Gibson Southern High School is potentially implementing two new sports next school year, lady’s wrestling and men’s volleyball. IHSAA official Jason WIlle is one of the big influences on getting these new sports incorporated into Indiana sports. 

“IHSAA has been open to increasing athletic opportunities for Indiana high school students in recent years beyond the 22 sponsored sports that are currently offered,” Wille said in an email. “We’d been approached by the state coaches associations for volleyball and wrestling and during those discussions, we’ve seen an increase in both the numbers of teams and participants in both sports across the state. There was also a willingness on the part of the leadership in both sports as well as the state athletic administrators to adhere to IHSAA eligibility requirements.”

The structure for the postseason in each sport is yet to be determined. IHSAA needs a certain amount of school participation before they introduce a structured tournament including Sectional, Regional, Semi-State and State. As of now, the minimum number of schools required for sponsorship is currently set at one hundred and fifty. Although, there is a proposal in consideration by the IHSAA Board of Directors to lower this number to one hundred. This decision will be voted on by the Board at its annual meeting on Monday, May 1.

“Both sports are considered “Emerging” under the IHSAA definition because they have not yet reached the level of participation that would bring about full sponsorship and a state tournament,” Wille said.

The season of which each sport will be played is still uncertain, although according to Wille, it is likely that lady’s wrestling will be a winter sport while men’s volleyball will be a spring sport. 

While the IHSAA is supporting the emergence of these two new sports, the possibility of them starting at Gibson Southern is uncertain.

“We have not officially added either sport [at Gibson Southern],” Athletic Director Nick Hart said.

As for Gibson Southern, many students have interest in these sports.

“If the season falls before track season, boy’s volleyball would definitely be something that I would be interested in, along with a ton of other boys in my class,” sophomore Braxton Toy said. 

In past years, girls have still been able to participate in wrestling at the school, but it was co-ed with the boys’ team. 

“Girls wrestling would be a great opportunity for our school as a whole,” junior Jalynn Pohl said. “I would be very excited to be a part of this chance to challenge the girls to do something more difficult. It will be awesome not to be the only girl wrestling with the boys next year.” 

With no final decision to be made on whether the two sports will be introduced to Gibson Southern High School, many decisions are yet to be made, although the student body of Gibson Southern has shown interest in both sports.