From Curling to Football (American or European) to everything in between, sports allow people to embrace their community and indirectly compete with others living in different towns, cities, and even countries. That sounded like an essay intro, didn’t it? Anyway. I’m not going to go into which best sport is the best, it can’t be done. Every different exhibition of athletics has its own appeal to it, and I get it. Who am I to say that regular season baseball is the worst major sport (it is). But regardless of what you enjoy or play, each sport has that one position that no ordinary man or woman can just excel at. Ranked easiest to hardest. Here we go.

6. Point Guard

Basketball is probably my favorite sport to play. I love the creative potential, especially when you have someone with weak ankles in front of you. But compared to the other positions on the list, it’s not the hardest. I play point guard, I get the argument for it being higher on the list. But, once you get the ball past half court, you can just dish it to somebody else and then they can take over. Take Devin Askew for example. The Longhorns guard was trash, but that didn’t matter since we had a stud like Timmy Allen to pick up the slack.

5. Goalie (Hockey)

I’ve never played hockey, so take whatever I am saying with a grain of salt. But based on what I have seen on tv, being a goalie is tough but not as tough as the other positions on this list. Let me explain. Goalies in hockey are padded up, and take up a lot of the surface area of the scoring plane (the math major in me is coming out), so it’s harder for other people to score, basically making their job slightly easier than others. I am not trying to discredit anything about hockey goalies. But then again you’re on skates. So points for that. You have to be an insane person to guard a net with a flying puck coming right at you.

4. Goalie (Lacrosse)

My reasoning is similar to hockey. But I have played lacrosse (and had a stint as a goalie in middle school for a game) and I will say that the variability in scoring adds a whole another component to being a goalie. The bounce shots can be pretty effective, and hockey doesn’t have that. Plus, hockey can get pretty congested which makes scoring tougher, which can be argued makes the goalies job a little easier compared to other goalies in different sports. In lacrosse, there is more field to play with and it is easier for somebody playing attack or midfield to dangle through the defense and get an open shot. Plus you can score from behind the net. Which I guess applies in hockey too but ‘The Michigan’ is overrated at this point.

3. Cornerback

Football is a complex game with so many different moving parts. From offense to defense, each position has its own challenge on making an impact for their team. But cornerbacks have it the hardest. The pre-reqs on being a cornerback involves being agile, fast, and quick. The player could be more athletic than the receiver, but still is at a disadvantage because he has no idea what route the player is going to run. It takes a remarkable level of physical strength and instinct to play the position well, especially in man-to-man coverage. When they aren’t covering a receiver, they are going in for the blitz or trying to tackle a player in the open field. Both situations have them take on a bigger player and have the aptitude to take that challenge head on. There is no joke to be made here. Like playing corner is just really fucking hard.

2. Pitcher

Imagine being a pitcher? They have to make a ball move in the way they want it to go, as hard as they can. It’s insane. Plus, combine that kind of talent with the pressure you face when you are on the mound…woah. Seriously though, imagine being a pitcher with a 3-2 count in a playoff game in the ninth inning with bases loaded. Situations like that make the position one of the hardest in my opinion. Not to mention dudes rip lasers at your skull. Also y’all ever hear about the time Dave got absolutely shelled in little league?

1. Goalie (Soccer)

I know this might be a questionable pick. If you think about it though, it’s not a hot take at all. If you have played soccer (or FIFA in my case), you know that you can score in so many different ways. Even if you are 15 yards away from the box, you can take a shot that the goalie has to look out for. Now, you could be asking me, “You said that hockey can get congested, what about soccer?” Yeah, you aren’t wrong. But, with how open the field is, you get way more chances to score with more openness with a lot more creativity. Plus, the goalie has to cover a much larger scoring plane than any other sport. Being a great soccer goalie is harder than being a great goalie in any other sport. Being the person that prevents the other team from scoring points in a game like soccer makes this the hardest position in my book.

Editors note (Brett): I think this list is relatively weak. Mostly because goalie (soccer) is the easiest position to play in sports. The net is fucking huge so you can just blame that half the time. The other half they do this thing where they jump and just turn 90 degrees in the air and throw their arm out? It’s weird, like they’re actively almost trying not to make a save. Pitcher I get, corner may actually be the hardest, and anything on skates gets automatic points. Lacrosse goalie would be up there too because have you ever been hit with a lax ball at a high rate of speed? All time bruise situation and they wear basically no padding? Shouts to Cheddar from Saratoga Springs HS who lost a nut in an unfortunate lacrosse ball incident. Also QB should be on this list. Lot to think about.

The Hardest Position To Play In Sports