Multisport athletes compare challenges

All sports are brutal in their own ways, but there are certain factors that make some sports harder than others. Conditioning, the number of practices a week, the duration of practice, the amount of endurance required, and the skill needed are just a few of the determining factors when it comes to answering this resurfacing question.

Senior Sydney Ford who plays both soccer and flag football said, ‘’Honestly I consider flag football to be the hardest sport.’’ 

Flag football is a variation of American football where the defensive players on both teams must snatch a flag or the entire flag belt from the individual carrying the ball. Tackling is prohibited, which is why it’s different from typical American football. 

“The footwork required in flag football requires more concentration and skill compared to soccer,’’ Ford added. 

Ford also mentioned how flag Football requires foot and handwork, whereas soccer only requires foot movement. 

On the other hand, sophomore Keylee Allen who plays flag football and basketball, considers the latter to be more difficult.  Basketball is a team sport where two teams of players have to try to score points by making the ball into the other team’s hoop. 

“The conditioning and overall nonstop play that requires a high level of endurance make basketball much harder,’’ Allen said. “There’s more running and heavyweight room type of exercises in basketball than there is in Flag football.’’

Freshman Micheal Previti currently plays lacrosse but has played soccer, football, basketball, and many other sports in the past argues that lacrosse is the toughest. Lacrosse is a team sport where two teams use long, racket-like crosses to get the ball into the opponents’ goal. 

“The conditioning and strength required in lacrosse are much more intense compared to the other sports I’ve played,’’ Previti said. ‘’Lacrosse also requires a lot of endurance as we are non-stop running up and down the field.’’ 

Junior David Mautte who does both wrestling and football says that wrestling is the toughest sport to do. Wrestling is a physical contact sport where two opponents have to force each other down with some part of their body other than their feet using grappling-like techniques.

“The conditioning and practice make wrestling far more difficult,’’ Mautte argued. ‘’We have to do several weighted exercises, strenuous cardio, and overall practice for 3 hours a day 6 times a week,’’ Mautte said. ‘’We are constantly picking and throwing people around who weigh around the same or more than us, which most sports don’t do.’’ 

Regardless of differing opinions amongst athletes, all sports require many of the same traits such as dedication, perseverance, motivation, discipline, courage, and so on. The mental and physical strength that all sports require makes each of these students’ responses valid.