Is soccer the most difficult sport to learn?

[Poodle]

since it involves your feet and people aren't accustomed to doing things other than walking/running with their feet, but definitely not in those soccer motions.

where as basketball, football, baseball, etc. all revolve around the upper body and arms, and we're constantly using those in different ways every day where they're easier sports to become familiar with? i mean who hasn't thrown a piece of trash into a far away trash can? thrown a ball to someone else? caught a ball?

think of it this way. from the people who have never played soccer, how awful and uncoordinated do they look when they try? as opposed to first times playing basketball, football, baseball?

[0000000]

I think soccer is much easier than basketball.
Set plays in basketball are much harder. You don't have anything like the zone defense in soccer.
Shooting in basketball is harder than kicking the ball. Basketball is also a game that requires more intelligence.
Seriously. Soccer is a lot lot easier.

[SALFORD-RED]

since it involves your feet and people aren't accustomed to doing things other than walking/running with their feet, but definitely not in those soccer motions.

where as basketball, football, baseball, etc. all revolve around the upper body and arms, and we're constantly using those in different ways every day where they're easier sports to become familiar with? i mean who hasn't thrown a piece of trash into a far away trash can? thrown a ball to someone else? caught a ball?

think of it this way. from the people who have never played soccer, how awful and uncoordinated do they look when they try? as opposed to first times playing basketball, football, baseball?


Well I've always said this, you can take a 16 year old athletic specimem and turn him into a football, basketball or baseball player.

However you cannot do the same in Hockey, tennis or soccer.

The mechanics and techniques to be successful at these sports need to embedded and trained in from a very early stage, whereas for example Patrick Ewing and Andrew Bynum took up basketball very late and made it into the NBA. There would be no equivalent in soccer.

[Mr Clutch Melo]

Controlling with your hands is 10 times easier than with your feet and refs allow for physical playing which makes it even more difficult to controll the ball. Shooting the ball is much much easier with your hands, than your feet.

How the hell does basketball require more intelligence ? :no:

[OneMoreSucka]

Baseball.

[niko]

since it involves your feet and people aren't accustomed to doing things other than walking/running with their feet, but definitely not in those soccer motions.

where as basketball, football, baseball, etc. all revolve around the upper body and arms, and we're constantly using those in different ways every day where they're easier sports to become familiar with? i mean who hasn't thrown a piece of trash into a far away trash can? thrown a ball to someone else? caught a ball?

think of it this way. from the people who have never played soccer, how awful and uncoordinated do they look when they try? as opposed to first times playing basketball, football, baseball?

just as much as when you try any other sport for the first time. its no harder or easier. its not like soccer players control the ball perfectly all the time. i had no more trouble learning soccer, and its by far the sport im best at.

[BoogieWoogieMan]

No. Extreme ironing is the hardest sport to learn.

I concur...

Its curling where its at! :banana:

[bballer]

Hockey is the hardest

[1manfastbreak]

Baseball.

this. its the only sport where physical ability doesn't give you any clear cut advantage.

[wang4three]

Not really, but it is difficult to master.

[falc39]

In ways soccer does have a very high learning curve. I remember feeling absolutely retarded trying to dribble the ball when I started. It also takes a long time to kick the ball correctly (with the laces and all). Simple things like developing a good first touch can take many years to learn.

One tough thing about soccer is you need to play with a good team to have success. If you play with people that don't like to pass or you just don't mesh well with, it's going to be very very frustrating. One person can't try to take a team on by himself, it just doesn't work that way. Ball-hoggers get punished in soccer while they get praised in other sports.

[scouxx]

Nope. I picked up soccer pretty quickly. Of course I had my faults, but I was pretty good for a beginner. It honestly depends on your position.

[arkain]

Golf.

[iamgine]

IMO Sepak Takraw is the hardest sport I've seen.

http://asiarecipe.com/images/Sepak%20Takraw.jpg

[IlliniFan]

Golf.
This.

[Jailblazers7]

I would probably say hockey (except for that weird shit iamgine posted).

Every other major sport involved you playing on your feet but in hockey you have to learn to control the puck, pass, shoot, etc. while on skates.

[miller-time]

soccer is easy to learn and play (part of the reason it is so popular), but it is probably the hardest sport to be professional at because of its popularity.

i'd say various forms of martial arts would be the most difficult to learn since most of it is not natural form or naturally intuative.

[Grizz]

Hockey. To get anywhere in this sport you have to start at a young age as early as 7 in most cases.

[methusala]

Soccer is one of the easiest sports to learn.

There's a reason kids are flocking from little league to soccer nowadays. It's easier, parents don't get as pissed because little Johnny is afraid of a groundball, and oh yea. Orange slices. Those little fruit loops love those things.

[lefthook00]

Probably MMA, if you want to become a complete fighter.

Or that ancient Mayan basketball type game where you got sacrificed if you failed.

[gts]

i've heard ferret legging is pretty tough

[Jackass18]

Soccer is much easier to learn than football. Football involves getting over the fear of hitting, learning plays, footwork, technique, and just so many other things, plus there's different positions which require different skills.

[JtotheIzzo]

it seems to really confuse the 4 year olds in the park. but maybe they are just nervous because Mom's watching.

I am sure they'd have a much easier time with golf or baseball.:roll:

[Swaggin916]

I'd say playing QB is the hardest position to learn (at a high level especially). The amount of pressure you are always under and the responsibility you have... you have to balance that along with reading a defense and making a good throw.

I would definitely say as a whole tho... Soccer is much harder to play than most other sports.

[scouxx]

Soccer is much easier to learn than football. Football involves getting over the fear of hitting, learning plays, footwork, technique, and just so many other things, plus there's different positions which require different skills.
All of those things apply to soccer, except maybe the fear of getting hit. Replace that w/ the fear of getting seriously hurt from tackles and breaking bones.

[Timmy D for MVP]

It all depends on your culture. If I grew up in a soccer culture I'm sure dribbling and such would be second nature. But since I grew up in a basketball culture that's what I was doing. And so the game skills are something I picked up over the years.

I'd say the most difficult to do would be something that requires a skill set that hardly anyone posses naturally or can develop at a young age. Therefore I submit:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/04_02/redbullR2004_468x320.jpg

[Edgar Friendly]

Apparently not. At least not in the USA. Children here play soccer until the age of about 8 or 9, then they move on to more challenging sports like baseball, football and basketball. In the USA, soccer is a sport for children.

[SALFORD-RED]

Soccer is much easier to learn than football. Football involves getting over the fear of hitting, learning plays, footwork, technique, and just so many other things, plus there's different positions which require different skills.

No, the Nigerian Nightmare didnt take up Football until he was in his 20s and became a Pro Bowler, there is no way that someone who started playing soccer so late in life could remotely get onto an All Pro/all star team.

[Junny]

Golf.

Agree with this one. I've played 30 times and I'm still as crap as when I first played. Now 30 sessions might not sound like a lot, but in most sports, after 30 sessions you're bound to notice some kind of improvement. This has yet to happen to me in golf.

[beermonsteroo]

No i don't think so.
Hockey for example is much more difficult to learn.
So is tennis. You have to train much more in tennis then in soccer to get really good then in soccer.
However, the level of competition is the hardest in soccer. At least in most countrys.

[Sarcastic]

Baseball is harder to learn than golf. At least the ball is not moving at 90 mph in golf.

[Pinkhearts]

Football is easy to pick up and learn but is difficult to master and play at a high level.

The reason for this is the skill level of your opponents. Most people you play are probably very good at football and have experience playing it. Even though you can play the game now that you know how to dribble and pass and shoot, if your other technical skills don't match up you won't win.

In contrast for basketball, nobody will try to get really good at the sport unless you are super tall or super athletic. So most people will spend far less effort learning the game. And amongst the tall athletic freaks, only a few select people will have the passion and drive like Kobe has to work on his game. So it's easy to find a basketball player that has weak fundamental skills. It's just easier to master basketball if you're tall and athletic as there is a smaller pool of people who can challenge you at it. While for football, you can be sure there is always some no life loser out there who isn't especially tall or athletic but spends all his time kicking the ball around and therefore he will own you when you play him.

[moaz]

you can't learn soccer.
Either you have the talent and everyone recognize that from your first steps with the ball or you can run with all the millions of other untalented soccer players in the world and convince yourself that what u do is somehow semi-professional soccer (as I do).

[Go Getter]

Soccer is by far the easier to learn than any sport this side of sprinting.

All you have to learn is kick the ball into the goal and don't use your hands really. Everything else can be explain by the officials.

You have to teach downs, yards, player responsibilities [way more than soccer], and such in football.

In baseball you have to teach base running, hitting a baseball is way harder than kicking a soccer ball, you have pitch counts, so many rules/slang and small things to remember.

In basket ball it's hard for people to master foot work, timing, form, and team chemistry. A lot of people TRY to play basketball but simply can't.

*The OP said LEARN not play well though.

[SALFORD-RED]

In basket ball it's hard for people to master foot work, timing, form, and team chemistry. A lot of people TRY to play basketball but simply can't.



The exact same could be said for soccer and no basketball is easier to learn than soccer tenfold.

[Go Getter]

The exact same could be said for soccer and no basketball is easier to learn than soccer tenfold.

You can't play basketball until you are at least 4th grade and you can play soccer at what, 3 years old?

[SALFORD-RED]

You can't play basketball until you are at least 4th grade and you can play soccer at what, 3 years old?


In America maybe, but remember America does not = the world.

Olajuwon did not pick up a basketball until he was 15 and he was voted 50 GOAT. There are no instances of a 50 GOAT player in soccer starting to play at 15, every great is playing at 4 or 5 years old. It takes years and years to master the game not just 3 years then off to Houston for 3 Final Fours then lottery pick in GOAT draft of 1984.

In other words if basketball is so hard to learn how come it only took HA 3 years?

[chains5000]

You can't play basketball until you are at least 4th grade and you can play soccer at what, 3 years old?
Why?

[Go Getter]

Why?


Because you don't have enough upper body strength to shoot a field goal.

[SALFORD-RED]

Because you don't have enough upper body strength to shoot a field goal.

you cant play on fisher price my first basketball hoops and lower them to an acceptable height? :confusedshrug:

[Go Getter]

you cant play on fisher price my first basketball hoops and lower them to an acceptable height? :confusedshrug:


Learn and play the sport to me is being able to play the sport like it was intended.

I'm not saying soccer is the easiest sport to become good at or that playing it on a high level doesn't take loads of skill and talent....I'm saying that I have a 5 year old and he doesn't understand the basic principles of football, baseball, basketball, or golf but he pretty much knows what soccer entails.

*Again...this doesn't mean I think soccer is the easiest sport to play or become good at, I'm saying it might be one of the easiest sports to learn and teach.

[chains5000]

Because you don't have enough upper body strength to shoot a field goal.
Here they use smaller baskets.
The same with soccer, you can't put kids playing in a normal field or with normal goals.

[SALFORD-RED]

Learn and play the sport to me is being able to play the sport like it was intended.

I'm not saying soccer is the easiest sport to become good at or that playing it on a high level doesn't take loads of skill and talent....I'm saying that I have a 5 year old and he doesn't understand the basic principles of football, baseball, basketball, or golf but he pretty much knows what soccer entails.

*Again...this doesn't mean I think soccer is the easiest sport to play or become good at, I'm saying it might be one of the easiest sports to learn and teach.


Ah I see what u r sayin, that the basic principles of the game are the easiest to comprehend, yeah you are right about that. I was thinking more in terms of the mechanics involved but I see you are talking about the rules and plays.

[OhNoTimNoSho]

I think it needs to be clarified that up to what level is it easy to learn.

Is soccer easy to learn to the point of being able to play in the park with your friends. Yes in that regard it is easier to learn soccer than basketball.

But to be an elite soccer player i think is harder than basketball.

[Jackass18]

No, the Nigerian Nightmare didnt take up Football until he was in his 20s and became a Pro Bowler, there is no way that someone who started playing soccer so late in life could remotely get onto an All Pro/all star team.

Some positions in football are easier to learn than others. Look at Brock Lesnar, he had size, strength, speed, experience and athletic ability but couldn't even make a team. Then, take a position like QB.

[SCdac]

man, when I was in high school I saw some of the dumbest mother****ers ever playing football. I'm talking like 200+ pound kids who were probably borderline retarded, yet they could knock people down and get their teachers to curve their grades. I don't know what sport you guys watched growing up, but not everybody on the football field has the intelligence and skills of a decent quarterback, not at all. Soccer and basketball usually attracted kids with more dexterity, athleticism, and stamina.