High school sports participation up nationwide, but down in New Jersey

New Jersey’s three-year winning streak of increasing high school sports participation has come to an end. The National Federation of State High School Associations released its annual sports participation survey for 2025-26, and New Jersey’s participation declined by 8,260 student-athletes. That’s an almost 3 percent decrease from the previous school year, from 281,971 to 273,711. It’s largely driven by the loss of 6,048 boys. “I think you just kind of get sports fatigue at some point,” said Tom Mullahey, Clifton’s athletic director and executive director of the Super Football Conference. “You’ve got kids running from a high school practice to…