at the whole idea of sports specalization and how that might not be good at the high school age,” Gardner said. “Specializing in like middle school and below isn’t in the best interest of young people. You see more injuries, especially extremity injuries.”

A problem that’s facing schools in the Ohio Valley is also on the NFHS’ list of things to pay attention to over the course of coming years. Declining enrollments, which are leading to fewer kids to comprise teams, are a problem everywhere, especially in the small-town areas.

“We’re seeing a more difficult time of putting teams together and it’s a socio-economic type of things because there just aren’t a lot of jobs,” Gardner said. “A lot of people are growing up, graduating and then they leave. High schools that once had 150 students, it gradually declines to 120. It’s not just here. It’s a big concern in the states out west, too.”

One of the sports that’s feeling the crunch is football. Though it’s not been sanctioned by either Ohio or West Virginia (yet), eight-man football is growing in popularity across the country.

“Schools don’t want to give up their (football) programs, so they’re opting for 8-man and we’re really looking at that,” Gardner said.

SETH’S SCOOPS

∫ GARDNER IS not a fan of some of the ‘schools’ that are popping up all over the country that are playing national-type schedules and travelling all over America to play games. Most are in the sport of boys basketball.

“That’s not high school sports,” Gardner said. “High school sports are about playing in your community where your parents, friends and family members can watch you play and support you.”

∫ THE NEWS that broke last Tuesday about the scandal that’s rocking college basketball made Gardner “sick.”

“Each state is responsible for amateurism, but we talk about it at the national level and we want to assist our associations,” Gardner said. “That’s not the example we should see in our colleges and what should be taking place. Playing for the love of the game still counts, which is the beauty of high school sports. Because 98 percent of kids in high school aren’t going on to play at the collegiate level.”

∫ DON’T EXPECT to see Gardner at any college football games on a Friday night anytime soon. He and the NFHS are adamantly opposed to the shift in the schedules which have placed games on the night that was once always reserved for prep football.

“I hope it fails, I hope the crowds are down and I hope people don’t go to college games on Friday night. It’s high school night and that’s where they should be,” Gardner said. “We drafted a resolution from our board and sent it to all of the Power 5 conferences. High school needs the support of the entire football community and I hope the powers that be realize that moving forward.”

Staskey can be reached via email at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com or at twitter.com/TLSportsSeth