HS Soccer Continues to Grow in Texas

By Stephanie Ramirez and Chris Scmidt, Communication Officers | Tuesday, April 19, 2011 8:17 AM

At the Soccer State Championship tournament, senior midfielder Camice Karing, a Colleyville Heritage Panther, moves to control the ball as senior defender Erin McLemore, a Clear Lake Falcon, approaches. The Panthers won the semifinal game 1-0. The Panthers lost the championship game to the Boyd Broncos 0-1 in overtime.

Photo by Jeanne Acton

While soccer has not been around as long as some of the other UIL athletic activities, it has seen its fair share of changes over the last several years. Since its inception as a UIL-sanctioned sport in 1983, soccer has consistently increased in both school and student participation, changed its classification process and seen five different State Tournament locations.

Over the last 20 years, soccer has more than doubled in the number of schools participating in both boys’ and girls’ soccer. The number of student participants in soccer has increased by more than 200% since the 1991 season.

There are several possible reasons for the significant increase in these statistics, according to UIL Assistant Athletic Director and Soccer Tournament Director Peter Contreras.

One possible contributing factor to the popularity of the sport could be the success of our National Soccer Teams over the past several years, including both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s runs at the World Cup. Another possible factor could be the growth of diversity around the state, increasing the number of students wishing to participate in soccer.

In 1998, due to the amount of schools participating in soccer, the UIL split the sport in to two conferences, which is how it remains today, crowning 4A girls’ and boys’ and 5A girls’ and boys’ State Champions. Prior to 1998, only one state champion was crowned for both boys and girls.

“The popularity of soccer had grown so much by 1998 that we had too many schools participating for just one conference,” Contreras said. “That growth allowed us to create another conference.”

The growth has continued. The number of schools participating in soccer over the last several years has increased steadily. In the latest Reclassification & Realignment, which took place in February 2010, the UIL increased the number of districts in 4A from 32 to 64. This number of districts makes it the largest play-off bracket in any UIL sport.

“Soccer started out as a sport that was a major-city sport,” Contreras said. “Its growth has allowed soccer to expand beyond the major metroplexes of the state.”