This porster is actually correct. Football requires by far the least amount of skill to play. It's why great athletes who have little experience can step in and play at the highest level. Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, takes thousands of hours to develop the skill to play at the highest levels. Erik Swoope is in the NFL.
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Does football really require skill to play?
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Miami Nights
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For starters apply what you know about soccer to football. Can anybody run around and kick a ball and be good at it. Same basic concept with football. Football is not only about pushing guys around either. That's ignorance on your part. Takes more skills to play football than it does soccer.
In soccer you need speed, endurance with hand eye feet coordination....in football you need speed, power, smarts, toughness, strength, endurance, hand eye feet coordination etc.
MoSikes
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Experience doesn't equal skill though. The NFL merely requires the skills that are the most universal, meaning it's easier for a person to adopt football as a sport later in life than baseball, basketball, or hockey. That doesn't mean it requires less skill, just less specific skills.
There are plenty of guys who could be great basketball players but are short and will never get a shot. There are plenty of guys who could have been great hockey players but didn't have the money to play as kids. The door just isn't as open to jump in later in life as it is in football.
Plus, the simple fact that Swope is in the league doesn't mean much. Look at the lazy wastes that are on nba rosters right now. Swope got in because of size and athleticism, at least he's getting paid the minimum, some nba players are getting millions only because they are 6'10+.
Miami Nights
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You've never played soccer yet are able to make a comparison? Ok. I played soccer and had it not been for track would have easily played in college. I played football too. I think football requires a greater overall skill set especially a skill position. Maybe you were an offensive lineman or interior lineman of some sort who was more specialized. Football is more of a Closed quarter sport while soccer is wide open so the specialtist may require different skill set. A dt In football may not be a good comparison to a defensive player in soccer due to the duties involved. Hope that makes sense.
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Plzwork4
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Soccer is not more wide open if you're playing at a high enough level...not close. Maybe high school soccer is, but that tells me where you stopped playing...
I played one year of organized football, and after playing in a flag football tournament I was asked by some college football players to go to a national tournament with them. Just because I was fast and athletic. That would absolutely never happen in soccer...ever.
MoSikes
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I don't understand how easy to pick up equates to skill required to play at a high level.
If the question is which sport is the easiest to just pick up and play, of course it's football. But if we're talking about playing at the highest level? It's all even.
Playing football is like writing poetry. Anyone can throw some lines on a paper and give it to their mom for Mother's Day, but it takes a lot more to get your name remembered. Playing soccer is like doing Calculus, a lot of people could do it, but few really want to because of the work it takes to get there. Either way, both require work and the development of many skills to be great.
If the question is which sport is the easiest to just pick up and play, of course it's football. But if we're talking about playing at the highest level? It's all even.
Playing football is like writing poetry. Anyone can throw some lines on a paper and give it to their mom for Mother's Day, but it takes a lot more to get your name remembered. Playing soccer is like doing Calculus, a lot of people could do it, but few really want to because of the work it takes to get there. Either way, both require work and the development of many skills to be great.
Coach Macho
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I played 4 sports growing up...football, soccer, basketball and baseball. Obviously I'm pro football all the way but without a doubt soccer and baseball were the hardest sports to play in terms of SKILL. Football takes skill too but you can still make plays just off of pure athleticism or size. You can't do that in baseball or soccer. Guys in the NFL are much stronger and faster than guys in soccer or baseball but ask one of them to control a ball with his feet or hit a fastball or catch a groundball. It would take them years to learn it.
What NFL football players possess is much harder to obtain than skill. They're gifted with a size/speed ratio that is only seen in animals. We can all learn how to play soccer or baseball if we practice it for years. We'll never learn how to be 6'2" 245lbs and run a 4.5 forty. NFL players have genetic gifts. Those gifts are harnessed and put to use via football.
A football player is a superior ATHLETE. He's not good at soccer or baseball because he didn't choose that path. A football player has the raw athleticism to be good at anything if he refines his skills.
Some football players dabble a little bit into basketball, as a hobby. The guys who dabble enough to be good at it are **** near unstoppable amongst other men who also play basketball as a hobby. Basketball has always been one of my hobbies. When I was playing college football I would dominate pickup games against guys who called themselves "basketball players" simply cause I was too explosive. These guys played ball every day and had more "skill" than me but it didn't matter. I'd blow by them, rise up to rim level and literally drop the ball into the hoop. Obviously I'm more skilled than your average football player because I played b-ball growing up but my point is that it only took marginal skill to beat guys who practiced b-ball daily. At the time I was 6'1" 228lbs 4.68 forty with a vertical in the mid to low 30's. Decent athlete by football standards but imagine if you taught one of these 6'3"+ NFL wide receivers how to play basketball. Talking about guys with 4.4 speed and 40" verticals. WHY CAN'T THEY PLAY BASKETBALL THOUGH? SKILL!
Most of the traits needed to play football can't be taught.
1. Toughness
2. Size
3. Pure athleticism (quick twitch)
4. Speed
5. Composure
6. Intelligence (some positions)
7. Instincts (quick thinking)
It's takes a combination of things. You can't say that all it takes is size or speed or athleticism. There's guys who run 4.4's who can't play football. There's guys who are 6'6" 300lbs who can't play football. There's big meatheads at every corporate gym in America who can lift a ton of weight but would get their *** handed to them on a football field.
Just being fast...
Or just being strong...
Or just being big...
Isn't good enough.
What NFL football players possess is much harder to obtain than skill. They're gifted with a size/speed ratio that is only seen in animals. We can all learn how to play soccer or baseball if we practice it for years. We'll never learn how to be 6'2" 245lbs and run a 4.5 forty. NFL players have genetic gifts. Those gifts are harnessed and put to use via football.
A football player is a superior ATHLETE. He's not good at soccer or baseball because he didn't choose that path. A football player has the raw athleticism to be good at anything if he refines his skills.
Some football players dabble a little bit into basketball, as a hobby. The guys who dabble enough to be good at it are **** near unstoppable amongst other men who also play basketball as a hobby. Basketball has always been one of my hobbies. When I was playing college football I would dominate pickup games against guys who called themselves "basketball players" simply cause I was too explosive. These guys played ball every day and had more "skill" than me but it didn't matter. I'd blow by them, rise up to rim level and literally drop the ball into the hoop. Obviously I'm more skilled than your average football player because I played b-ball growing up but my point is that it only took marginal skill to beat guys who practiced b-ball daily. At the time I was 6'1" 228lbs 4.68 forty with a vertical in the mid to low 30's. Decent athlete by football standards but imagine if you taught one of these 6'3"+ NFL wide receivers how to play basketball. Talking about guys with 4.4 speed and 40" verticals. WHY CAN'T THEY PLAY BASKETBALL THOUGH? SKILL!
Most of the traits needed to play football can't be taught.
1. Toughness
2. Size
3. Pure athleticism (quick twitch)
4. Speed
5. Composure
6. Intelligence (some positions)
7. Instincts (quick thinking)
It's takes a combination of things. You can't say that all it takes is size or speed or athleticism. There's guys who run 4.4's who can't play football. There's guys who are 6'6" 300lbs who can't play football. There's big meatheads at every corporate gym in America who can lift a ton of weight but would get their *** handed to them on a football field.
Just being fast...
Or just being strong...
Or just being big...
Isn't good enough.
CaneandAbel
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Football does require skill but not as much as the others. I usually on compare basketball and Football because the athletes are similar. A basketball player has a better chance at excelling at football than a football player playing basketball. JJ Watt and Calvin Johnson athleticism compare to Lebron James but at 6'5 they would have to play shooting guard and would they be able to defend, shoot the ball, pass etc... On the other hand Lebron at WO or TE is a potential matchup nightmare.
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Quite ghey! Even for Europeans.
I disagree with you order. Football is hands down the easiest sport to jump into; not saying it doesnt require any skill but if everything else is equal (work ethics, knowledge etc) football relies more heavily on athleticism than skill. The Jimmy graham example has been said but even beyond that, there are several athletes on major college teams who played less than 2 years of football beyond joining the team and some cases never played before (this happens in basketball too). That would never happen in soccer; no matter how athletically gifted a person is if he has 2 two years playing experience at 18 he is never going to be competitive in soccer.
My order would be this
1-Baseball
2-Soccer
3-Hockey
4-Basketball
5-Football
And quit bashing the OP lets openly discuss this and agree or prove him wrong.
Great point about passing a person the ball on the ground...an even easier test is to watch how they attempt to kick the ball. Everyone in here bashing the sport have no idea what they are talking about. And saying its easy because all they do is run and kick the ball just illustrates how little you know of the game and how complex the game actually is. In football if you cant run a sub 5.0 you can rule off playing any skill position (outside QB) because you have no speed; the lack of that one athletic ability disqualifies you. In soccer its nullified, being fast doesnt make you great. there are so many other skill sets t to put you over.
Baseball is a good arguemnt and i rank it as my #1 strictly because of pictchers. the ability to control that ball is amazing to me. I dont know much about the sport but as far as hitting to me it appears that all the big name hitters were big names their entire career so i see it almost like a natural ability they work on an improve. I dont know if or how you can work on reining this, outside of building strength? Pardon me if i sound like an idot but i dont know much about this sport.
Decent on who/what standards? What level did you play? High school? travel league? college? pro? your statement holds no validity as you're not quantifying it. And what level football did you attempt to play? With that size (and no experience) you probably would have been better off playing defense (or LB for Golden)
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Coach Macho
aka Beardy Ryan
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The whole point about the basketball-to-football transition is a little overblown IMO. There's only been a handful of people who did it successfully and they play the WR/TE hybrid position. There's been far more guys who have failed at this transition. I've coached quite a few of them.
Baseball far and away requires the most skill, while I'd say football is the easiest to play for someone starting out.
That said, I would say football is the hardest/most sophisticated game to play and understand, especially the higher up you get.
That said, I would say football is the hardest/most sophisticated game to play and understand, especially the higher up you get.
Coach Macho
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Here's something to think about...
Throw skill out of the window.
WOULD YOU EVEN BE ELIGIBLE TO PLAY FOOTBALL? (in terms of stature or athleticism) WOULD YOU EVEN BE CONSIDERED? DO YOU EVEN HAVE THE PREREQUISITES?
Soccer? No. Too small and frail.
Baseball? No. The guys who are big enough are too slow. The guys who are fast enough are too small.
Basketball? Very few. Some guards might translate to WR with some small forwards translating to TE.
Hockey? **** no.
95% of athletes who play other sports don't even have the physical tools to get a LOOK from the sport of football. Little Pedro can have all the skill in the world and still never be able to touch a football field.
Throw skill out of the window.
WOULD YOU EVEN BE ELIGIBLE TO PLAY FOOTBALL? (in terms of stature or athleticism) WOULD YOU EVEN BE CONSIDERED? DO YOU EVEN HAVE THE PREREQUISITES?
Soccer? No. Too small and frail.
Baseball? No. The guys who are big enough are too slow. The guys who are fast enough are too small.
Basketball? Very few. Some guards might translate to WR with some small forwards translating to TE.
Hockey? **** no.
95% of athletes who play other sports don't even have the physical tools to get a LOOK from the sport of football. Little Pedro can have all the skill in the world and still never be able to touch a football field.
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U
User-4525
Guest
I agree to an extent but the reason the basketball-football transition is so hyped up is because most student athletes at the middle school and high level play those 2 sports (if they're playing two sports). We see a lot more basketball/football combinations than soccer/hockey, baseball/basketball, etc.
Bruce Lee agrees.
The only skill required for baseball is patience. It barely qualifies as a sport; it's more of an exercise in uninterrupted tedium. Any good athlete can play the game- it's just that few want to. The idea that baseball "far and away requires the most skill" is utterly ridiculous. It's the type of thing that pudgy kids with no athletic ability typically say to make themselves feel better.
KtrainHurricane
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I lol'd...
I would LOVE to see you "jump" out on the ice and compete in a hockey game. I'd bet all the money to my name that 95% of the people on this board (or that you would casually come across on a normal day) would need a week of practice just to be able to hobble themselves around the rink 1 time.
Pretty sure 95% of those same people can run down a football field or throw a ball or kick a ball or bounce a ball to some extent with no practice whatsoever.
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