Weird question since all sports take skill. If it's sports that take the least athletic ability than I'd say Darts, Bowling and Curling are all near the top of the list.
Weird question since all sports take skill. If it's sports that take the least athletic ability than I'd say Darts, Bowling and Curling are all near the top of the list.
Definitely not a the bottom. More of a skill sport, but athletic ability is still very important
To learn? Definitely soccer. ANYBODY can kick a ball around.
Basketball requires a little bit of coordination to dribble. If you're new at it, I can see how it may be difficult.
To learn? Hockey. ANYBODY can smack a puck around.
Try curling a ball from 45 yards out 80 mph and hitting the far post.
Whiffle ball.
Athleticism, bat speed, and hitting skills are all neutralized by a ball that does whatever the hell it wants. And anybody can throw a knuckler/knee bending curve with a hour or so of practice.
To learn? Hockey. ANYBODY can smack a puck around.
Try curling a ball from 45 yards out 80 mph and hitting the far post.
Whiffle ball.
Athleticism, bat speed, and hitting skills are all neutralized by a ball that does whatever the hell it wants. And anybody can throw a knuckler/knee bending curve with a hour or so of practice.
Hockey requires skating and it takes time to be able to skate comfortably enough to play hockey.
To learn? Definitely soccer. ANYBODY can kick a ball around.
Basketball requires a little bit of coordination to dribble. If you're new at it, I can see how it may be difficult.
I honestly don't think soccer requires a lot of skill. At the top level, for sure, all sports do anyway, even darts. But with soccer, when we played in school I was never the most skillful player but I could do a good job because I was fit and could run. Even at the professional level, there isn't much of a difference between the top teams and the teams in lower leagues. It's one of the only sports where a team in the top tier of a country could play a competitive game against a team 2 leagues below it (see FA cup upsets), then when you look at a sport like Rugby, the top 20 international teams sometimes can't have competitive games against each other.
Except for the exceptionally skilled players like Messi, soccer is all in the brain.
Last edited by Imaginary Threats: 04-14-2012 at 09:13 AM.
I honestly don't think soccer requires a lot of skill. At the top level, for sure, all sports do anyway, even darts. But with soccer, when we played in school I was never the most skillful player but I could do a good job because I was fit and could run. Even at the professional level, there isn't much of a difference between the top teams and the teams in lower leagues. It's one of the only sports where a team in the top tier of a country could play a competitive game against a team 2 leagues below it (see FA cup upsets), then when you look at a sport like Rugby, the top 20 international teams sometimes can't have competitive games against each other.
Except for the exceptionally skilled players like Messi, soccer is all in the brain.
I think that you're missing 2 points:
1) Soccer is the most played game in the world.
Thus a lot of countries and teams have a lot of very skilled palyers (unlike rugby or hockey, that have few countries with traditions) and this makes games very competitive. They are all skilled. However, if you watch Barcelona or some other elite team against some more mundane team in their respective championships, you'll see a gigantic obvious skill gap. Upsets usually happen because the favoured team doesn't play up to its powers, not because they aren't more skilled.
2) There are 11 players in soccer, not 1 (some tennis) or 6 (hockey), so the game is really flexible.
Soccer is a brainy game, right, but it doesn't mean it doesn't take a lot of skill to be great IMO.
also, soccer is very low scoring and thus more prone to upset wins. Teams can just score a lucky goal and then park the bus, and if they're lucky, and the reffing goes their way, even a much more skilled team might not come through.
It all depends how you interpret the question: pro or amateur. To become a pro in something, I think bball is the easiest. For example: Didier Mbenga who has played for the Lakers only started playing basketball in his late teens when he came to Belgium. (Scary fact: In Congo, Mbenga and his family were imprisoned and waiting for their execution. In the end, DJ was released but his father got executed.) He was discovered by a former Belgian international at the refugee centre where he was staying. So Mbenga rose to the top in a new sport in just a short span. That's less likely in most other sports. Don't see that happen in Soccer, hockey or racing.
I think Hockey is the most difficult. Most people can't even skate properly, so that's a first big hurdle. Then mastering the game... Unlike Mbenga, going from refugee centre to NBA in 6 years? I don't see that happening in NHL or soccer.
But if wee talk about average joe, now that's something completely different. Soccer is the most easy: kicking a ball is probably one of the earliest things you do in life. Bball is a bit more difficult because you got to have a working hand/eye coordination. Let's not even talk about hockey.
also, soccer is very low scoring and thus more prone to upset wins. Teams can just score a lucky goal and then park the bus, and if they're lucky, and the reffing goes their way, even a much more skilled team might not come through.
This is true, I realise now that it was a weak argument.
I still stand by my view that soccer is more brain than physical skill. Defenders especially aren't very skilled, but you have to be a very smart player to be a good defender.
I think soccer is one of the easiest sports for a regular joe to play, along with darts. Hockey and Football being the most difficult
I have, and I know from experience that to be competitive you have to put a lot of effort into sweeping. And to be a competitive team you have to have excellent sweeping. Not to mention if you are playing beyond a recreational level, you will be playing in spiels where you can be playing 2 games a day for a week. It definitely requires a lot of physical ability.
I have, and I know from experience that to be competitive you have to put a lot of effort into sweeping. And to be a competitive team you have to have excellent sweeping. Not to mention if you are playing beyond a recreational level, you will be playing in spiels where you can be playing 2 games a day for a week. It definitely requires a lot of physical ability.
This is like arguing that it requires alot of skill to be a regular waiter. Waiting for 5-6 hours requires stamina and physical ability. Of course, that physical ability isn't athletic at all.
Curling requires almost no Athletic ability. It might be difficult to play (Nearly all sports are in regards to being good at), but lets no pretend Curling is anywhere other than near the bottom when we are discussing athletic ability.
This is like arguing that it requires alot of skill to be a regular waiter. Waiting for 5-6 hours requires stamina and physical ability. Of course, that physical ability isn't athletic at all.
Curling requires almost no Athletic ability. It might be difficult to play (Nearly all sports are in regards to being good at), but lets no pretend Curling is anywhere other than near the bottom when we are discussing athletic ability.
Have you ever done it?
I have played competivly, and I can tell you it takes a lot of physical effort (ie strength, stamina) to sweep well, which is arguably the most important part of the game to be successful
I have played competivly, and I can tell you it takes a lot of physical effort (ie strength, stamina) to sweep well, which is arguably the most important part of the game to be successful
It probably takes alot of effort to be a Professional cleaner, doesn't mean it requires great athletic ability.
Strength and stamina are abilities that are required in nearly every single sport, and too much a great degree.
No one is saying Curling is neccessairly an easy sport. Pretending however that it's not one of the easier physical sports seems somewhat absurd to me.
I have, and I know from experience that to be competitive you have to put a lot of effort into sweeping. And to be a competitive team you have to have excellent sweeping. Not to mention if you are playing beyond a recreational level, you will be playing in spiels where you can be playing 2 games a day for a week. It definitely requires a lot of physical ability.
Yes I have. I didn't say it was easy but that doesn't change the fact that it doesn't take much athletic ability.
The two posts by J17 vs Proclamation explain it better.
I was gonna say Badminton, but you have to run your ass off in that. Volleyball, you just kinda stand around. Volleyball requires like 5 skills, digging, bumping, setting, and jumping/smashing.
Unless you count Fishing.
Yeah, no. Even if you were correct about the "5 skills", you need to be able to perfect them to even be an average player. In fact, Volleyball might be the sports that requires the most skill. Especially because you use every single skill at once.
