Top 10 Hardest Sports to Play

When you're considering the hardest sports to play, what factors leap to mind? Is it the physical endurance one must muster to last through a marathon, the split-second decision-making required in a high-speed car race, or the sheer bravery needed to face down an opponent in the boxing ring? Maybe it's the finesse and strategy involved in sports like chess, which, yes, is recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee.

The difficulty of a sport can often be subjective, varying greatly depending on individual strengths and weaknesses. For some, the hand-eye coordination needed to connect bat to ball in baseball or cricket is a hurdle too high. For others, the mental toughness required to maintain focus during a golf round is their nemesis. Yet, there are those undaunted by the grueling hours of training for gymnastics or the bone-chilling resilience needed for mountain climbing.

But let's dig a little deeper here. Imagine the intense physicality required in sports like rugby or American football, where every play is a potential collision with force enough to knock the wind out of you. Consider the agility and balance needed in ice hockey, where players are not only mastering their movements but doing so on ice skates and at speeds that would earn a speeding ticket in many neighborhoods.

Then there's the endurance and pain tolerance in combat sports, where the objective is to outlast and outmaneuver an opponent who is just as determined to take you down. Swimming, too, demands not just the ability to slice through the water with grace and power, but also the lung capacity to do so over and over again.

And let's not forget about the mental game. The focus and strategic planning in sports like tennis, where players must anticipate their opponent's next move while curating their own game plan, is unparalleled. It's a physical chess match where stamina meets strategy.

So, what do you think? What makes a sport particularly challenging to play? What personal experiences have you had that inform your opinion?

The Top Ten

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring strength, flexibility, balance, and control.
It includes various disciplines such as artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, and acrobatics. Gymnastics is a core sport in the Summer Olympic Games and is governed... read more

Honestly, no other sport can possibly compare to gymnastics. When I quit three years ago, I tried out some other sports. I competed in swimming, horseback riding, and cheerleading for quite a while. I have respect for everyone who pursues these sports, but they just weren't the same level of challenge as gymnastics.
I came back to the gym this year despite the grueling practices, the pain, the inevitable injuries, and coaches who yell at you after every mistake. Gymnastics is just so hard because you are chasing perfection while doing crazy difficult things. It's a mind game. You have to force your body to get over the fear to do insane skills on a 4-inch balance beam, and don't even think about missing your hands! If you have a bad fall, you're expected to get back up and do it again until it's right.
Little girls and boys train their childhoods away with hopes of someday reaching perfection in the hardest sport in the world - gymnastics.
Swimming

Swimming is an individual or team sport and activity. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with events in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.
It requires strong cardiovascular fitness and technique, and is also widely practiced as a low-impact form of... read more

I do this sport very competitively, and I've got to say, it's frickin hard. I swim 10 times a week (normally once a day and twice on Friday through Sunday), and it's absolutely draining.
Yet some boys still have the audacity to say American football is "harder." It's absolutely draining, and it's basically the only sport you get to do if you want to go pro. Not to mention how Olympic swimmers are some of the best athletes in the world.
It's a sport you have to commit to, but honestly, I love it. It's worth all the 4 a.m. get-ups and the hundreds of dollars spent on goggles.

Okay, I've done a lot of sports over the years, and swimming is definitely the hardest of them all. People complain about doing conditioning for most of the practice, but swimming is conditioning. It demands every muscle in your body, and believe me, you have to be tough. In my opinion, swimming and gymnastics are the top two hardest sports. Swimming is so underestimated. Seriously.
I absolutely hate when people argue over the hardest sport because it's like comparing apples and oranges. They are all different in their own way. A lot of people think that at swim practice we just swim back and forth the whole time, but it's so much more than that. The sets we do are utterly grueling and demanding on your body. I've seen many people (myself included) throw up from pain and exhaustion during practice.
Also, if you miss a few practices, you immediately get out of shape, and it's really hard to get back into practice. Swimmers are incredibly fit, and it's important to eat healthy and get rest in order to perform your best. We are eating 2-4 times more calories than the average person every day to keep up with the calories burned while swimming. Not to mention, you are doing everything with a limited oxygen supply. People pass out from lack of oxygen sometimes during practice.
I've felt some pretty bad pains throughout my life, and I have to admit, the worst pain I've ever felt is the burning of my muscles during practice or a race. You are working every muscle in your body, and your heart is beating abnormally fast because you are lacking oxygen, which only makes the burning worse.
Additionally, to swim, you must be mentally tough. Practice can be boring because all you do is stare at the bottom of the pool. There are extremely high burnout rates in the sport as well. I know people who have been swimming their whole lives, and suddenly they can't even go near a pool just because of how sick they are of swimming.... read more
Ice Hockey

You can imagine Zdeno Chara as a star basketball player, or Pavel Datsyuk as a speedy soccer player. You can even imagine Jarome Iginla playing professional baseball because he actually did. But can you imagine LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Miguel Cabrera quickly getting into hockey? No. None of them have likely ever worn ice skates.
While anyone can mount a horse, throw a football, wrestle, or row with a slight amount of practice (I understand the difficulty of becoming skilled), hockey requires the ability to skate. And not just a little bit. You NEED to be an excellent skater to play the game at all. Hockey is tough. Period.
Figure Skating

Figure skating is a sport where individuals, pairs, or groups perform routines on ice using figure skates. It became the first winter sport included in the Olympic Games in 1908. The four Olympic disciplines in figure skating are men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance.

Figure skating is for sure the hardest sport. In addition to what everyone else has said, there is a huge mental aspect to it, something that most sports players don't even understand. Sometimes you can be so afraid to fall on that hard ice that you psych yourself out and can't even execute the jump you've been attempting for years.
Gymnasts and cheerleaders feel pain, but the floor they work on gives in and is slightly bouncy. Ice is 100% hard and hurts much worse than any fall I've taken in gymnastics. I have a bruise that has been on my knee for at least two years, and I keep falling on it, so it will probably never heal. It hurts sometimes when I put just a tiny amount of pressure on it.
People often think that once you learn how to skate, you will suddenly be able to perform all the spins and jumps we do. That is ridiculous. You will break something if you try to figure skate after just learning how to glide around the ice.
Water Polo

Water polo is a competitive team sport played in a pool between two teams of seven players, including one goalkeeper per team. The game consists of four periods in which teams attempt to score by throwing a ball into the opponent's goal. It requires a combination of swimming ability, strategy, and physical... read more

Nobody's ever attempted to rip my swimsuit off and use me as a human backboard while swimming - just at water polo. As someone who does both sports, I'd say that water polo is definitely tougher. It requires more stamina to continually release in the water and sprint back and forth. Even when you have moments of rest, you're still treading water, which takes energy.
At the same time, you have to be aware of the other players in the pool and the position of the ball. You try to pass and shoot while other players are pressing you. Players are also extremely dirty, because the refs can't see most of it. They will dig into pressure points, kick off other players, elbow, gouge, scratch, twist - anything they can think of to gain an advantage.
Horseback Riding

Horseback riding, or equestrianism, is one of the most intense sports known to man. It is physically challenging but also requires more than just athleticism. The sport demands commitment, time, patience, and most importantly, building a bond with your horse.... read more

In no way does the horse do all of the work. Heels down, toes up, calves back and on, supporting the horse - back straight, shoulders back, hands low, and still in constant contact with the horse's mouth without pulling too hard. Look where you're going. Maintain this position perfectly while controlling a 1,000-pound animal with a mind of its own.
This involves moving it with just one leg, constantly supporting it, and worrying about exactly how fast or where it's going. You're posting or rising up and down in the saddle with almost no help from the stirrups. You're turning with a bit of leg rein, weight shift, and looking - but not too much or too little of anything while maintaining speed and perfect position. Try reining in a 1,000-pound animal going 20 mph with just your arms, but not pulling too hard. Try being constantly aware of every part of your body and your horse's at every second while moving at 20 mph, making hairpin turns, and jumping fences. Despite the speed, always be three steps ahead, making sure your horse is on the right stride and judging distances - all while thinking about five other things.
Constantly having to look, be aware, be in control, all while maintaining a perfect position. Try guiding your partner every step of the way, making sure all of your cues are absolutely perfect. Know that if you do even one thing a tiny bit wrong, you could die. It takes strength, endurance, perseverance, intelligence, control, and skill. It takes years. It takes work, practice, and the ability to communicate perfectly with an animal with no words, understand it, and work with it. You have to worry for yourself and your horse, look perfect, be in constant control, always be thinking ahead, and be incredibly strong to hold a 1,000-pound creature together with your legs and make it look easy.... read more
Competiton Cheerleading

Cheerleading is definitely the hardest sport I've ever done. People tell me that cheerleading isn't a sport or that all it is, is a bunch of girls clapping and yelling. It's much harder and more complex than that. I've cheered for about 8 years now, and it keeps getting harder and harder.
In the past, I've played soccer, softball, and I danced. None of them compare to how hard cheerleading is. You can get very, very injured if you make the slightest mistake. It's a HUGE team sport. Cheerleaders have to rely on their teammates to keep them safe.
It's really complicated to learn all the chants and cheers because you have to remember the words and moves. Learning the dances is also very hard because you have to remember which move goes on which count, and everyone has to hit their specific move on the right count or the routine won't look right. The conditioning is also a very hard part of cheerleading. People should go out and cheer. See how long they can take it.
Bull Riding

Bull riding is a rodeo sport in which a rider attempts to stay mounted on a bucking bull for eight seconds while holding onto a rope with one hand. This event is often referred to as "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports" due to the high risk of injury. Riders are not allowed to touch the bull... read more

Many people have died from bull riding. If you've ridden a mechanical bull before, riding an actual bull is like 10 times harder. People don't realize how difficult it is, but here's a little summary: it feels like you're standing on a gravel road while a massive earthquake is hitting.
The bull throws you around and basically plays with you like you're its doll.

The fact of the matter is that you're dealing with a thousand-pound animal between your legs and you're told to hang on. I'm not saying this just because I've witnessed bad incidents. I've personally sustained injuries from it.
Therefore, I don't understand why horseback riding is ranked higher than bull riding. I train horses as a hobby, and they aren't that difficult to ride.
Rowing

You have two choices: school or crew. Pick your poison. Crew has practices year-round, every day of the week, even in the mornings before school. It's too cold outside to run? Get on the Ergometer. It's raining and you're freezing? Put on a jacket and launch your boat. Your hands hurt? Take a 2k test. Your legs are cramping and you're on the edge of blacking out? Keep drinking water and keep rowing. If you stop, you lose the race. No lie.
Crew is a lifestyle. Unlike other conventional sports where people play for fun and pleasure, an athlete must absolutely love crew to keep working. Without a shadow of a doubt, an athlete can bring down their team and, in turn, lose the race. It's much different than shooting a ball into a basket or hitting a ball with a racket. There's more to this sport than meets the eye. It's a way of life.
So stop complaining about face masks, flat balls, or rained-out fields. Put down those protective pads, that bat, and that basketball if they're not in your favor. Everything is not in our favor, and we don't complain.
Cross Country

Oh, please. Do you wake up at five in the morning to go to cheer practice? Even the horses are asleep by then! How far is an easy run for you? For us, it's three miles. We don't stop. Ever.
We push through the pain, the blood, the sweat. We don't have a routine to practice. You think running is easy? If your stride is messed up, you can pull and fracture muscles and bones. You may even need knee replacements. If you're underprepared for a race, you won't make it. You have to train all year round.
This isn't about scheduled practices. It's about getting up early before school by yourself and pushing yourself to do better, to strive for a better time. Your routine is two minutes? Two minutes can make a huge change. Two minutes of hard work doesn't compare to 45. We push. We give it our all.
You can't go home and eat all the junk food you want. You have to eat healthy and keep your body clean. There's no break. No bench, no stop. You can't have water while you practice. If you throw up, the pain is excruciating.
Do you know how hard it is to run maybe 8 to 14 miles, then get up early and do it again? But you can't stop, even if you want to. Our bodies and minds are trained to tell ourselves, "Yes, you can do it, but you can't stop. You must keep going," and you do. You push through the pain. Sprain an ankle? Sorry! There is no stop in practice.
Running is physically and mentally exhausting. For those of you who say it's not a sport? Come to one race. One meet. One practice. And see how you feel after that, because this is a sport.

The Newcomers

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Karate

It depends on what type of karate you train in, as well as where and who you train with.
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Underwater Hockey

It sound literally impossible, and competition cheerleading? That should not be here. It is hard sure, but it is not that hard, not no. 7 worthy

Do you people even know how hard it is to constantly get down to the bottom of a 2-3m pool and push or flick a puck along the bottom?

Never did it, but it sounds hard. How is it ranked under horse riding and cheerleading?!

The Contenders

Rugby

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, league, rugby, or football, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field.
It originated in Northern England in the late 19th century and is distinct from rugby union in rules and gameplay. Rugby league... read more

Rugby came before American football and soccer. Then American football added sissy pads and helmets. For rugby, you need to be more fit than a huge majority of athletes in other sports, both mentally and physically.
You're not wrestling. If you were, then the rules would be different. In fact, the entire game would be different. Brave as they are in American football? That's a joke. Not only did Americans mimic the sport, but, as I said, they also wear pads and helmets. Sure, you get hurt, but try getting crushed in a scrum with no protection, or consider that every tackle is followed by 4-8 different solid muscle players.

Rugby should be first. Rugby is like American football, but without breaks every 10 seconds. It's like cross country, but you have to do it for 80 minutes while constantly either smashing into others or getting smashed yourself.
Some rugby tackles are measured at 7G (seven times gravity), and the injuries seen in rugby are akin to head-on car crashes with both cars going 30 MPH. You have to constantly work. When you have the ball, you have to dodge, pass, think, and smash.
When you don't have the ball, it's even worse. You have to tackle, get smashed, run dummy lines, follow the ball carrier, help him, and drive over. All of that for 80 minutes. Why do you think rugby players are so massive?
Wrestling

Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other grappling holds.
There are different styles including freestyle, Greco-Roman, and professional wrestling. Olympic wrestling focuses on freestyle and Greco-Roman... read more

Wrestling is hard because of the time and effort required. While anyone can try wrestling, those who excel are the ones who put in the necessary effort and time. People often underestimate the level of preparation it takes to be a wrestler. It is comparable to being in the military.
In wrestling, you do not even have time to think. You just act. This level of automaticity takes practice. You must drill each move at least one thousand times to perfect it, and that is just one aspect of the sport.
Cutting and maintaining weight is another challenging part. Wrestlers often go to bed hungry and endure exhausting weight-cutting routines. Sometimes you find yourself questioning why you are even participating.
The wrestlers who truly desire success are those who drill relentlessly and commit to running at least three miles a day. Yet these dedicated individuals often go unnoticed. Critics label the sport as homosexual without understanding the discipline and rigor involved. Most of these critics would not come close to having what it takes to be a wrestler.
Freestyle Wrestling

Competition cheerleading? Are you serious? How does that make any sense? You're competing, and you have to have spot-on timing and accuracy. In wrestling, you need not only your own accuracy but also precision to a tee. Mess up a move, and you're broken. I'm talking metal plates attached to collarbones and potentially life-ruining accidents.
There's no one else to help you. There's no "team" on that mat. It's just you and the other guy, nine minutes, and a lot of pain. If you get hurt, you keep wrestling. If you're bleeding, you keep wrestling. I've watched guys with broken collarbones continue wrestling because they felt as though they had to. The level of dedication it takes to wrestle is unmatched by any other sport, period.
Adding onto the physical challenge of wrestling, you also have the mental pains. When someone is bending your arm behind you in an attempt to make you move and you're not supposed to, it takes as much mental strength as anything else in the world. You push through the pain and fight until the ref blows the whistle. There is no other sport that can compare to wrestling's level of physical and mental toughness. I don't care what anyone says.
P.S. I doubt any of you gymnasts and cheerleaders have to lose 10-20 pounds to do what you do. I doubt you have to give up meals and water while enduring the hardest practices of your lives. I highly doubt any of you would survive a single wrestling practice. If you think differently, then go ahead and test yourself. But I assure you, you won't believe you've got it hard after doing what we do.
Soccer

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players each. It is played with a spherical ball. The objective is to score goals by getting the ball into the opposing team's net. Soccer is the most popular sport globally, governed by FIFA... read more

I have been playing soccer all my life, and I can tell you that it's one of the hardest sports. Obviously, rugby and gymnastics beat us in strength and endurance, but soccer takes a lot of skill. First, you have to be able to sprint around with a ball, which might sound easy. But until you've tried sprinting at your fastest speed, you can't comment.
At higher levels of soccer, you encounter more physicality. You have girls who are bigger and older than you, slide tackling you, tripping you, body-checking you, and pushing you down. Soccer also has many aspects and different roles to make a team function.
You have to have a goalkeeper who needs to be quick on her feet and strong enough to stop shots that could go over 40 mph. As a defender, I have to make the decision when to attack the ball. I need to be quick but also need to hold my ground, so I don't get run over by an oncoming attacker. A midfielder needs to have endurance. These players act as both a forward and a defender. They need to be able to shoot and come back in a matter of seconds.
And that leaves the forwards, who need to have a lot of skill to work the ball around many defenders and then get a good strike on the ball to send it soaring into the back of the net. With all of the rules and other elements of soccer, like throw-ins, corner kicks, and penalty kicks, I personally think that soccer should be ranked higher than 17.
Competitive Dancing

How is dancing not in the top ten? It requires time and dedication. If you stop dancing for even a week, it's hard to get back into it. To be a dancer, you need flexibility, balance, strength, and so much more. Consider this: in most sports, players get breaks, but in dance, there are no breaks. When you are in class, you are constantly moving. Taking a pointe class is even more challenging. You're dancing on your toes, which is difficult. You also have to be very careful because it's easy to twist your ankle.
In sports, it's physically demanding and easy to get injured, but if you're dancing on stage, there might be many people on stage with you. If you're not careful, you could easily injure yourself and others. I've been dancing for over 10 years, and I'm only 14. Dance is not only good for your body but also serves as an emotional outlet. Dancing makes me happy and feels good. In my opinion, dance should be in the top 10.
American Football

Football is one of the toughest sports. Grown men colliding is always going to be difficult. However, it's not very "hard." You don't get much of a break, but you get some, and any break is better than none. It's not a very physically demanding sport.
The hardest part about football? The practices. Sports like soccer, rowing, or water polo are much harder. Put a soccer player in pads and make him a running back? He'll almost certainly struggle. But put a football player in a rowing boat, and he'll place last.
Football belongs higher on the list, but not in the top 10. I have played many sports, and football had the worst practices by far, but the games were manageable.
Boxing

Boxing is a martial art and combat sport in which two people wearing protective gloves throw punches at each other for a predetermined set of time in a boxing ring.
It is governed by rules that include weight classes, scoring systems, and protective regulations. Boxing is an Olympic sport and... read more

It's easy when treated as a hobby - you just punch and jab the bag. But when it comes to competitive training, that's when you truly understand boxing, and not many people realize how hard it is. You have to work on your footwork, which is usually the hardest part, and refine your moves such as hooks, uppercuts, and jabs. You also have to choose the technique that fits you best.
When challenging someone, you must stay focused and time your attacks, combinations, and defenses, or else you will suffer a loss. It's not recommended to self-learn if you're serious about boxing, or else you'll develop bad habits. It's ranked as one of the toughest sports, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart, but I love it.
Motorcross

I've participated in motocross for many years, and even a single day at the track leaves me incredibly sore the next day. I've been knocked out twice in races and have had four concussions. Motocross is often overlooked, but there's a reason for that: it requires time, patience, balance, and skill. It's a lost art, but those born into it know exactly what I'm talking about.
Some might argue that taking a big right hook in MMA or boxing requires more endurance than a 30-minute moto with two extra laps. These people have obviously never even sat on a dirt bike, let alone ridden one. In my opinion, as an experienced rider, motocross is the most physically demanding sport in the world. Cheerleading may be cool, but to a contact sport player or a motocross rider, it's not a sport.
When someone talks about a motocross injury, it usually involves a broken bone, a deep cut, or a brain injury. In contrast, a dance or cheerleading injury might be, "Oh, I just sprained my ankle! Someone fan me!" In conclusion, motocross is both serious and the most physically demanding sport.
Long-distance Triathlon

I can't understand why this is ranked at #27. I've looked at various pages on difficult sports, and most "experts" seem to focus on specific aspects like coordination and technique to determine difficulty. That's not the point. You automatically learn those skills by participating in the sport. You adapt.
Being the best basketball player doesn't mean you'll excel in other sports. Difficulty isn't synonymous with the amount of practice required. What makes a sport hard is the extreme limits to which you have to push your body and mind just to compete. The foundation of all sports lies in the triathlon.
I have competed in all three sports that make up a triathlon, and nothing compares to pushing yourself until you're on the verge of fainting or vomiting. It's not about practice. It's about how physically and mentally demanding the sport is. Given enough time, anyone who's fit could master any sport through practice. That's not the case with triathlon. You need a superhuman body and mind, and the difficulty level remains consistently high for everyone. That's why there aren't any dominant figures like LeBron James who win consecutively multiple times.
Power Tumbling

I am a gymnast, and I agree that power tumbling should be up closer to number 2 or 3 because there are a lot of people at my gym who do power tumbling, and they can get hurt a lot. I have seen people break their arms and legs before in gymnastics AND power tumbling! It is very harsh to watch, but I mean, I am used to it now, so I don't have to worry that much.
A lot of people can get hurt, but some won't break anything. Most injuries are from tumbling, especially power tumbling, and gymnastics. I agree that gymnastics is the hardest sport, but I am not going to give up because of that! You have to keep trying, and maybe you will be a number 1 all-arounder one day like me! Good luck to you folks out there, and maybe I will see you in the Olympics one day, and you will see me too!
Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, from a variety of other combat sports and martial arts.
It gained mainstream popularity through organizations such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship... read more

Anyone who says this isn't the hardest doesn't do MMA. If you want to actually be good, you'll want to learn to effectively use at least one striking martial art and one grappling martial art, but likely more. You have to be in good shape for sure, and it requires a lot of skill, endurance, speed, and finesse.
MMA isn't a game like most sports here. It shows the pinnacle of what humans can do in martial combat against an opponent trained to take you out. Rules are not nearly as strict. You can fight any way you want besides a few illegal strikes. This makes it very unpredictable as to what your opponent can and can't do.

I have been training in Kyokushin Karate for 7 years, and I have to say this should be higher on the list! MUCH higher! Not only do you need to be strong, you need to be quick, fast, precise, have good reactions, stamina, cardio, discipline, and focus! You have to be able to take hits, kicks, and a bunch of different combos and grabs. You have to keep yourself up while also focusing on what you are doing, what the other person is doing, and what both of you are going to do next.
I could go on, and that's just the fighting! You also have all the techniques you have to master and know the names of, where to strike, and where to block. One wrongly placed punch and you lose your arm! And then we have the katas. A series of techniques and stances, which can be really painful and difficult to stand still in without moving one bit, are combined and put together to create one long sequence that you have to remember and get exactly right. One mistake and you mess up the whole thing!
Let's not forget about all the pain in a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and a hundred squats! And last but not least, we have the running, which is also really painful. And on top of all that, we have to wear a gi that can add up to 1 kilo of weight! And this is at 91. It should at least be at 5!
Synchronized Swimming

Synchronized swimming is definitely the hardest sport. It requires endurance, flexibility, strength, mental strength, and a lot of determination. If you think synchro is easy, you're wrong. Have you ever tread water for hours? Have you ever been pushed into a two-foot oversplit? Have you ever had six-hour practices every day?
Have you ever been kicked in the face or the head but had to keep on swimming with that fake plastic smile? Have you ever had to memorize every move and every count for every routine? Have you ever felt your lungs burning and dying in your chest, but knew that if you came up, your coach would kill you? Have you ever swum sprint-free for 20 minutes straight? Have you ever had aches in your toes and knees from extending them too hard? Have you ever had to do all that and live with the fact that people think it's easy? Try doing that, and let me know how it's going.
Track and Field

I thought Track and Field would be higher up! First off, especially if you do sprints, this applies. Your coaches make you sprint a lap, then they don't tell you that you have to sprint 3 miles, broken into pieces, and they expect you to keep running your fastest every time.
At my school, we have track every day for an hour. You go to the track, and you run a lap. When practice starts, we stretch around the track, and you know what that kind of is if you do track. Then they don't make it easy on us. We barely practice field events, so running is all we do. The only way to get out of running sometimes is to be in a relay, which is kind of hard. Every day, we have to come back, whether our legs hurt or not.
Also, at my school, you have to take 2 sports, so if you do a fall sport and not a winter sport, you don't really have that many options. This is really hard to explain, how hard track runners work, especially if you're really dedicated. Asking me to describe how hard track is, is like asking me what the different taste between two waters is.
Tennis

Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each.
Matches are played on various surfaces such as grass, clay, or hard court, each affecting gameplay differently. It is a globally popular sport with major tournaments including... read more

I can't believe tennis ranks so low on this list. While I don't think it's the most physically demanding sport, it is by far the hardest mentally.
I've been a tennis player since I was four, aiming to go professional. The physical aspect is incredibly hard. You cry, tear muscles, play through pain, and even throw up. However, this is the case for most sports.
I think it's ridiculous to place any team sport ahead of tennis. In a team sport, you can help each other, but in tennis, you're alone in the sun for two to three hours. People who haven't played tennis at a reasonable level can't understand how much of the sport is mental and the amount of pressure on players at all times.
They don't realize that you could be a set and 5-0 up and still lose due to a loss of momentum from a single point. Overall, I believe tennis is the most difficult sport to play and is seriously underestimated.
Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a contact team sport played between two teams using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick.
The objective is to score by shooting the ball into the opponent's goal. Lacrosse has several variations, including field lacrosse, box lacrosse, and... read more

Come on, how is competitive cheerleading harder than lacrosse? I'm not saying cheerleading is not difficult. I understand it requires flexibility and strength, but it barely requires any endurance. In cheerleading, you don't need to run, you don't get hit, and you don't catch or throw anything (besides people).
Meanwhile, in men's lacrosse, there are many challenges. For example, defense requires strength, speed, ability to catch and throw the ball, and endurance. Middy (midfield) requires extreme endurance due to its constant sprinting, strength, speed, agility, and ability to throw and catch. Also, attack requires all the same traits as middy with less sprinting. For all of these positions, you need to be able to take a hit and shoot. Not to mention the goalie, which is probably the most important player and also the most difficult position to play.
Goalie might seem easy because it does not require much running or shooting, but most people do not understand the importance and danger of being a goalie. My brother plays goalie, and he has permanent bone structure damage from some of the shots that have hit him. With all of these risks, there is also almost always 1 or more moderate-severe injuries per game.