What sport requires most skill ?

**OTL** · 01-21-11, 07:29 PM

Originally posted by ngates815

Comeon....That's obvious.

But put those same Hockey players on a basketball court, and they would be getting embarrassed worse than the cavs against the lakers a week ago.

Ice skating is not that hard, anyone that has spent there youth skating a few times at birthday parties can hop on ice skates and do it.

Seems like people are saying that the Skating part is the toughest part of Hockey. I would think it'd be the puck handling, but then again, that doesn't seem terribly hard either. And by me saying this, I already know that I wouldn't stand a chance playing hockey against even mediocre people that play once a week.

I'd say it's all the aspects combined that make hockey players the most skilled/athletic. And yes, skating really is that hard! That's why parents spend thousands of dollars to put their kids in hockey schools from a young age, and seasoned players put themselves through them to improve further! It literally takes years to learn and train your muscles to take powerful strides, stop properly, skate backwards (some pros still can't even do this well), lateral movement, crossovers, ect. And then you have the puck handling and shooting which is just as difficult to get good at, let alone master. Then there's the conditioning... Hockey players have the most rigorous workout routines short of olympic runners. Their physical endurance is greater than those of other athletes from any other major sport.

When you consider that hockey players manage to do all this while wearing 30 lbs of protective equipment and getting run through the boards, fighting off hits and slashes, and going all out without a rest for 2 min, you have the answer to this thread.

**ngates815** · 01-21-11, 07:39 PM

Originally posted by OTL

I'd say it's all the aspects combined that make hockey players the most skilled/athletic. And yes, skating really is that hard! That's why parents spend thousands of dollars to put their kids in hockey schools from a young age, and seasoned players put themselves through them to improve further! It literally takes years to learn and train your muscles to take powerful strides, stop properly, skate backwards (some pros still can't even do this well), lateral movement, crossovers, ect. And then you have the puck handling and shooting which is just as difficult to get good at, let alone master. Then there's the conditioning... Hockey players have the most rigorous workout routines short of olympic runners. Their physical endurance is greater than those of other athletes from any other major sport. When you consider that hockey players manage to do all this while wearing 30 lbs of protective equipment and getting run through the boards, fighting off hits and slashes, and going all out without a rest for 2 min, you have the answer to this thread.

Yes it's a tough sport that takes endurance and physical strength. But also alot of what you mentioned doesn't have too much to do with skill, just the skating and puck handling/shooting.

**freeVICK** · 01-21-11, 07:44 PM

golf no doubt. amazing how hard it is to get the ball into the damn hole. even from 3 feet...

**MINT** · 01-21-11, 07:48 PM

chess hands down

**urge2kill** · 01-21-11, 07:53 PM

Chess is a game, not a sport.

**Vegas_bond** · 01-22-11, 12:27 AM

Originally posted by Beatles

would agree with hockey and tennis.

baseball- involves skill but its also worthless as a sport. sports involve a significant level of physical activity that cannot be duplicated by the ordinary individual. baseball players are not physically gifted, they are not fast (we're talking majority here), they do not jump high, they are not quick, they do not have the endurance, or lateral movement. they are not true athletes

You mean Derek Jeter, right, and A Rod, and who else?

**Beatles** · 01-22-11, 01:35 AM

Originally posted by Vegas_bond

You mean Derek Jeter, right, and A Rod, and who else?

you named 2 players in a very very large league. there are probably over a hundred in the mlb you can consider athletic, thats why i said majority. How many guys in the entire MLB league can run a 4.3 or less 40-dash. I bet you 2 guys or less

How many have a 40 inch vertical leap? I bet you not even 1.

How many can run a two mile in 10 minutes? Probably less than 3.

Thanks

**Domestic** · 01-22-11, 04:36 AM

Formula 1

**jnickell100** · 01-22-11, 06:08 AM

Originally posted by Beatles

you named 2 players in a very very large league. there are probably over a hundred in the mlb you can consider athletic, thats why i said majority. How many guys in the entire MLB league can run a 4.3 or less 40-dash. I bet you 2 guys or less How many have a 40 inch vertical leap? I bet you not even 1. How many can run a two mile in 10 minutes? Probably less than 3. Thanks

Doesnt that mean they have more SKILL???thye cant jump 40 or run a 40 but still play in the best league in the world

**unusialsusp5** · 01-22-11, 08:26 AM

it isn't basketball. that game is joke. all you have to do is be able to run a little. the baskets are too low for these players so shooting takes no skill.

**shari91** · 01-22-11, 08:32 AM

There was a thread on here a few months ago asking the same thing and the result was identical - people confusing athleticism and advantages given naturally because of genetics to SKILL.

Formula 1 - pure skill.

Tennis - Plenty of 'chubby' players on the Tours. Doesn't matter. Their skillset exceeds their lack of sheer fitness

Golf - see tennis

Baseball - tough call. The biggest asset to you whether you're an amazing batter or a shortstop is hand/eye coordination, ignoring all of the 'greats' who juiced themselves. Hand/eye coordination is inherited but cam be improved upon by repetitive drills so I say it's a skill.

Hockey - everyone keeps mentioning the ability to play on ice. Great skill that most of us Canadians and northern Americans learn ad a child. Compare that to tennis players who change surfaces 4 times a year. Or golfers who deal with different courses each tournament and even when theycgo back to one the next year, pin placement is changed. Oh wait, they even do that from day to day. Hockey and basketball deal with consistent conditions regardless of where they're playing. These two are out of the equation in my opinion as I've never seen anything from anyone to see their level of sheer SKILL is higher than another sport.

NFL - come on. Not even close.

Actually, any sport where you are reliant on a coach to tell you what to do should be out. A part of 'skill' is the ability to strategize and adapt to the game you're playing. Obeying the orders of a coach means you're a good listener. That is all.

So that leaves me with golf, tennis and Formula 1.

**shari91** · 01-22-11, 08:34 AM

Sorry for the shitty spelling - iPhone fail.

**survive** · 01-22-11, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by brxbmbers42

NBA. and its not even close. try running up and down the court 150 times with you're eyeballs bouncing up and down and score a bucket. best athletes in the world and its not even close.

athleticism doesn't equal skill

**Dex17** · 01-22-11, 11:33 AM

Originally posted by SportsMushroom

american football? depending on your position in football there is only one of two things you need to have the ability to do

1. run really fast
2. stop someone else from running really fast

either of these two requires any real skill, it has more to do with god given physical capabilities

i will agree though that the quarterback position requires a great amount of skill

I can tell you have never played football. I agree with Rod that Hockey requires the most skill, IMO, but it's ignorant to discount the amount of skill required in football.

Think of Troy Polamalu perfectly timing a snap at the line of scrimmage, jumping over the offensive line, and tackling a 220lbs running back running full speed in the other direction.

There's a lot more to football than just running fast and hitting hard. There's a tremendous amount of footwork involved, and depending on your position, a lot of hand-eye coordination and vision.

Of course, it all depends on how each of us defines skill and how much we can appreciate the value or difficulty in being able to exhibit those skills.

**pavyracer** · 01-22-11, 12:01 PM

Darts

**jarrod** · 01-22-11, 12:15 PM

i would say pole vaulting, first off its scary cause if you fall it will hurt, secondly putting the end of the pole in the spot is extremely difficult, this sport does not take that much athleticism, but a lot of eye hand coordination, more so than basketball, I know i have played both, also vaulting requires flexibility so your able to vault.

**pronk** · 01-22-11, 12:23 PM

Watch this...

**pronk** · 01-22-11, 12:24 PM

...and this...

**izzo** · 01-22-11, 12:38 PM

Cricket, it isn't a joke!

**Rod1010** · 01-22-11, 12:42 PM

soccer is amazing i can tell you that !

**Bostongambler** · 01-22-11, 12:57 PM

Baseball

**pavyracer** · 01-22-11, 01:24 PM

**richyrich8478** · 01-22-11, 01:47 PM

Originally posted by MinnesotaFats

Baseball man...hitting a baseball coming at 85-95 MPH and curving is the hardest thing to do for any man/woman or any size/shape. Football isn't what anyone would call a "skill" sport. Hockey is second no question, the speed and agility required on skates is amazing- after Baseball and Hockey I'd say Golf.

finally someone says baseball..not taking away from anyother sport its just hitting a baseball takes coordination like no other.. golf is up there though.

**Herky** · 01-22-11, 02:21 PM

Baseball.

**OTL** · 01-23-11, 05:16 PM

Originally posted by richyrich8478

finally someone says baseball..not taking away from anyother sport its just hitting a baseball takes coordination like no other.. golf is up there though.

I was cranking fastballs the first time I picked up a bat, and I'm no natural phenom. Not a hard thing to do...at all.

Agree that golf is one of the more difficult sports though.

**induapp** · 06-28-11, 03:42 AM

All sports are having their own skills. can't say this sports require more skill rather than another one.

- bowling machine

**jonmark14** · 02-03-12, 05:24 PM

Played hockey, baseball, football ... I have to say, the overall hockey skills needed, because the PPL does not understand the split made some of second desicions20 mph speed.

**GOIRISH** · 02-03-12, 05:58 PM

moto gp
formula 1
golf
baseball

golf requires much more skill than hockey. Golf requires amazing consistency and pure skills. basketball doesnt even come close, take michael jordan for instance with his baseball stint. In the nhl you can be an enforcer with really no skill other than fighting on ice ( which i will say probably requires a ton of skill) but if you can make hits and fight then your pretty much set.

**RoadFavorites$$$** · 02-03-12, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by Rod1010

Hockey and its not even close .

What else?

Sports science pretty much proved it was baseball.

**RoadFavorites$$$** · 02-03-12, 06:02 PM

Originally posted by OTL

I was cranking fastballs the first time I picked up a bat, and I'm no natural phenom. Not a hard thing to do...at all.

Agree that golf is one of the more difficult sports though.

LOL... cranking fastballs? That is the easy part... the problem is, when someone throws you a curveball, you have .06 seconds or something to decide where to swing, when to swing, or if to swing. That is a lot of decisions to make in a short time period. Which is why hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports.

**SportsPedagogy** · 02-03-12, 06:04 PM

MMA! You have to be versatile. You can be the best kick boxer in the world and still lose with ease.

**RoadFavorites$$$** · 02-03-12, 06:05 PM

Originally posted by SportsPedagogy

MMA! You have to be versatile. You can be the best kick boxer in the world and still lose with ease.

uh no

**stevenash** · 02-03-12, 06:06 PM

boxing

**SportsPedagogy** · 02-03-12, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by RoadFavorites$$$

uh no

Explain.

**RoadFavorites$$$** · 02-03-12, 06:10 PM

Originally posted by SportsPedagogy

Explain.

Most people really don't get into MMA... so their talents are competing against a much smaller pool size.

But when you are an elite baseball player, there are millions and millions and millions of people out there trying to be the best... generally speaking, I think that elite athletes from any sport could train and become good MMA fighters... I could not, however, see MMA athletes becoming good baseball, basketball, or football players.