Some High School Sports Are Played in All Three Seasons

It is fairly common knowledge that all high schools play football during the fall months of the year, but what about the sports of soccer, tennis and golf? That would depend on the region of the country and whether the sport is being played by boys or girls. Did you know that swimming is actually a spring sport in three states?

The answers to the time of year that states sponsor various high school sports are contained in the NFHS Sports Season Survey, which can be viewed in the latest edition of the NFHS Handbook. The 2023-24 survey represents dates of seasons and championships in 17 sports in which high school students compete.

In addition to football, basketball, track and field, cross country and girls volleyball are the other sports in which all 51 associations (50 states plus District of Columbia) compete during the same time of year. All 50 states plus DC offer basketball in the winter, outdoor track and field in the spring, and cross country and girls volleyball in the fall.

Wrestling is close to 100 percent with 49 of the 50 states (Mississippi doesn’t offer the sport) hosting boys championships and 42 of 43 offering girls wrestling in the winter months. Alaska is the outlier as it offers wrestling during the fall. Similarly, 47 of the 48 states with boys baseball (Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming do not offer the sport) play in the spring, with Iowa conducting the sport during the summer.

Although offered in a limited number of states, field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse are played at the same time of year throughout the country. The survey indicated 15 states offer boys ice hockey and 11 states have girls championships – all during the winter months. Sixteen states have girls field hockey – all during the fall months—and 23 states have boys and girls lacrosse championships – all in the spring.

For other sports such as the aforementioned soccer, tennis and golf, however, you might need a guide to know when the sport is played in your part of the country.

While soccer may be traditionally considered a fall sport, many states play the sport during the winter and spring months. On the boys side, 32 states play it in the fall, with 14 in the spring and five during the winter. It is a little more evenly divided on the girls side with 26 states offering it in the fall, 20 states in the spring and five during the winter. As you might imagine, the five states that play soccer in the winter have a climate conducive to playing outdoors: California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi.

While the majority of the 51 associations offer tennis in the spring, there are a number of states that have fall tennis, particularly on the girls side. A total of 41 associations offer boys tennis in the spring, with the other 10 in the fall, while girls play the sport during the spring months in 33 states and in the fall in 18 states.

Of the 50 state associations that offer boys golf (Alaska does not), 26 tee it up in the spring and 24 in the fall, while the reverse occurs for the 49 states (minus Alaska and West Virginia) that stage girls golf championships with 21 in the spring and 28 in the fall.

Swimming and diving covers the entire year as well, with 48 states offering the sport for boys and girls (South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont do not). While predominately a winter sport for boys, the distribution is more even for girls. Thirty-seven states offer swimming in the winter, followed by eight in the spring and three in the winter. For the girls, 28 states have the sport in their winter lineup, followed by 17 in the fall and three in the winter.

All 51 associations offer girls fast-pitch softball, with 45 playing the sport in the spring, five in the fall and one (Iowa) in the summer.

Other sports in the survey include girls gymnastics and boys volleyball. Of the 22 associations with girls gymnastics, 16 play in the winter, four in the fall and two during the spring. While girls play volleyball exclusively during the fall, in the 23 states that have boys volleyball, the survey indicated 18 are held in the fall and five in the spring.