Growing Is the Purpose: Keeping education first in high school sports

Dr. Karissa Niehoff, Chief Executive Officer of the NFHS

Jennifer Schwartz, Executive Director of the Nebraska School Activities Association

High school sports is experiencing record participation. It is also experiencing unprecedented pressure.

Across the country, young athletes are training earlier, competing year-round and navigating expectations shaped by a rapidly expanding youth sports economy. For many families, athletics now feel like increasingly high stakes.

High school sports operate differently—by design. They exist within schools, alongside classrooms, guided by the same education...