This story originally appeared in the October issue of ESPNHS magazine.

No city in the country represents the American ideal of a melting pot more thoroughly than New York, so it’s fitting that even Gotham’s high school sports reflect that diversity.

The city’s Public Schools Athletic League offers a variety of non-traditional sports, including handball and double dutch. But in the past few years, the PSAL has also introduced two of the most popular sports in the world: cricket and rugby.

Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the NYC Department of Education’s School Support Services, which oversees the PSAL, says there were a number of factors that went into incorporating these sports. One was familiarity: Goldstein lived in England for a number of years and witnessed the popularity of both sports.

Then there was the issue of demographics. Cricket is enormously popular in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and according to 2010 Census figures, these populations have exploded in many parts of the city in recent years.

“We saw adults playing cricket at the parks on weekends,” Goldstein says. “Our desire was to be welcoming to those changing demographics.”

Indeed, there were 418 cricket players this spring across 26 teams, and the vast majority were of South Asian descent. Even if their families have been in the United States for years, first- and second-generation immigrants are typically exposed to the game through their parents or grandparents. Many of these athletes play organized cricket outside the PSAL for club and national teams, but there’s something unique about suiting up for your own school.

“There’s no greater feeling than representing your high school with your classmates and your teachers coming out to root you on,” says Donald Douglas, the PSAL’s executive director.

The PSAL has leaned on professional cricket and rugby organizations for tactical support — to promote the league, train players and coaches, and provide qualified referees. That means even those students who don’t know a wicket from an over (cricket), or a scrum from a maul (rugby), can learn the game.

When the PSAL was created in 1903, the mission was to increase physical fitness for NYC youth. And in light of the nation’s current obesity epidemic, the creation of new sports is consistent with that goal.

Bringing cricket and rugby to the PSAL also reflects the spirit of America’s most international city.

“That philosophical underpinning of what New York is, and how welcoming it is, is very important to us,” says Goldstein.