Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Seniors Ed Kostyak, left, and Adam Jefferson are lifted into a battle for the ball during a Woodland Hills rubgy team practice in Wilkins Twp. Click photo for larger image.

What clothes should I wear? What screen name should I use for instant messages? What cell phone should I buy?

The choices are many in the world of today's teenagers. And in the world of high school sports, many teenagers also have more choices than ever before.

Football, basketball, baseball and soccer still attract athletes in great numbers. But there is a high school sports boom in Western Pennsylvania and in many other parts of the country. It has to do with the so-called "alternative" sports. They are popping up at more schools -- and more athletes are trying them.

For example, this is the first year the WPIAL has sponsored girls' lacrosse, and 25 teams compete in the league. The WPIAL doesn't sponsor boys' lacrosse, but there are more than two-dozen district teams that play in a league (WPSLA). Twenty years ago, there were no lacrosse leagues for boys or girls in the region.

But lacrosse isn't the only new sport in the district. In areas of Western Pennsylvania, a high school student can try everything from rowing down a river in a crew race, to tackling someone in rugby, to taking a sword to an opponent in fencing.

But this isn't a Western Pennsylvania thing. Across the country, more high school students -- especially girls -- are participating in sports. According to participation statistics compiled by the National Federation of State High School Association, almost 7 million high school students participated in sports in the 2003-04 school year. And that doesn't count athletes who played on "club" teams. In 1971-72 there were less than 4 million students in sports.

Also, there were almost 3 million girls competing in sports in 2003-04. In 1971-72, there were 294,015.

Most of the "alternative" sports are not sponsored by the WPIAL and PIAA, the governing bodies of district and state high school sports. Thus, the teams are not funded by schools. Most school districts can't afford to take on new sports.

That's why many schools have "club" teams that provide their own funding.

"But we know participation is up in a lot of different sports," said Bob Lombardi, assistant executive director of the PIAA. "I don't think we've seen one sport in the past 12 years that's being played across the board in every district of the state. But there are certain sports in certain regions that are being played more."

Besides lacrosse, fencing, crew and rugby, a few other sports that have popped up in Southwestern Pennsylvania recently are roller hockey and ultimate frisbee. Bowling also has gained popularity with 31 schools now fielding teams.

There are 10 schools with crew teams competing in the Three Rivers Rowing Association. About another dozen schools in the association have students who combine with other schools to make teams.

Fifteen years ago, there were only 147 crew participants in the country. In the 2003-04 school year, there were 91,694.

"There are basically one of three reasons kids say they try [crew]," said Sean Nangle, director of operations of Three Rivers Rowing Association. "Either they got cut from another sport; they want to be an athlete, but know they won't make another team; or the idea of an alternative sport does appeal to them. They want something other than the norm."

Bethel Park sophomore Brittany Thomas wanted to try a sport three years ago, but the so-called mainstream ones such as basketball and softball didn't interest her. She was a youngster trying to find her shtick.

So she grabbed a sword.

Thomas joined the Bethel Park middle school fencing team as a seventh grader. She is now a sophomore, an assistant captain on the varsity team and hopes to continue with the sport into college. Twenty years ago, there were no fencing teams.

"I wanted something completely off the wall and different. That's why I tried this," Thomas said. "I just like the combination of being on a team and being with friends."

There are 11 schools in the region competing in two different fencing associations. They are Oakland Catholic, Central Catholic, Pine-Richland, Winchester Thurston, Fox Chapel, Seton-LaSalle, Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, North Hills and Allderdice.

"To be honest, one of the things that attracts kids is the weapons, and don't take that out of context," Bethel Park fencing coach Chris Tobias said. "But mankind has always had a strong love affair with the sword, whether it's the knight in shining armor, 'Lord of the Rings' or 'Star Wars.' Every time there is a new craze out there in Hollywood, it seems we have a good recruiting year and get more kids."

Andrew Sheaffer is a junior at Woodland Hills and is a member of the school's wrestling and golf teams. He decided to give rugby a try three years ago, and now loves the sport.

Woodland Hills is one of four Tri-State are schools to have boys' rugby teams. The others are Morgantown, W.Va., and Fox Chapel. Sto-Rox and Bishop Canevin combine for a team. All of the teams are coached by current or former Pittsburgh Harlequin players.

"I played pretty much every sport under the sun growing up," Sheaffer said. "I tried rugby mostly because some of my friends were playing and I saw a little on TV. ... Actually, it's not as hard to learn as football and baseball."

According to Lombardi, the sport closest to gaining PIAA sanctioning is boys' lacrosse. Hockey has pushed for sanctioning for years, but the majority of schools don't want to sponsor the sport because it's too expensive.

"We have a program to show young kids rowing is an alternative sport and that there are other things than just football, basketball and soccer," Nangle said.

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ON THE RISE: A look at the numbers
Here are participation figures for five high school sports (boys and girls) across the country in the 2003-04 school year, compared to 15 years ago. The figures are from the National Federation of State High School Associations and are for only interscholastic sports that are sponsored by state associations. The figures do not include athletes on club teams or other teams not sponsored by schools.

Sport	Participants
	1988-89	2003-04
Bowling	13,863	33,848
Crew	147	91,694
Fencing	617	3,008
Lacrosse	26,861	96,535
Soccer	327,360	658,817

THE 'IN' SPORTS
Here were the most popular interscholastic sports across the country for the 2003-04 school year, compared to 15 years ago.

Boys	Participants
Sport	1988-89	2003-04
Football	951,669	1,032,682
Basketball	513,575	544,811
Track and field (outdoor)	422,251	504,801
Baseball	412,825	457,146
Wrestling	242,064	238,700
Soccer	218,973	349,785
Cross country	155,192	196,428
Tennis	136,158	152,938
Golf	124,759	163,341
Swimming and diving	84,366	96,562

Girls	Participants
Sport	1988-89	2003-04
Basketball	379,337	457,986
Track and field (outdoor)	315,828	418,322
Volleyball	299,396	396,322
Softball (fast pitch)	203,569	362,468
Tennis	128,415	167,758
Soccer	108,387	309,032
Cross country	104,160	166,287
Swimming and diving	84,739	144,565
Field hockey	47,730	61,984
Softball (slow pitch)	42,724	13,431
Competitive spirit squads	NA	89,443
Golf	30,971	63,173