The hardest sport has been a long-running debate in the sports world. It’s also a very subjective question and will never have one definitive answer, but it does have plenty of different opinions. Athletes have all kinds of reasoning, whether they think their sport is the most physically demanding or requires the most skill. So, I asked a handful of Franklin students what they thought the hardest sport was, in hopes to finally shed some light on this controversial debate.
I personally believe the most challenging sport is baseball. As a Franklin baseball player, I’m a little biased, but I think baseball is the hardest sport in terms of sheer technicality. In my opinion, hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do, and the number of reflexes you need to be able to hit a fastpitch or a good curveball is something most people don’t have. Even in aspects of the game that don’t seem too hard — like fielding a ground ball or simply making throws — it takes so much practice to get good at it. You don’t have to be the most outstanding athlete to play, although it certainly doesn’t hurt to be fast or strong. In baseball, athleticism cannot carry you; skill is the most important, which is why I personally believe baseball to be the hardest sport. However, I know many people don’t share my opinion, so I asked other Franklin students their thoughts.
Bridget Bartleson, a Franklin junior who runs cross country and track, believes that distance running and wrestling are the hardest sports. “Distance track is hard because it involves an insane mindset of not giving up,” justifies Bartleson. In my opinion, distance running is a sport that relies mostly on athleticism rather than technique, but the endurance you need for the sport certainly makes it difficult.
When it comes to wrestling, Bartleson says, “Wrestling involves gaining and losing weight so quickly, which is hard on your mind and body.” Wrestling is another sport that requires both physical and mental toughness, making it hard on both athletes’ bodies and minds. Bartleson continues, sharing, “I think a sport is hard when it involves having a good mindset like running fast for a long time or trying to completely overpower someone.’’
Josh Wright, a senior at Franklin and a tennis player, believes that swimming is the most challenging sport. Wright shares, “Swimming is the most physically demanding, since you have to use your whole body and compete against time, especially higher levels like the Olympics where the records are always being broken due to how much people push themselves.” I think that swimming is similar to track in the sense that it takes a lot of endurance, where the ultimate goal is to cut time and be as fast as humanly possible.
People’s beliefs tend to fall into three categories when measuring how difficult a sport is. The first of these categories is those who believe technique makes a sport the most challenging, like baseball or golf. Of course, athleticism is the second category, with swimming, wrestling, and running included in that mix. Finally, some believe the hardest sports are those with the most extensive mix of the two, athleticism and technique, which fall into the third category.
Jonny Sommer, a Franklin junior and swimmer, finds himself in that last category and says, “I think there are two things that make a sport hard, the first being physical challenges and the second being the technical challenges.” This method of thinking leads him to saying that water polo is the hardest sport. “Water polo falls in the middle; while it’s a very endurance-based sport, it requires a significant amount of technique when it comes to passing the ball and scoring,” Sommer states. Water polo often gets overlooked in this discussion as it’s not the most popular sport, but its combination of skill and physicality allows it to become a strong contender in the debate of finding the hardest sport.
The last person I spoke with was Josh Fajardo, another Franklin junior, who believes soccer is the hardest sport. When asked why, he says, “There’s a lot of running involved, and sometimes you can run up to 12 miles [in a game], you have to be able to change directions and slow down quickly.” It isn’t just the physical aspects that make soccer hard but also the sport’s technicality; according to Fajardo, “You can be really fast, but if you can’t dribble or pass, you’re gonna be pretty bad.” A sport that requires high fine motor skills and athleticism, soccer is also a strong contender as well.
There are many compelling arguments to be made about this question, and there is no wrong answer. Although this debate will always be ongoing and can’t have quite a conclusive answer, all sports are challenging in their own ways, and it’s essential to recognize the skills of each athlete — no matter the sport.
