Which position/sport requires the most athleticism and why?
 

Linebacker/Football?

Pointguard/Basketball?

Shortstop/Baseball?

Some other postion/sport?

I would have to say linebacker/football. You pretty much have to be a complete athlete, combining power, speed, endurance, agility. I'm curious to know what others think.

How about a tri-athlete? Pretty difficult. Requires tons of endurance and strength.

penathlete, triathlete, or that 1 with 10 events (starts with a d i think)

that would be a decathlete
i can't even imagine the versatility those people would have to have

Triathalon doesn't require athletic ability so much as intense desire and incredible work ethic.

Decathalete doesn't require as much atheltic ability as you think, due to the fact that track is more speed and power than agility and quickness.

I'd have to say linebacker, because in addition to the stuff you mentioned, it also requires a lot of intelligence and tougness.

Of the choices listed, I would say point guard. For any position in sports not involving more then one type of athletic event (decathalathon, etc.), I'll say a tennis player.

Quaterback has to get props... you think the LB has to know a ton, QB's have to have the smarts, the arm, and in todays game, the feet. I think it would be tough. May not be the toughest, but definately takes a ton of talent.

I've always admired Hockey players...like playing a game of football on ice.

i cant belive i am aguring this


center in soccer


speed quickness toughness


agility


and endurance form god

A basketball player requires the most athletic ability. You have to know how to do everything. Plus, you don't sit on your ass half the game like a baseball and football player.

Football, no fucking chance. You only have to be good at one thing.

Baseball. No way in hell. You can be a one dimensional player in baseball. Example: Great fielder who couldn't hit a beach ball.

Soccer. Pointless boring sport. I played it a few times and didn't even break a sweat.

Hockey. Can't really comment because I never played it. Boring to watch on TV.

It's amazing how uninformed most people are. Basketball players play a total of 60 min. with breaks, timeouts and subs (you hardly see any player stay in the entire game). Football, any given player (even a linebacker) plays maybe 60 plays with breaks after each play. Hockey is the same as basketball too many breaks and line changes.

Soccer is played for a non-stop 45 min. half then one break and another non-stop 45 min. That is 90 minutes for anyone that needed help. It is just as physical as any sport and your endurance must be at the highest for you to compete at the professional level. (Anyone can go out and stand and watch his teammates, without breaking a sweat.) And the mental game of soccer is similar to a quaterback, you have to see the entire field and be able to react and change your strategies and tactics on the fly.

'Nough said.

I totally agree with RHix613! Soccer is definatly an all around kind of sport. It requires skill, speed, endurance, strength and intelligence (if played correctly). I'd have to say either a center mid or center back requires the most athleticism.

I have played Baseball (Pitcher at a D-1 college), basketball, football, and soccer all through high school. I also played Hockey, and I would have to say hockey was the most physically demanding. Trying to skate while carrying a puck, trying to avoid hits and all of that other stuff......ridiculous.

Any of ya' ever been on flying rings? Or watched some of the gymnasts? Have you tried collegiate or even high school wrestling? Team sports are lacking when it comes to getting the best out of anyone. When one person is out on the mat - any mat, you see what total success, or total failure really is.

It seems most of the disussion is revolving around team sports and sports with balls. Although i imagine some gymnastics require a great amount of everything, especially if they do everything on the gym cycle?

All sports require different degrees of athetelism and aspects and it's hard to say which ones are more values over otheres. ie speed vs power etc.

Anyway, although i play a lot of basketball myself and like to think of that as the best sport in all aspects or whatever, i think AFL would be one of the most demanding sports.
Unfortunaley a lof of people (namely US here) would not have seen it or played it at all. The game is non-stop and has 4 quarters, each 20 minutes with time stoppages at ball ups. Although these last about 5-10 seconds, when there is a tie up and the umpire has to throw the ball up, or it goes out of bounds.

Anyway, one of the more active players, a ruck-rover who follows the ball around for most of teh game, will quite often run up to 20Km for a game. This include casual running and also sprints. THere is also a lot of strength needed for tackling and marking as it is a physcuial sport. And they don't wear large amounts of padding, or any at all like they do ion the NFL or ice hockey. So it's extremely physical and fast. There is also, as with any other sport, a high degree of startergy and game tactics so you have to think as well. There's 18 players for each team on the feild at once, ie 36 total.
I also heard lacrosse was a bit like this, but i haven't really seen it before.

Anyway, my vote is for AFL, and then proabbly the ruck-rover. Someone like Buckley, crawford or voss.

although, for sports poeple are more common with, i'll say basketball :p

i beg to differ....i think that a baseball player requires the most athleticism. Try playing 162 games a year and not getting tired or injured. Also, hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do. Anybody can shoot a hoop or pass a football, but how many can hit a baseball with consistancy? You have .04 seconds to react to an 85 MPH fastball. That time frame only gets smaller as the speed increases. Not to mention Pitchers. They have to be in excellent shape to be able to throw 100+ pitches per game. One dimensional players do not make it to the big leagues (with a few exceptions), you have to be the complete package.

I will add to my choice, although I do believe that soccer players have to have the total package for the duration of their matches, I will give props to wrestlers. I'm referring to college wrestlers, of course.

Um...where do I start?
Well, decathletes are some of the most athletic people, due to the fact that a major part of their performance is agility and quickness. A lot of their ability is in shifting centers of balance, knowing how to compete on a mental and intellectual level....just like your linebackers.

I've played all the above mentioned sports and by far the toughest most physically demanding sport I have ever played was water polo. Anybody who has played it will agree, anybody who doesn't agree has never played it ;)

The whole argument about people running non-stop for ninty minutes for soccer is a complete joke. Soccer players are NOT sprinting every single second of every single match. There are many periods of time where players either stand almost still or are only jogging.

Also, every sport requires thinking, most are very similar. It can be argued that say a cornerback has it harder than a quarterback because they need to learn the defense, the quarterback's tendencies, and the wide receiver's tendencies.

So, that comes down to athleticism. Hockey by far has the most things happening, it is the fastest sport, it has more physical contact than any other sport, and it requires as much intelligence as any other sport.

you sir dont know what your talking about there


foot ball requires you to hit people none stop everyone gets hit most of the game

Have you seen hockey? Hits are more frequent, and in many cases, harder.

I like football more than hockey, but give credit where credit is due.

there is not more contact in hockey


every single play more people get hit

after reading the posts above, i'd have to go with a soccer player.

Really? Then why is the shooting percentage in the NBA so poor this year? Can you throw a football 65 yards in the air with accuracy. I don't think so.

Again, most people in the majors can't hit a ball. They just have to be good at one other thing, and they still get to sit half the game. If you're a DH you sit for 90% of the game. Lame. You say there aren't many one dimensional baseball players. Well, how many pitchers are great hitters? None! That sounds like a big dimension that all pitchers are missing.

I stand by my opinion of soccer being a lame sport. Of all the sports I've played soccer was the least demanding and least physical. Plus it was boring as fuck.

I don't know..... ummm.....

i think that in football you need intelligence
soccer you need endurance
hockey you need grit and determination
water polo is all about pure strength

But overall I'd go with hockey

Hooker/Rugby-not only do you have to anchor the scrum, you have to go against the other scrum side. Also you're expected to run up and down that huge rugby pitch, and even handle the ball from time to time. Second to that would be the Scrumhalf in rugby, you basically have to be a jack-of-all-trades, score tries, kick well, and make the big tackles when needed, the reason why the number nine comes in second to the number two, the number two has to take more punishment.

Are you all fukin nuts? Rugby is the sport that requires the most athleticism. For starter, compared to football, they barely require any equipement. Sure, some might have headpads, shoulder pads but that's bout it. They play 80 straight minutes with 10 min break between. The position? I'd say Flanker, Streaker should know, lol, one time we both played on the same rugby team and we both were flanker. We went after the same guy and we accidentically smashed our head together. But he got the most of the hit.

But really, soccer player doesn't do shit. Football player just do a min of one hit per play. Hockey player may get hit more and harder but they have more protection. Baseball is the same compared to soccer.

Now, there's austrilican touch football but since I've only heard of it, I can't say much about it. Broke my rib once playing the unofficial version...

GYMNAST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are the events in decathalon? I know most but I'm not sure.

100m
1500m
High Jump
110m hurdles
400m
Discus
SHot Put
Pole Vault
Long Jump

Maybe hammer throw and 800m?

Of those events, the only ones that require agility are HJ Discus and Pole Vault. Quickness, just the 100m and discus. Long Jump is about speed, as are the other running events.

These posts seem to be turning into which sport requires the most endurance or is the toughest,, which isn't the same as atheltic ability. Endurance is part of it, but not the whole thing.

To bigdonkey, there are plenty of one dimentional, unatheltic baseball players. Most anyone playing first base or DH is a poor athelte. Many of the pitchers are too. Look at David Wells.

I'm still thinking linebacker requires the biggest combination of all factors, especially when you consider these guys are just huge, yet still incredibly fast.

Damn Sixtate...you gotta play soccer with some of my buds...it gets ugly.

You should really try hockey though. Its great fun if you don't mind the skating and the hitting hurts...also, nothing like taking a puck to the ankle to make you smile.

All sports have their own benefits, and require one or several degrees of athleticism(SP?), but <B>Gymnastics</B> requires your body to be in a top physical/mental state at all time. The strengh, endurance you need to compete at high level is unmatched. The joke at the gyms are, and this is no offence to football players, "if it were easy, they'd call it football". I think Mens Journal, or one of those magazines rated gymnastics the toughest sport to compete at. After gymnastics, rock climbing would be right up there.

im gonna go with hockey. with the skates, i think it requires a huge amount of effort to start, stop, start, stop, start, stop and start again for the whole game. as for hits, hell yeah, they're definitely hard...id go as far as to say they're as hard as hits in football. imagine a guy skating into you and checking you into the boards? and when you fall, you fall into hard-ass ice. every time.

you're also not just constantly engaging in rough start-stop skating, but you're always muscling against other players for position. and lets not forget about goalies....that's gotta be one of the most grueling positions in any sport.

Freestyle/folkstyle/Greco-Roman wrestling is incredibly demanding physically and mentally.

Boxing.
You have to move, and throw while being hit.
You have to recover faster, and be in good enough shape
to go 12 rounds.
I'm not talking the Butterbean type, but more of the Roy Jones
type.
Don't believe me stand still and throw punches for 3 mins.
Now try that bouncing around...Still not convinced have a friend
punch you in the gut every 2 seconds and keep trying.
Okay now rest for a min. just one, which is about the length of time that the play could be in the other end of a soccer field and you away from the ball, now get up and do it again don't worry as you've only got 33 mins left.

My son wrestled for 4 years in high school, went to the state tourney, when the football players joined the wrestling team after football was over, they would die, the football players weren't in nearly as good of shape as the fulltime wrestlers. Nothing is as demanding as wrestling. One on one, three two minute periods, as many as 5 matches a day at a meet. This is wrestling not like that pro crap on TV.