J3553 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 i was listening to a radio show this morning and a very intriguing topic was discussed. are all people who play sports truely athletic or are they just skilled? i find it hard to find the athletic ability involved in sports like stock car racing, golf, curling, archery, bowling, bobsledding, etc. i don't mean to belittle their talent, but i think people who play those sports are skilled, not athletic. that brings me to another question. are all of those events really sports? aren't some of them just games (i.e. golf and bowling)? these are the burning questions that keep me from progressing in life. haha.... what do you all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 In my opinion, athletes are those who train a specific group of muscles for a specific purpose. To play sports... any sport... at a hi-level requires muscular coordination. So just because a bowler can't run a marathon... that doesn't make him any less of an athlete. He has trained specific muscles in his body to react when he needs them so he can throw strikes. You're confusing your definition of what an 'athlete' is. Not all athletes need to be built like Carl Lewis, not even close... :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J3553 Posted February 20, 2006 Author Share Posted February 20, 2006 In my opinion, athletes are those who train a specific group of muscles for a specific purpose. To play sports... any sport... at a hi-level requires muscular coordination. So just because a bowler can't run a marathon... that doesn't make him any less of an athlete. He has trained specific muscles in his body to react when he needs them so he can throw strikes. You're confusing your definition of what an 'athlete' is. Not all athletes need to be built like Carl Lewis, not even close... :2cents: that makes sense, but that kinda means that anybody who can walk or lift something is an athlete. see what i'm saying? and i know not all athletes have to built like carl lewis and people like him. i mean look at linemen in the nfl. haha. but i still view them as athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 that makes sense, but that kinda means that anybody who can walk or lift something is an athlete. I qualified my post with 'at a hi-level (professional)' I can go lift something, but not competitively. Have you seen the World's Strongest Man competition? I can bowl... but not competitively. I average around 120. I can even run... but not competitively. I tire pretty quick. So because I can do it, doesn't make me an athlete. Only if I do it at a high or competitive level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 In my opinion, athletes are those who train a specific group of muscles for a specific purpose. To play sports... any sport... at a hi-level requires muscular coordination. Before I met my wife, the muscles in my right hand were VERY coordinated, I guess that means I was a great athlete. Yay!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooka Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 An athlete is a person who is trained to compete in sports. Was John Kruk an athlete? Yup, and it obviously had nothing to do with endurance, agility, or physical conditioning. He competed in a sport = athlete. Personally, I don't really consider bowling, golf or curling sports. They're more like games, but they're recognized as sports, so you have to consider those people athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Jones Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I have always thought that people are born with their physical gifts. Those gifts vary by person. Some allow them to hit a baseball thrown at 95 mph. Other gifts allow them to run fast, while others allow them to lift lots of weight. People develop the skills needed to play a particular sport. They train their muscles, hand eye coordination, etc. to match the sport. To be great you have to train to develop the necessary skills. However, without the necessary athletic gifts you were born with you will only progress so far in many of the sports played in the world. The easy sports to name are football, basketball, soccer and baseball. Many of the Olympic sports should also be considered. Since I am not familiar with all the sports I can’t offer my opinion on many of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinstzar Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I think it definitely helps to be both. I made it to one of the highest competitive levels in my sport (lacrosse) pretty much solely on skill. I was usually the slowest, shortest player on the team. I worked hard though and became as quick, storng and smart as I could be. I think a great athlete is someone who is fast, quick, strong, big and powerful. I also think you have to be somewhat born with that. If you practice your craft, your skill can make up for your lack of athleticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSteve Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Athleticism is physical ability you are born with. Skill is an art that one develops. The two are not mutually exclusive. Like, let's say I can jump really really high and really really long. I didn't train or anything, I just woke up one day and started jumping and realized, "Hey, I can jump!". Well, that jumping certainly does me no good in and of itself right? But I'm still athletic considering my body is able to do things the average man can't do. But, when I tailor my amazing jumping ability to be able to become the world's best long jumper in the olympics, then I've tailored an inborn athleticism born of DNA into a skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryman of the North Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 as my old football coach used to say "if a woman can beat an equally sized man at it its not a sport", seriously tho somethings are skills, is a shooter an athlete? is a race car driver? hell no but for lack of a better term we call them athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 i often wondered about this issue. if you suck, are you still an athlete b/c you try to participate in a sport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lamb Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Athletes participate in sports. People who participate in sports are skilled athletes. J3553, Elliot speaks the truth. Diane was full of crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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