Runners = failed Soccer players. Sprinters = failed Football players

Imagine how it feels to be you, a failure at everything?

Team sports are for people who need other people to help them win an athletic contest.

The only reason I became a runner is because I failed at every ball sport I tried. Letsrun would say I failed at running too because I'm a hobby jogger. (Yet oddly letsrun thinks being a track fan makes you a winner.)

Whatever. I'm now glad I failed at those other sports because as a middle aged man, I'm still running and racing. There's no way I'd still be playing a ball sport.

And, no, I haven't watched a track meet (in person or on tv) in decades. No desire to do so ever again. Running > watching.

LetsRun posters = failed poets

You = failed abortion

As a retired XC coach this is somewhat true.

A high percentage of the good runners I had, had a soccer background

I would guess at the 95 percentile a lot of sprinters are failed football players, but not at the 99 percentile. The soccer theory may be true in Europe, but not in the United States. Most Americans can’t name 10 pro soccer players.

Fisher,Rupp,Centro where all soccer players

I never played soccer. Runner. 100+ Marathons/Ultras. Looking forward to the World Cup, big games in my city! :)

That doesn’t necessarily make them failed soccer players, though. It’s possible they gave up on soccer when they realized they weren’t going to be pro, but I think it’s more likely they went to running when they realized how good they were at it.

It’s hard to deny. It’s also why Jamaicans have done so well. American football takes the Lion’s share of the sprinting talent pool.

As far as running, it’s mainly kids too small and unathletic to play team sports.

Usain Bolt is a failed Soccer player and a failed Football player.

Biggest name in athletics...

How many world class sprinters are big enough to play college football?

Seems like a high probability that there has been at least one guy in NFL over the years who could’ve been faster than Bolt.

Some just prefer the purity of running

Soccer and football? In Jamaica?

As for the thread topic, Soccer is not a particularly popular HS sport. There’s pretty good participation in youth leagues but in HS, many of the those kids switch to other sports. When the Sacramento Bee used to print and I read most of sports section, the coverage for Soccer was less than for football, basketball, wrestling, track, XC, and swimming. I had no clue as to which schools were winning the section titles. If soccer is so popular, why is the MLS such a dud?

In the US many D1 soccer players would struggle to break 15 in an 100 or 6:15 in a mile. Most of them are pretty unathletic (there's some that are good athletes though). At the very top in Europe, yes there are some good athletes but for the most part they wouldn't be fast enough to be podium at a competitive 5k race. If MLS players can't break 5:30 in a flat and fast half ironman course, they are lacking in endurance.

Soccer players are generally in the 5’10” to 6ft 170lbs range.

That’s typically too big for distance running but too small for American team sports.

I could rattle off a TON of sub 9.6/10.30 sprinters who played football, so.....?????

How about 20 Olympic sprinters who played pro football, also?

Not buying it.