# What's the most high-pressure position in sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 5, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949 "2011-11-05T13:15:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/61 "2011-11-08T16:55:00Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > The keeper can be a hero, but only the shooter can be the goat.. This was what I was gong to say. I’ve played as an amateur keeper for many years. The shots that you have a physical prayer of stopping, you can stop confidently 95% of the time. Those shots aimed outside of your reach or speed are simply impossible and the shooter deserves full credit for hitting the target. The sweet impossible-to-block target exists on almost every shot attempt, it is the shooter who has all of the pressure to hit that goal. The keeper is just there to keep the probability window as small as possible. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/62 "2011-11-08T17:53:12Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Oh I disagree. NFL hockey goalie’s gotta be the easiest job out there. Then you know nothing about hockey. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/63 "2011-11-08T18:20:19Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Oh I disagree. NFL hockey goalie’s gotta be the easiest job out there. This will be funny. Angry Canadians in 3…2…1… ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/64 "2011-11-08T18:37:15Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Then you know nothing about hockey. and you know nothing about the NFL! > [@medicated](#): > > This will be funny. Angry Canadians in 3…2…1… Whoosh x 2! Believe me, no Canadians will be upset about that claim. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/65 "2011-11-08T18:59:14Z")
World Cup Final center official. Two billion people watching your every call. Can’t imagine the balls it would take to call for a PK in a match like that. Screw up and it could cost a **COUNTRY** a World Cup trophy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/66 "2011-11-08T20:29:33Z")
Pro golfer. Every shot is up to you and only you. Screw up and you don’t eat this week. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/67 "2011-11-08T20:46:24Z")
> [@Shamozzle](#): > > F1 driver comes to mind immediately: > > The money involved is absolutely astronomical. > > Ferrari, for example, spends around _$400 million dollars per season_ and Italian fans are cuckcoo for coco puffs over the team and its drivers. They demand perfection. Plus, the world-wide TV viewership of F1 is in the _several hundreds of millions per race_. > > It requires immense physical and mental conditioning and a pure, raw skill achieved by only a handful of people in the world. F1 drivers are some of the most relentlessly trained (physically and mentally) athletes (yes) in the world. > > So, with that in mind, you have to do [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG-LPfsIWH4). > > The pressure is immense. CHeck out what happens on the same track when the driver in front of you [screws up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv6wXh7vYHk&NR=1). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/68 "2011-11-08T21:28:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Pro golfer. Every shot is up to you and only you. Screw up and you don’t eat this week. Particularly at the level where the player needs a few good scores to gain (or retain) a tour card or something - that really can be a huge financial win or loss. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/69 "2011-11-08T22:55:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Pro golfer. Every shot is up to you and only you. Screw up and you don’t eat this week. Similar to this, I’d say coaching at a small college. The school wants to win, but doesn’t necessarily have the resources or commitment to do so, but still evaluates the coach - who has a family to care for and who must beg 18 year olds to come play at the school, even without an athletic scholarship - on his won/lost record. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/70 "2011-11-09T03:14:54Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > CHeck out what happens on the same track when the driver in front of you [screws up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv6wXh7vYHk&NR=1). Yes, definitely. Or [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtrzvwayniM&feature=related) or [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwoKCkB1RY). ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/71 "2011-11-09T05:27:55Z")
Another vote for boxer. It’s one thing to have to stay focused; it’s another to stay focused when you can’t uncross your eyes or when it sounds and feels like your head is full of bees. Besides, I don’t think that any other type of athlete invests so much time training for a single event or has their career so dependent on the outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/72 "2011-11-09T10:20:02Z")
Good point cornflakes - a single loss for a boxer can be devastating nowadays, particularly when they’re coming up. Young guy with world class potential fighting an older guy at say national / minor world belt level - win or lose can determine what level they’ll be fighting on for the rest of their career. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/73 "2011-11-09T11:34:11Z")
I think getting punched in the face is the opposite of a pressure situation. At that point your higher brain functions go quiet as your instinct and training take over. A pressure situation is more about being overwhelmed by the moment, similar to obsessing over something or a neurosis or what have you. The last thing you have when you’re being punched in the face is a neurosis. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/74 "2011-11-09T12:39:48Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I think getting punched in the face is the opposite of a pressure situation. At that point your higher brain functions go quiet as your instinct and training take over. A pressure situation is more about being overwhelmed by the moment, similar to obsessing over something or a neurosis or what have you. The last thing you have when you’re being punched in the face is a neurosis. If it’s true that getting pounched in the face is the opposite of a pressure situation, remember that after a few minutes you’ll take a little break: sit down for a bit of rest and relaxation while _ **thinking** _ about how you’ll soon be getting back to the serious business of being punched in the face, and then keep repeating that little back-and-forth exercise for maybe the better part of an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/75 "2011-11-09T19:00:31Z")
Two sporting activities that genuinely surprised me by their athletic demands. Boxing and Skiiing. I mean, skiing can’t take too much out of you can it? just trundling down a mountain. Perhaps not, but trying to make a descent at decent speed is absolutely exhausting. The first time I tried to do it in any seriousness I could barely walk the next day. And boxing? well that was worse. Just sparring for a few minutes should be fairly easy yes?..no, I couldn’t carry on for more than 5 minutes and couldn’t lift my arms above shoulder height the next day. Being hit isn’t a problem, feeling sick through fatigue certainly is. Anyhow, that little excursion in boxing made me realise the amount of work that boxers put into conditioning themselves, over months, for a _single_ fight. Whether that adds to the pressure or not I don’t know. Tough guys though. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949/76 "2011-11-09T19:59:20Z")
I disagree about boxers. I think a boxer would be more focused on dodging the hits, since yes he is concerned about getting it, but he still has his own job to do, namely to smash the other guys’s skull in. You’re also trained to take hits if you simply must get hit. You don’t get trained in all the other positions for letting a whole team/fanbase/country down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-high-pressure-position-in-sports/601949.md?page=3)