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Activities · Sports

School sports in New York: join, play safe, plan ahead

How school teams work on Long Island, what you need before the first practice, the concussion and weather rules, and the basics of playing in college.

  • Get a health exam. It is good for 12 months.
  • Fill out the health history form before each season.
  • Feel dizzy or hit your head? Stop and tell the coach.
  • Thinking about college sports? Learn the core-course rules in grade 9.
A track with a moving ball, a goal and a water bottle 1
General information. We list only rules and programs with an official page we opened. Rules, dates and fees change: always check the official page and your school. Facts checked November 9, 2026.

🏟️ How school sports work

Public high school sports in New York are run by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA). It has 11 sections. On Long Island:

CountySectionOfficial site
Suffolk (includes Deer Park)Section XIsectionxi.org
NassauSection VIIIsecviii.org

Levels of play: Modified (usually grades 7-8), Freshman, Junior Varsity (JV) and Varsity. Your school decides which teams it offers.

Not on a school team? Town recreation programs, the YMCA and club teams are other ways to play. Ask your town's parks and recreation office.

📅 Seasons 2026-27

Section XI sets its high school start days by NFHS calendar weeks (fall: week 8, football week 7; winter: week 20; spring: week 36), and says dates may change each year. Tryout days and modified-team dates come from your school's athletic office.

🩺 Before the first practice: health exam and forms

  1. Health exam by a doctor or the school. NYSED says it is valid for 12 months, through the last day of the month it was done.
  2. Health history update before each season if your exam was not in the last 30 days. A parent or guardian fills it out and signs.
  3. Nurse review. The school nurse or school health director checks it.
  4. Permission and forms from your school (sign-up, code of conduct, emergency contact).
Example with made-up dates
  • Exam on September 10, 2026. It is good through September 30, 2027 (12 months, to the end of that month).
  • Spring season starts March 8, 2027. The exam is more than 30 days old, so a parent fills out the health history update before practice.

Questions? Ask your school nurse. Ask how your district handles exams, and whether it offers them at school.

⬆️ Grades 7-8 on high school teams: the Athletic Placement Process (APP)

NYSED's Athletic Placement Process lets a district check whether a student in grades 7-8 is ready to try out for a higher level (or a student in grades 9-12 is better placed with younger players). It is for a small number of students. Districts choose whether to use it. NYSED says: "It is always best to err on the side of caution and keep a student at the age-appropriate level of play."

  1. The school board permits APP.
  2. A parent gives written permission.
  3. The school checks grades and social readiness.
  4. The district medical director checks physical maturity. The director's decision is final.
  5. The coach checks sport skills.
  6. A physical fitness test given by a PE teacher who is not the coach.
  7. Only then: tryouts at the higher level.

From NYSED's Athletic Placement Process guide (issued 2015, last updated December 2017). Ask your athletic director for your district's current form.

🧠 Concussions: the New York rules

If a hit to the head or body makes someone dizzy, confused, sick to the stomach or gives a headache: stop playing right away and tell an adult.

New York regulation (8 NYCRR 136.5) covers all public, charter and nonpublic schools:

Learn more: the free CDC HEADS UP pages, and our Sports Medicine course and Health course.

⛈️ Heat and lightning

⚡ Lightning (National Weather Service)

  • "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!" No place outside is safe in a thunderstorm.
  • Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning before going back out.
  • Safe: a large building or a hard-topped car. Not safe: dugouts, rain shelters, sheds, open vehicles.

☀️ Heat (CDC)

  • Start easy on hot days and build up bit by bit.
  • Drink more water than usual. Do not wait until you are thirsty.
  • Muscle cramps can be an early sign of heat illness.
  • Feel faint or weak? Stop and get to a cool place. Get medical care right away for heat illness signs.

🤝 Unified Sports

Unified Sports puts students with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. In New York it is an official NYSPHSAA program with Special Olympics New York:

Ask your athletic director, or read Special Olympics New York, Unified Sports.

⚖️ Fair play for girls and boys: Title IX

Title IX is a federal law. For athletics, the U.S. Department of Education says schools that get federal money (including middle and high schools) must:

Questions? Ask your district's Title IX coordinator. Read Title IX and Athletics (ed.gov).

🎓 Playing in college: the groups

GroupAcademic rule (high school)Athletic aidSign up
NCAA Division I16 NCAA-approved core courses, core GPA at least 2.3, 10 core courses done before the 7th semester (7 of them English, math or science), and graduate.Yes. Since July 1, 2025, schools in the settlement use roster limits instead of sport scholarship limits.NCAA Eligibility Center
NCAA Division II16 core courses, core GPA at least 2.2, and graduate.Yes, often partial. Each sport has a team cap.NCAA Eligibility Center
NCAA Division IIISet by each college.No athletics scholarships. Many athletes get merit or need-based aid.Free NCAA Profile Page (for an NCAA ID)
NAIAGraduate with a 2.3+ GPA, or meet 2 of 3: 2.0 GPA, top half of class, ACT 18 or SAT 970.Yes. Each college decides; sports have caps.PlayNAIA ($110 fee; waivers for U.S. students with need)
NJCAA (2-year colleges)Check NJCAA rules and the college.Division I: full aid possible. Division II: tuition, books, fees. Division III: none.Through the college

NCAA core subjects

Subject (years)Division IDivision II
English43
Math (Algebra 1 or higher)32
Science22
Extra English, math or science13
Social science22
Additional core (world language, philosophy, more of the above)44
Total1616

Try it: my core-course plan

Type how many years you have taken or plan to take. This is a planning helper only. Only courses on your school's NCAA-approved list count.

Division I 0 of 16

Division II 0 of 16

Example with made-up numbers: core GPA

A student has 4 core courses so far: A, B, B, C. On a 4-point scale A = 4, B = 3, C = 2.

Step 1: add the points: 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 12 Step 2: divide by the number of courses: 12 ÷ 4 = 3.0 Core GPA so far = 3.0 (Division I needs at least 2.3; Division II at least 2.2)

The NCAA uses only approved core courses and its own credit rules. Your counselor and the Eligibility Center make the official count.

NCAA Eligibility Center

NCAA Eligibility Center registration

📞 Recruiting basics

✅ Season checklist (saved on this device)

🔗 Sources

We opened and checked every source in this list on Nov 9, 2026. Rules and dates change: always read the official page.

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