Single hardest activity in sports?

Surfing -- other board sports you can start learning on flat ground to get the feel or green slopes, etc. With surfing you have paddle out, duck dive, sit on your board, paddle into the wave then you get a chance to stand up. This is all much harder in the washing machine that is Texas surf.

 

I agree with this, and you are not alone. It’s really hard for 99% us. It took me a couple years to get a legit serve. A great teacher is invaluable, but they are hard to find. The most helpful instruction I ever received was from Brian Gordon’s articles and videos on tennisplayer.net. Combine his checkpoints with a windup that gets you a good rhythm and correct weight transfer, and you’ll be better off than almost any novice out there. You want to be shifting your bodyweight forward as soon as you start your tossing motion, yet keep weight on your back foot in order to push off (assuming platform stance). Learn to serve with topspin for more margin for error.

 

This is a good topic.

I've always said that pitching and hitting at the major league level are two absurdly hard things locked in a death grip with each other constantly trying to prove which is harder.

However, the answer to the question probably lies somewhere in gymnastics. My doctor says he watches lots of gymnastics because he knows all about how the body works, and there's no way bodies should be able to do what he sees gymnasts do with them.

 

Don't ever trust the kicker in paper football. That's all I got to say about that.

 

I could never get a classic high toss serve down, but I was able to develop a solid low toss Andy Roddick style serve.

 

The power on the rings, high bar, etc is insane -- tumbling runs and vault are nuts.

 

My serve is better than my 2 handed backhanded so i wont go in that direction.

I would say driving a golf ball. I suck at that although practice doesn't occur.

 

Walking and chewing gum. Especially at the same time. That **** is hard!

 

If being dependent on an opponent counts, I'll vote for hitting at the major league level. Pitcher throwing 95+, pitcher trying to deceive you, round ball, round barrel and you have to hit the ball square.

If not for subjective umpires, pitching would be a lot easier to hit your spots and and have the right calls go in the pitchers favor with an electronic box. Making that for me, easier to do with repetition.

 

I would say depending on an opponent totally counts. As a batter, you are at a ridiculous disadvantage unlike anything I know of in sports. But I also marvel at the sheer number of physical moving parts required to precisely propel a ball over 60 ft to a spot within inches of your target at 80-100 mph.

 

Hitting a fastball off of Billy Wagner, Gerrit Cole, Randy Johnson, etc.

 

Depends if someone is banging a trash can for you.

On the OP's question, I think it depends on if you're talking about being able to do something or master it. Getting a serve in in tennis is pretty easy for beginners. But doing it reasonably well is a different story. Other activities would be virtually impossible for beginners, but maybe have an easier learning curve to get reasonably good. (golf stroke, for example).

 

Good point. I was thinking about mastery at the highest level. But as Cheetah pointed out, something like surfing has a pretty high barrier just to do it all. That's why I like this question: it lends itself to a lot of different interpretation.

I would say that my ultimate answer of gymnastics ticks all the boxes. I still can't fathom how you slowly learn to just flip yourself without killing yourself, even though I know it takes years and years. And then to pull off the crazy, peak-level stuff they do in the Olympics. Figure skating is another sport I'd say is pretty damn wild in terms of difficulty in similar ways.

 

I think these are pretty good answers. But ultimately, anything that can be self-taught, or learned in middle school can't really qualify as "toughest in sports". Just my opinion. I've never taken up tennis, but I learned to do flips and tumble in middle school, and got better in high school.

I'm not sure if I'm completely missing the boat or not, but I would say the most difficult is completing a 20 yard pass against an NFL defense (Or something to that effect). Between surfing, serving, or even gymnastics, its just you against the elements essentially, but in the NFL there's 11 world class athletes who've been studying all week to try to stop you, know your tendencies, and will do anything possible to keep you from gaining an inch...plus if they get the chance, they would LOVE to knock your block off... But that's just my opinion.

 

Fair enough, although I'd leave the question open to all interpretation, because it's been very interesting so far. I do agree with you on tennis, even though I've never played. I enjoy watching it at high level because it's just such a pure one-on-one duel of finesse and athleticism. Nothing quite like it. Whenever people casually say I should take up tennis, I'm just thinking, uh, that's not a casual sport.

Competitive volleyball is soooo different from casual volleyball. Jump serving a volleyball is nearly on par with serving a tennis ball. Digging a spike requires instinctual brain-independent quick reflexes, and the setter is like a point guard on steroids. But volleyball is a very easy sport for anyone to get into. Very hard to master.

 

Riding a big halfpipe or bowel has to be up there.

 

Riding a bowel? Our friend Baqui is an expert in that.

 

Oops.