Fading Friday night lights: Massachusetts tackles declining high school football participation

Adobe StockFor some high schools in Massachusetts, Friday night lights are fading.“The NFL has never been more popular, but high school [football] in Massachusetts, you can’t argue with those numbers,” Erik Ormberg, Medfield head football coach, said. “It is a concern.”The latest high school participation numbers present a troubling trend. The National Federation of High School Associations released its athletics participation statistics for the 2025-26 school year.The data shows football is still the most popular high school sports nationally and in-state, but in Massachusetts, participation numbers have declined 18% over the last decade.Boston 25 sports reporter Lauren Walsh spoke to multiple high school football coaches and administrators to dig into why this is happening.“There are so many distractions, and you can easily play NCAA college football or pro football on your phone or your computer,” Catholic Memorial head coach John DiBiaso said. “Why come out and sweat and work hard and sacrifice when you can take an easy route out?”“Maybe families are also looking at the safety concerns,” Millis athletic director Mike Rector suggested. “I know there have been talks, not just at Millis, but at other schools, where some families are nervous to have their child play football, which I don’t blame at all.”“I think Covid had something to do with it,” Ormberg said. “I think the declining population in the state of Massachusetts has something to do with it. I think in this internet age, there is some scary stuff out there.”The low and declining high school football participation numbers are evident from large to small schools.“We had 75 kids ten years ago and now we have 41 guys that are playing nine through twelfth grade,” Ormberg said.Millis athletic director Mike Rector shared their football program only has 25 kids, 17 of which are graduating seniors.Millis was one of five high schools that had to forfeit games in the month of October. The others were Manchester Essex, Lexington, Saugus, and Quabbin Regional. The reason for the forfeits was consistent among those schools.“That came to the number of injuries, unfortunately,” Rector said. “We had some injuries before the season, and then when we were around that week, we realized that we had roughly around 15 kids, and that just wasn’t safe enough for us to play.”So it turns out, the country’s most popular high school sport is starting to need a sales pitch for participation.“I am constantly trying to recruit kids and families,” Ormberg said. “I don’t recruit players; I recruit moms. I think we have to build the trust with the parents and hopefully you’ll see that during the tackling drills.”Medfield head coach Erik Ormberg does a tackling clinic as part of his practices, twice a week, to try to reduce injury and increase confidence in executing a safe and effective tackle.“As a football coach, as a parent, as a school counselor, I want kids to be able to do dangerous things and hard things as safe as they can,” Ormberg shared. “They get behind the wheel of a car, that’s a dangerous thing. We are trying to do everything we can to make a risky sport as safe as possible.”Rosters around the state might be shrinking, but the love for the game is still growing in Massachusetts.“Ten years ago, there were Super Bowls won here and the community has been so great and we’re hoping to continue to build that because it’s not just for Millis High School, it’s also for the community itself,” Rector said.“For some of them, these two and a half hours pushing that sled is the best part of their day, and I would hate to see something like that go away,” Ormberg said. “For the kids that are passionate about competing on Friday night, there is something special about those Friday night lights, and I hope they stick around long after my coaching days are over.”Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW