Football is harder then ballet

Good Morning, This will be my first debate. The subject is far more intriguing than first glance would indicate. It is not merely a question of tutus versus tight ends, it goes much deeper. First before even stating my reasoning, I want to acknowledge and dismiss pseudo-sexist theme upon which it could be argued. This is not an argument about boys versus girls; my arguments apply to a male ballet troop versus a co-ed football team; or the requirements of a ballerina versus a female field hockey player. I want to clarify the nature and meaning of "harder," especially as it relates the nature of ballet and football. The challenge could be examined from an individual or group perspective, either way, ballet is, by far, harder than football. What makes something hard is a combination of its threshold competencies, rigor of training, and the degree to which execution aligns with perfection. The degree to which something is hard doesn"t correlate with opposition, if anything there is an inverse relationship. Collaboration is expected of an entire ballet troop, along with musicians and stage hands. Collaboration is also in the nature of football, but it is halved by an offense and defense competing with each other. Let"s look at each point in turn and how this plays out for six, sixteen and twenty six year olds. Typically, knowledge and skills are not mastered at a steady pace; there are threshold competencies that mark breakthroughs in development. The first hundred yards that a child rides a bike without training wheels are not likely to be pretty. No matter how many times they fell or how hard they tried there is a point before which one cannot ride a bike and afterward, even years and decades afterwards, the ability to do it is understood almost instinctively. Beyond that threshold the ability is acknowledged by the phrase, "It"s like riding a bicycle." The competencies of football are chasing, pushing, kicking, throwing and catching. Your typical six year old has acquired these skills, on their way to becoming a professional they will develop, refine, and possibly specialize in these fundamentals. There is nothing that an NFL player can do that a six year old can"t. The competencies of ballet begin with refining and relearning balance, grace and movement. The threshold competencies occur when these are executed in a choreographed manner. The ballet dancer must have the strength and control to throw or catch the ballerina in time to the music, and more importantly in sync with the other dancer/dancers. High school football players spend their summers practicing to be ready for a season that runs from Labor Day through Thanksgiving. If their team does well they will have to continue practicing in December and January for various bowl games. Practicing half the year for 15+ games is more rigorous training than I am inclined to do. But in ballet, a sixteen year old who only practiced for half the year is about six months short of what is needed to get a scholarship. Furthermore, instead of one game per weekend a dancer is looking at three evening performances and a couple matinees. Either activity builds and depends on teamwork, both seek to align execution with perfection, but only in football do half the participants gain if the other half makes a mistake. One ballerina gains nothing by throwing off the timing of another. The lead dancer doesn"t get to scream out audibles in response to what is going on in the orchestra pit. Often a football game is won by the team that makes the fewest errors. Plays are planned with options and variations because things are going to go wrong; there are three receivers down field for a reason. It is erroneous to suppose the lack of an active opposition makes achieving perfection easy. Look how often the offense gets off sides called on them in a game. Ten professional players having nothing to do but hold still until the eleventh snaps the ball is a simple task without opposition. To make it even easier the quarterback can yell guidance and change the plan. If a lack of opposition made perfection easy the offense would never be off sides. Maybe the professional level isn"t the best place to compare which activity is the hardest, likewise kindergarten and high school. Let"s forget about the six, sixteen and twenty-six year olds and suppose we gathered 30 people off the next train or bus rolling by. With thirty random people could your little brother divide them up and have them play a game of football that would be interesting to watch? Yes. Given the same thirty random strangers, how long would it take before your little sister had them ready to perform scene from Swan Lake or the Nutcracker that was worth watching? I"m not saying she couldn't"t do it, but it would certainly be harder than your little brother"s task. -Whistle