Top 11 Most Dangerous High-School Sports

August 11, 2009

When it comes to dangerous sports in high school and beyond, cheerleading can definitely lead to serious injuries. All those daring lifts and complicated dance moves aren't the only way you athletes hurt themselves.

Here is a list of other sports that top the injury list.

Lacrosse
Football
Baseball/softball
Cheerleading
Gymnastics

To see the rest of the list read more.

Soccer
Ice Hockey
Track and Field/Cross Country
Swimming/Diving
Basketball
Wrestling

Did you play any of these growing up, and if so, did you ever get hurt?

Source: Getty

Sports

49 Comments

2 years

It should go: Lacrosse Gymnastics Football Soccer Hockey Cheerleading etc etc. Ouch my body hurts just thinking about my soccer injuries ^^"

2 years

yes i do wrestling now that sport is dangerous cause you can get slammed on ur head get a concussion and die from head and neck injury and yes i got injured doin this sport

2 years

I know Drill Team is only popular in the state of Utah, (youtube: Hillcrest Drill Military, Bingham Drill Dance Routine, Bountiful Drill Kick Routine) but dance/drill teams are also really dangerous. not as dangerous as some, but my doctor told me he gets more dancers in for injuries than any other sport

2 years

what about water polo?

3 years

I think that the list is right in that lacrosse is definitely the most dangerous sport. When a solid rubber ball gets winged into your head or a metal pole's jammed into your side, it can cause some damage. Even so, the worst part is the fact not only are you being jammed and macked into the ground like in football, people are jamming ang smacking you into the ground with 3-ft long metal poles. The injuries ive had from lacrosse are far worse than those ive seen in other sports.

3 years

I have gotten hurt with softball basketball football hockey soccer and diving

3 years

@fencestamj: this is based on reported injuries. As you've just said you have enough protection to stop 99% of injuries before they're a problem. for me, Lacrosse / Field Hockey - #1, ice hockey / Football #2. Everything else 3 and soccer 4. Soccer is dangerous for foot injuries, but in normal circumstances you don't have a 100KG brute trying to cause those injuries for you. Cheerleading has gotta hurt though - We don't have cheerleaders here, some of the stuff they do is fantastic.

3 years

Fencing definately should be up there in the top. We have to wear thick canvas type protectors that cover almost all our legs, all of our upper body beside the head, an additional underarm protector (so if a blade goes up our arm it doesn't stab through our armpit-hey! great way to get a punctured lung), high socks, a glove, a metal mesh mask with a 'bib' across our neck to protect that, and girls have to wear an extra chest protector. In addition, fencing actually started out as 3 things, which evolved into the diffrent parts of Fencing. The is Epee, which comes from war. That was how they fought battles. Foil was- noblemen with lighter weapons in war, or practice for war. and saber came from cavalry fighting, where you would be on a horse, running past people and slashing at their heads, arms, chest. Naw. something where they require you to wear a good 6/7 heavy canvas protectors, are fighting (albeit with buttons on the sides and in a control manner) with what we still call 'weapons' and evolved from war itself, no, that is not dangerous in the least.

3 years

I play cheerleading, its fun. we do lots a stunts

3 years

wrestling should be #1 on list but this was based on reported injuries and wrestler are so tuff that they will not report any thing short of a broken bone personally i think cheerleading,swimming,baseball,soccer,basketball,gymnastics, and track should be taken off the list because they are not even sports

3 years

Ohkay now this annoys me. Every list that i look at dance is not on it. its way more dangerous then cheerleading and football combined. No pads. No mats. I have done cheerleading and i never got hurt, i have even been dropped from being a flyer. and my brother, a football player, had tried to do dance and couldn't even get through one dance class. these lists annoy me because if you fall in dance, you don't have anybody there and your hitting hardwood floor. there are way more injuries that you can get in dance then anyother sports that will last you the rest of your life.

PirateKitty 3 years

Rugby man... Rugby!

bbbunton 3 years

i think field hockey and lacrosse are two of the most dangerous sports. ive seen severe injuries and balls to every part of your body. in fact, i got hit with a ball today at field hockey practice...hahha.

telane 3 years

I did cheer, track, golf, and soccer.... I would have to say that cheer and soccer definitely fit the most dangerous list.... I got clocked in the head during a soccer game and basically crumpled to the ground, unconscious. I came to pretty quickly, but had one hell of a headache. Also, I was the flier on our varsity cheer squad, and though I was never seriously injured, there were many-many-many close calls. The worst one happened while teaching a more challenging basket toss to some newer squad members, I was launched halfway down the basketball court, finally being caught by a couple of veteran members and our coach who just HAPPENED to be there. We all ended up hitting the ground, but luckily no one ended up with anything more than some bad bruises. The girls responsible (who were screwing around) were sidelined for the rest of the year. I can't believe how moronic some people can be.

bmee6141 3 years

and many people don't get it, but colorguard ( those with the flags in my marching band) is down right nasty as well. It might look easy and cheesy, but when that wind blows and your tossing a 6 foot metal pole- that fabric turns into a sail and brings it right towards your face- not to mention the spinning and tossing of 5-8lb. of wood (a rifle) and 5 lb. saber (taped metal)- pinched nerves, broken finger, fractured wrists from catching wrong, concussions from hit on the head with a flag, rifle, saber...its ugly out there too

bmee6141 3 years

I'd have to agree with field hockey I was the goalie, and I know you think that i had all those pads- but when you bend your leg to clear a ball and it hits a bad patch of grass- theres nothing protecting that ball from hitting squarely on the knee cap or any exposed part of the body. No to mention the dives, sticks to the ribs... now imagine when your a field player- i seen front teeth get knocked out, balls to the head, sticks to the face and every other body part field hockey can be down right dangerous

Chrstne 3 years

I always did cheerleading, gymnastics, and dance in high school. I did cheerleading in college, too. Cheerleading did the worst damage, I'd say. But, aside from that, and everything combined -- my knees will absolutely never be the same again. I have old woman's knees.

ella1978 3 years

I too don't think swmimming is dangerous, but I guess there is always the possiblity of drowning - which most other sports don't have. My injuries would compile a long list, cause I was an extreme player. Lots of sprained ankles, knees, etc. I have tendonitis in my serving shoulder & my opposite elbow (not sure why...), hip injuries, missing cartelidge in my left knee. I also grew up on a horse farm, so I did a lot of riding, no injuries there (even after a few spills) but horses stepping on my feet left me with LOTS of broken toes.

nia0nia 3 years

Picture: there MUST be some harnesses and ropes in that move!

cotedazur 3 years

I did cross country, swimming, and track and field - but I only ran the distance events in track and field, no hurdles for me. I think the only injuries I've had were a sprained ankle once from tripping on a tree root (but I'm clumsy) and a punctured eardrum when my teammates were horsing around with a kickboard and it slammed into the side of my head. Hyzenthlay, those are such awful stories!! I had pneumonia my sophomore year and my track coaches kept telling me it was allergies - don't you wish they would have more confidence in us??

taylor350 3 years

field hockey definitely tops my list. My only sports injury ever was playing hockey

hyzenthlay20 3 years

I was a swimmer and water polo player too . . . I got rotator cuff tendinitis in my shoulders from swimming, but that wasn't bad. Once, doing dryland weights, I strained a tendon that's near my collar bone and it didn't heal. I ended up getting a cortizone shot to help it to heal. Waterpolo is WAY more dangerous than swimming, IMO. It's full contact with 6 ounces of material to protect you. I took a shot to the forehead from an All-American player on the other team and blacked out. My coach didn't believe that anything was wrong, and made me play the rest of the game. The next day I found out I had a concussion, and I had to sit out the rest of the season. Awful way to end your Senior season! Oh, and I almost forgot about breaking my finger while playing polo . . . again, my coach didn't believe me, told me I had jammed it and instructed me to "pull it out" then put me back in the game. Found out a few days later that I had split the bone into the knuckle and possibly set it myself when I "pulled it out." The sad thing was, that this was the summer after my freshman year, and up until the concussion incident my senior year, my coaches believed me if I said something was wrong.

sourcherry 3 years

I just wanted to say that is an incredible picture! The girl in the middle... wow! No wonder it's so dangerous!...

darc5204 3 years

Glad I'm not the only one to have jumped hurdles onto my face, vanonymous. I also tore my quad once. I love playing soccer now, but that also provides a steady stream of minor injuries.

gigglesss 3 years

i'm a pitcher for my highschool softball team and i play a lot of tennis. I couldn't tell you how many times i've sprained my wrist from over usage. So everytime i'm finished playing, i have to wear a wrist splint the next day and ice it. Aside from that, i wear a knee brace everytime i play as well to avoid surgery that i *should* have.

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