Rankings in orange circles compare this sport with nine other sports offered for this gender before customization – meaning each of the three health categories is given an equal one-third weighting. The ranking is comprised of data collected or developed from various sources (75% of score) and expert opinion (25% of score). The healthiest sports in each of the three categories – physical activity, safety and psychosocial benefits – and in each data measurement are ranked No. 1. Note: Some sports did not have significant differences between each other in the data. Learn more about our methodology.
3rd
out of 10
Physical Activity
Expert Opinion Rank: 2nd Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Swimming physical activity at practices ranks third among the 10 boys sports studied by North Carolina State University. Swimming has 56.6 percent vigorous activity; the 10 boys sports average 48.5 percent. Thirty-nine percent of swimming practice time focuses on fitness compared to 29 percent on skills.
1 North Carolina State University research observing high school athletes in North Carolina, 2017-18.
2nd
out of 10
Safety
2.1
Injury Rate2(1st out of 10)
5%
Injury Time/Loss3(2nd out of 10)
0.18
Catastrophic Rate4(7th out of 10)
0%
Injuries Requiring Surgery5(T-1st out of 10)
0.8
Concussion Rate6(4th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 1st Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Swimming has the lowest injury rate among boys sports, according to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. The most common injuries are to the shoulder, including rotator cuff impingement. Even when swimmers do get hurt, they tend to not miss a lot of time compared to other sports.
2 Injury rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
3 Percentage of all injuries resulting in greater than three weeks of time loss from the sport, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
4 Non-fatal catastrophic injury/illness rate per 100,000 exposures, National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 1982-2016.
5 Percentage of all injuries requiring surgery, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
6 Concussion rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
4th
out of 10
Psychosocial
Aspen Psychosocial Survey7
3.406
Personal Social Skills(7th out of 10)
2.622
Cognitive Skills(7th out of 10)
3.697
Goal-Setting(2nd out of 10)
3.802
Initiative(3rd out of 10)
3.625
Health(5th out of 10)
1.118
Negative Experiences(1st out of 10)
Substance Abuse
Cigarette Use8
15.9%
(6th out of 10)
Binge Drinking9
26.7%
(4th out of 10)
Marijuana Use10
29.7%
(7th out of 10)
Academic Achievement
Cut Class11
28.4%
(5th out of 10)
A/A- Student12
37.7%
(3rd out of 10)
Graduate From College13
58.7%
(7th out of 10)
Psychological health14
How We Define Our Metrics
4.23
Self-Esteem(T-7th out of 10)
2.34
Fatalism(9th out of 10)
3.83
Self-Efficacy(2nd out of 10)
2.6
Loneliness(8th out of 10)
2.07
Self-Derogation(9th out of 10)
4.24
Social Support(1st out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 4th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Swimming rates fourth among the 10 boys sports in the Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial survey, not too far behind No. 1 football. Goal setting and initiative are strengths for swimming. The sport has the highest score for social support, according to Women’s Sports Foundation data.
7 Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial benefits survey of high school athletes nationally, 2018. Scoring ranges from 1-4, with 4 being the best except for the Negative Experiences category.
8 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
9 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport binge drinking alcohol in the past two weeks. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
10 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport using marijuana in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
11 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who cut class for a full day in the past month. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
12 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who have an average grade of an A or A-. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
13 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who expect to graduate from a four-year college. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
14 Average scores of high school seniors in the sport in psychological health report card. Data for these six categories came from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters. Scoring ranges from 1-5, with 5 being the best for self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support.