“You don’t have to do anything in Baseball. All you do is just throw and bat in practice. Do you know how much fitness sessions I had to do during my sport season?” is a common conversation you can hear among IASAS athletes here at International School of Bangkok. While Baseball and Fastpitch Softball may be less physically demanding than other sports such as Football or Touch Rugby, the game of pitching and batting still requires muscle endurance, strong mentality and physical toughness in its own level.

However, because it is human nature to rank and debate about everything, people, especially athletes, often disdain sports such as Golf and Bowling because they require low physicality and the game is played at a slow pace. Without a doubt, some sports are definitely more physically demanding than others due to how the sport is played, the rules, length of game, level of competition and such. However, the only IASAS sport that has made it to the top 5 most physically demanding sports is Rugby.  

Once the list gets to the top five ranked sports, it would be meaningless to rank them in order from less to most physical demanding as all of those five sports are extremely physically demanding. These five sports are Ice Hockey, Boxing, Aussie Rules, Water Polo and Rugby. Here is why:

Ice Hockey:

Ice Hockey is most known for its brutal fighting in the middle of its games. But forget the fighting, that is not even why Ice Hockey is in the top five. Players have to run and race around the ice rink for 60 minutes chasing a tiny puck with big sticks. Even with the substitutions, that is a lot of hard work.  The physicality and toughness is clearly evident in the YouTube clips of big hits, as are the strength and agility used, as players tussle with each other on the ice, weaving around and changing direction quickly and frequently.

And these guys are fast, even for professional skaters. But with the whole game taken into account, it is the skill levels that are required for Ice Hockey that put this sport in the top five.  As a field hockey player will know, it’s tough enough to dribble with a ball and stick on foot, but to do it at speed and on skates is incredible.

Boxing:

There is not much explanation regarding to why Boxing is recognized as one of the most physically demanding sports. As we all know, going into a ring and trying to hit another guy so hard he falls to the floor, while you are also getting hit, is pretty tough stuff. Boxing requires anextremely high level of physicality, strength, and especially mentality.  because it was felt the mentality of going into a sport knowing you were about to be punched and hit deserved to win the tie.  

To be in a 12 round top level boxing match athlete has to be in tip-top shape work not only on his boxing skills but on all round physical attributes months before the fight. Top level boxers organize 3 to 4 months training camps for a 36 minute fight which require bit of everything from a fighter.

Aussie Rules:

Virtually unknown outside of Australia, Aussie Rules is a hugely popular sport in Australia, particularly in the Melbourne. Played on a huge oval field, the size of the playing area alone is enough to put on the majority. Aussie Rules is played with a large football-shaped ball, with teams scoring points by getting the ball through a set of posts set up at two opposing ends of the oval. Skill levels are high, with players needing to bounce the ball when running, and passing is restricted to kicking or punching the ball .Throwing is not allowed.  

Some of the catches in Aussie Rules would make the best NFL receivers look like average athletes. Contact is almost encouraged when a catch is contested, with pass interference almost unheard of. It would alsobe difficult to watch an entire match without cringing at the tackling, as the men not only play without pads but with incredibly short shorts and no sleeves.

Water Polo:

While this sport may appear similar to the game of handball, water polo is played in water. With a lot of kicking and grabbing going on under the surface, and all sorts of illegal actions in the water, polo is highly ranked in physicality. Like ice hockey did for the fact it was on ice, polo receives a boost to skill level, as the game itself is supplemented by the need to not drown during it. Often overlooked are the speed and strength needed by players as they move through the water, and more importantly the fact that players are not permitted to touch the floor.  

Try going to your local pool and treading water for more than 30 minutes, then imagine playing an intense contact sport in that time, and you will realize why water polo scored so well for endurance.

Rugby:

Imagine playing American football, without pads, but instead of stopping the game at every tackle, the teams pile into a ruck and wrestle for the ball. No forward passing means if you want to score, you have to go through the defense, not over it.

Another contact sport which require greater physical challenge of strength, brute power and ability to endure knocks and whacks for best part of 80 minutes. Rugby in professional level don’t have weight divisions which means only the strongest, heavier but still quick athletes can be successful professional rugby players.

Hit after hit, play after play players keep going, no breaks in play, no change of teams, even the kicker, or known as the Fly-half has to play the whole game and get involved with the tackling.

Alex C