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Message: [QUOTE="RockyMTblue2, post: 4393896, member: 250"] I want to say it was up to a decade ago that there was quite the ruckus over declining basketball numbers and how volleyball had overtaken basketball. Don't remember what reasons were offered at the time. But that's what the internet is for! [URL='https://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/story/_/id/18659764/why-young-athletes-flocking-volleyball-not-basketball-record-numbers']Why the spike in volleyball participation?[/URL] "Her decision to pick volleyball over basketball follows a national trend. Two years ago, for the first time, more high school girls played volleyball (432,176) than basketball (429,504), according to the [URL='http://www.nfhs.org/ParticipationStatistics/PDF/2015-16_Sports_Participation_Survey.pdf']National Federation of State High School Associations[/URL]. In 2015-16, volleyball added another 4,133 girls to those numbers, while basketball lost 276 participants. Examine the past decade, and the numbers are more striking. Statistics compiled by the NFHS show an increase of more than 40,000 volleyball players in that span and a decrease of 23,000 basketball players. "There's been a huge African-American crossover into our sport, and it's become the social norm now to play volleyball, whereas 10 or 15 years ago, it was basketball," Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. "It appeals not just to the super tall but the super small. The super small has a niche with the libero and the [defensive specialist] position where they can find success at a very high level." More good stuff there. Very, very long article quoting a lot of the athletes. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach