A decline in numbers has some Iowa high school basketball players feeling benched

A broken dream? A handful of Iowa high schools will field only one junior varsity team this year. These schools and players have no hope of a magical run to Wells Fargo Arena in March and the Girls State High School Basketball Tournament – something that doesn’t sit well with some high school students. “Basketball has always been an important part of my life. And served as an outlet for me,” said Adelynn Howell, a student at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows High School. Howell recently addressed the school board and expressed her frustration that her sophomore year of basketball would not happen. CGD High School made the decision to field only a JV team based on the numbers — and the fact that nine of the girls playing basketball were freshmen. An assistant director for the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, IGHSAU, told KCCI If the school has a team at any level, the student must play at that school. However, there is another way. “They can openly enroll at another school and attend that school if they want,” said Gary Ross of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Ross said the IGHSAU knows the number of girls playing high school basketball is declining. You don’t know why. “What we’ve seen is a decline of about 300 students over the last five years,” Ross said. It’s a trend they want to figure out and counteract. The other schools that will not have girls varsity basketball are Sibley-Ocheyedan, West Sioux, Central City and Charles City.