<p>Many fathers dream their sons will become pros. I know there is no easy way to become a professional athlete in any sport, but which sport would be the “easiest” for a child to grow up playing and become pro?</p>
<p>My coach thinks if you have a lefty son, it will be easiest for him to be a pitcher because i guess lefties have an advantage, and people can be drafted into minor leagues at a young age</p>
<p>My friend thinks tennis would be easiest, only if money is not an issue. He says if you can hire a coach, and drill all day, you could become pro by the time you’re a teen/young adult</p>
<p>Wouldn’t think it would be either, since both are fairly popular sports.</p>
<p>My best bet would be some sort of niche sport - something in which even the best pros make rather substandard money, so that even average people would be averse to it.</p>
<p>Probably Lacrosse at the moment because it’s growing in popularity and hasn’t hit mainstream yet. Soccer might be easier than most because US teams suck, IDK.</p>
<p>I know like 5 people who play for both MLL and NLL teams from my area back home. Pro lacrosse is more like a second job…unless you have a sponsorship deal (aka, you’re really really good) you aren’t going to get paid the equivalent of pro athletes in other sports (albeit you’re getting paid to play a game you love). Most pro’s actually have a real day job, but it’s a cool day job like working for STX or Warrior or something.</p>
<p>It’s pretty easy though, most kids who get started into lacrosse young end up going to very good high schools and eventually D1 and D3 colleges where there’s a good chance they can get picked up by a pro team.</p>
<p>Definitely not tennis. I once heard a quote saying something like the only thing that separates the #1 (in the world) from the hundreds is talent. I guarantee almost all pro/amateur players practice the same amount on court, as well as conditioning and everything. The difference is in their talent, something that can’t be developed through hard work alone…</p>
<p>As for lacrosse, as the previous posters mentioned, they don’t make much at all. I had a teacher who played lacrosse at Georgetown, and was supposedly offered spots on some pro teams. He would have only made 7k a year, though, at max… But, I suppose it wouldn’t be as hard as some other sports…</p>
<p>I agree with the lacrosse thing. Every year a few kids that went to the same K-8 with me will end up getting some lacrosse scholarship to some Ivy-league or east coast school.</p>
<p>Baseball/Hockey are limited less on a physical level than football/basketball. This means that you can perform if you are “average sized”.</p>
<p>Simply put, if you are under 6’ you will not be a pro basketball player. If you are white you will not have a large chance to play quite a few positions in football (RB, DE, DT, CB, WR).</p>
<p>When you say “pro” do you mean the top league or just playing to make money? Golf is fairly easy to “play to make money”. You don’t need to be that great to make a small tour, however to get your tour card you have to be amazing.</p>
<p>Soccer would also be easy just because there’s a plethora of professional leagues in the world.</p>