“From 2001 through 2016, the number of high schools sponsoring boys' and girls' lacrosse increased by 193% and 229%, respectively. Over that period, the number of students participating in lacrosse rose by 162% for boys and 172% for girls. For more detailed information” from NFHS. Kids are not leaving in droves and comparing numbers from 1 year to another is a bad way to look at it as many things can impact those numbers better off looking at trends over multiple years