The 7 Hardest Positions In To Play In All Of Sports

In youth sports, one of the hardest parts of coaching is knowing where to hide the worst player on the field. Everyone has to play, but not everyone has to play the same position. This is because some positions are inherently more difficult and more important than others, and there aren’t any harder to play in any sport than these.

These are the seven hardest positions to play in sports.

The key criteria here are based on both difficulty and importance. How hard the positions are to play (mentally and physically) and how much they contribute to winning are the main factors.

7. Goalkeeper—Soccer

The seventh  hardest position in all of sports goes to soccer goalies.

The position requires natural size, quick reactions, and 90 minutes of focus. Professional soccer shots can reach speeds of 90 mph, and high-level players don’t give any tells when the shot is coming. On top of this, penalty shots are saved at about a 15% clip at the professional level, and they happen nearly every game.

The goalkeeper loses points on the list in the importance factor. Yes, if a team had no goalie, they would lose, of course. But there are times when a goalkeeper can pick up a win whilst making few or no saves.

6. Point Guard—Basketball

Coming in at number six is the floor general.

Conditioning and a high IQ are the marks of a good point guard. They start every play and have to know the offense better than anyone else on the court. Having the ball virtually every single possession gives them a huge impact on winning. In the modern NBA, they have to be elite shooters and have great passing vision.

Basketball conditioning is different; playing offense and defense repeatedly takes a lot. But they can come out for breaks, and overall the position requires more trained skill than freakish athletic ability.

5. Center Midfield—Soccer

The top five starts with the heart of a soccer team; a combination of having to control the game and playing the full contest with no subs (not to mention, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. So no matter how elite you are, someone is ready to take your spot).

A soccer center mid is the quarterback (spoiler alert) of the team. In some games, they will have to make 60 or more passes and are largely responsible for maintaining possession for the team. Factor in playing defense as well; this is easily one of the toughest, both mentally and physically

4. Catcher—Baseball

The backstop comes in at the No. 4 spot largely due to mental strain and team importance.

The catcher is often responsible for deciding what pitch is thrown based on the current batter. In addition to calling the game, they must be aware of all base runners at all times. But catching people stealing is only half of their defensive job; stopping every wild pitch is harder than they make it look, too.

They’re the only position in baseball that requires pads, and they are involved in every pitch. It’s obvious the catcher is an important position because he can be the worst hitter in the lineup, and as long as he does his job behind the plate, no one bats an eye.

3. Goaltender—Hockey

The top three starts with the true psychos of the sports world: hockey goalies.

It’s crazy to think that at one point these guys didn’t wear masks. A hockey goalie will face dozens of 100mph shots a night, and if he lets in more than three, his team likely won’t win.

Hockey goalies are some of the most flexible and quick athletes sports have to offer, and not to mention they do it all on skates. Nothing on this list looks as hard as a sliding kick save or flashing leather on a slapshot.

A goalie is also easily the most important position in all of hockey as well. There’s no such thing as getting “left winged” or “defensed”, but there is such a thing as getting goalied. A goalie can take over an entire playoff series, and teams have won games with 20 fewer shots than their opponent due to strong goalie performance.

2. Cornerback—Football

The cornerback gets the silver medal, but it gets the gold in physical demands.

Man coverage in football is the most insane thing an athlete can be asked to do. It’s like trying to win a race V.S someone who is making up the racetrack as they go. On top of that, all the rules are stacked against CBs. Any grabbing or contact while the ball is in the air is an instant flag.

The consequences for bad cornerback play are dire too; spot fouls for pass interference and automatic first downs for everything else. Often, the penalty is better than the alternative, as a dominant receiver can rip off a breakaway touchdown that could cost a team the game.

Defensive backs also have to be efficient tacklers. Corners are often asked to bring down ball carriers much bigger than them when they are not in coverage. The position is as tough as it is thankless and easily worthy of the second spot here.

1. Quarterback—Football

This is hands down the most important position an athlete can play in any sport.

Quarterbacks touch the ball on every single snap and have to know every part of every single play. They also have to know and understand what the defense is doing to diagnose what to do on a given play. On top of all this, they are by default the leader of the team. In the huddle and on the sideline, it’s the only position in sports where part of the job is motivating the team.

The physical aspect is as difficult as any as well.

The average time to throw for an NFL QB is under three seconds. In that time, they have to evade 300-lb linemen and deliver a ball with pinpoint accuracy. They are definitely the golden boys when things go well, but by far the most scrutinized when it doesn’t.

The field generals are under the most pressure, literally and figuratively, and having to be the face of the franchise on top of it all lands them the top spot.