NHSAA: High School Ambition Meets Industry Professionals
NHSSAA’s logo - photo credits to https://nhssaa.org
The National High School Sports Analytics Association is a non-profit organization that creates conferences throughout the year for those interested in sports analytics to hear from those with similar interests and professional data.
These conferences allow for those who are passionate or rather, just curious about sports analytics to both make connections, which can be crucial, going into a related college major or career, or more simply, to learn more about what the industry is like. Interviewed about the organization is Virginia Choe ‘27, a co-chair of the organizing committee, currently at the Winsor School.
Choe reflected on the ideas behind the program and how they can be beneficial to even those who are new to sports analytics. She explained, “One of our goals is to just introduce these topics to people. So, for people who don’t necessarily know anything about football, [they could] join our webinar and hear from someone who knows a lot about football” as an example.
Specifically, mentioning the impact of the speakers at the event, Choe mentions one in particular that stood out to her, “We had Meg Rowley, she is the co-host of Effectively Wild and the editor-in-chief of Fan Graphs. She’s super smart, super inspiring… her voice was someone[‘s] who I’ve heard for years and it was so cool to be able to interview her and talk about baseball”.
Continuing off the point of her inspiration talking to Rowley, she mentions how hearing from speakers from different demographics breaks the barriers of perceptions that people might carry about the sports industry from prior, specifically those who saw the role of sports analytics as a traditionally male role. “A major part is not advertising the event as a space to listen to amazing female speakers, but [rather], as an event to listen to amazing speakers in baseball who just happen to be women. That’s really important to break the bias in our minds about who can be a sports analyst”
Choe also spoke about her own experience in a predominantly male sport, “One of the reasons why baseball is so important to me is because, as a girl, it’s a lot harder to get into that field…I wanted baseball to become a [sport] where everybody could play.” Choe further added how her own experience facing gender roles in sport made it all the more inspirational to hear from other women in the same sport.
Choe further commented on how member interaction with the organization continues after high school graduation, providing an example through a co-founder who graduated high school in May of 2025. “He’s taken on more of a passive role… He’s still up to date about everything that happens but he’s not actively searching for speakers or giving interviews”. Being an association built for high schoolers, Choe also comments on the importance of this type of dynamic, “Part of our whole [mission], being a high school organization is that we want to provide opportunities for high schoolers.”
Examples of said opportunities have included the organizational roles and learning the skill of, not just hearing the speakers, but communicating with them. Choe specifies her own leadership experience that the events and coordination exposed herself and other members to. “For me, it’s been so beneficial to know what it’s like to organize… and reach out to professionals. I think one of the biggest skills this has taught me is to write a good email. [Such as being] concise, formal, and getting the point across” Choe adds.
For anyone interested in sports analytics, or even helping out with NHSSAA, Choe offers advice, commenting, “Just go for it! When you’re in high school, now is the time to do whatever you want to do,” She continues by mentioning the lack of pressure in high school compared to later periods in life when new struggles such as getting a job present themselves. Choe continues, “There [are] so many resources that are open, now that everything’s online, you can [find] data from the last 20 years of baseball and put it through a coding program, [for example].”
Those who are specifically interested in NHSSAA can look forward to the annual zoom winter symposiums and this year's third upcoming National Summit, located in the Omni hotel in Seaport on March 7th, 2026. Sessions will be held from 1:00 - 5:30pm and tickets can be purchased for $35. Further updates and contact information can also be found on the official website at https://www.nhssaa.org/events.
