Hardest Sport to Play?

[KevinMcD]

My friends and I were talking about what we thought was the hardest sport to play. Some sports mentioned were soccer, baseball, water polo, basketball, triathlon, football, hockey and lacrosse.

I know that this question can be interpreted in many ways like the toughest, most endurance, skill involved, etc. However I would like comments on what overall would be the hardest sport as a whole, not just a singular part of the sport like hitting a 100 mph fastball or saving a PK in Soccer.

If I had to name the hardest five in my opinion I would say....(In no order)

Soccer (constant running and dodging defenders, hard to control ball)

Water Polo (treading water the entire game, getting hit by defenders)

Baseball (Hitting a fastball may be the hardest task in sports, but the rest of the game is not as hard)

Hockey (Ice skating takes a lot out of you)

Triathlon (You have to be spectacular in 3 sports not just one, and you have to have amazing endurance)

Comments? Opinions?

[TFoA]

When it comes to the big 4...gotta be ice hockey. I mean, to play hockey you need to have the physicality of football (if not more), the ball/puck/stick handling of soccer and hockey, the eyesight to be able to see a small puck and do whatever with it, and you have to it all on skates on ice. That is tough.

[FiddySicks]

As conditioned as long distance runners.

As tough as MMA fighters.

As rough as rugby players.

Can skate their asses off.

Hockey, no doubt.

[tBBP]

Hockey. By far. I've played it...I know. All of what ol' boy said above it truer than a emineffa'.

[Jigga]

As much as I detest hockey fans, I give all the respect in the world to hockey players. To think, you have to be that skilled and coordinated...while skating. Hardest of the "major" sports to play...but golf is by far the hardest in which to excel.

I think this thread was just another way for the CCSLC to slurp hockey some more...like y'all don't do it enough here anyway.

[BJBerthiaume]

I have to disagree with all of you and say NASCAR. You sit in a boiling car all day long and turn left. You have to have great motivation to win the races. You are also dealing with crashes to dodge and the loudness of the cars. NASCAR, by far the hardest.

But seriously I can't say what is the hardest because I haven't played most of the hard sports mentioned like water polo and triathalon.

[BBTV]

Triathlon (You have to be spectacular in 3 sports not just one, and you have to have amazing endurance)

I play real sports. I'm not trying to be the best at exercising.

/Kenny Powers

[slapshot]

Soccer? Really?

It might be a hard sport to master, and I couldn't do what any of the professionals do, but it's certainly not the hardest to play. All you have to do is run and kick the ball, and not use your hands. I don't even think it requires much initial training...just throw some kids together on a field and tell them to kick a ball into a net.

I'd say the hardest is hockey. Not only do you have to be able to balance on ice skates, you have to be agile enough to make quick turns and even skate backwards, and absorb hits from other players or the boards, control the puck with a stick, and stop and shoot the puck, all without falling on the ice.

Soccer and basketball are probably the easiest to play. Hockey and water polo would be the most difficult.

[BB61]

Top of the list is hockey, hands down.

Second is Australian Football. It's a simple game and easy to pick up, but it's pretty physical and there are a lot of skills to learn.

[BrySmalls]

I'd like to say Rugby, such as the International Rugby and top flight rugby leagues: national teams participating in the RS 6 Nations, Rugby World Cup, AFL, NRL, Super 14, etc. The rugby players have to be in peak physical and endurance shape to compete in said tournaments/leagues.

[B-Rich]

Clearly, ice hockey. Field hockey is a definite downgrade.

The skating thing is what makes it so tough.

[Sguse1]

Rugby is by far the hardest sport to play. The greatest players have the endurance of a soccer player, the mind of an NFL QB, the moves of running back with the ballhandling and passing skills of an NBA point guard. Plus, you dont wear pads while playing the roughest sport on Earth. Mix in the crazy nuances that come with the rules of the game and it is very difficult to pick up and play right away.

[-kj]

As much as I detest hockey fans...

Luv ya too, Jiggs.

[burgundy]

I would probably say ice hockey, but i was thinking, what about gymnastics? How many people on here could even come close to doing the things gymnasts do? (and don't say monica)

[JayJaxon]

I would say hockey, but let us not forget that baseball (in my eyes) is the ultimate skill sport. It takes much longer for ball players to make it to the majors after they are drafted. I know there is much more that hockey players do while playing their sport, but baseball players have a much tougher road to get to the show.

[HedleyLamarr]

The question isn't "Which sport is the roughest?", it's "Which is the hardest to play?". The answer is easily ice hockey, as it requires a skill that has to be perfected before you can play the game.

Just about every other sport/activity is something that just about anyone can do, whether it be kicking or throwing or catching a ball, or simply running around. Rugby, when broken down, is basically the "Smear the Queer" football game American kids play.

[TalktoChuck]

The question isn't "Which sport is the roughest?", it's "Which is the hardest to play?". The answer is easily ice hockey, as it requires a skill that has to be perfected before you can play the game.

Just about every other sport/activity is something that just about anyone can do, whether it be kicking or throwing or catching a ball, or simply running around. Rugby, when broken down, is basically the "Smear the Queer" football game American kids play.

Ahh smear the queer, that takes me back to elementary school. As for the question it is definitly Ice Hockey. It involves the most skills and the hardest of all skating. But I also have to throw Water Polo up there in at leats the top 5.

[cappital92]

Are we talking overall, or at a high/professional level? If overall, yeah, ice hockey's got it down. But I've always thought between the need for height, a good jump, and shooting skills, basketball's the hardest to be good at.

[NEW.ERA]

I played Football all my life that was tough Football is hard but not the hardest, I've played Basketball very physical sport but that's not hard. Hockey by far the skating, the skill, the conditioning you need to do and the physicality I just love to play shinny once in a while but that's nothing Hockey is the hardest sport to get good at on the planet.

[gueman]

I'm gonna have to say water polo over ice hockey. First off you have NO PADS. Second you are treading water, much tougher than skating. Third, while you are treading water you are getting the snot kicked out of you. All this in a pool no less than 6 feet deep and you are forbidden to touch bottom. After that curling, I mean come on you have to sweep! :-)