Best Indoor Sports For Outdoor Athletes
Outdoor athletes have a unique set of skills that make them able to play the sports that they do. The same can be said for indoor athletes, who often have to apply their unique skills to smaller playing surfaces than athletes do. These three indoor sports, however, are the best for outdoor athletes to latch onto, as they can be mastered by athletes whose skills can be applied both indoors and outdoors.
Handball
Contested on one of the larger playing surfaces in indoor sports, handball is a sport that outdoor athletes can excel in. It requires players to be in constant motion, similar to what you would see in football, with offensive players required to engage in crisp passing without stopping to keep defense off-balance to create shooting opportunities.
The defensive qualities required in handball are even more similar to football than the offensive side of the court, as its principles can be applied without regard to what appendages are used to play the ball. Defenders must be able to move laterally with great pace to prevent opposing players from getting behind you in order to get a shot off, while avoiding making physical contact that would result in fouls and greater scoring opportunities for the opposing team.
Racquetball
Not only does racquetball look exactly like tennis, in that both involve the striking of a ball with a racquet, but it requires many qualities that outdoor athletes need to be at the top of their games. The first of those qualities is the ability to stop moving in one direction, and quickly change to another. This skill is essential in outdoor sports, as players have so much more ground to cover than they do in most indoor sports. In racquetball, the spin put on the ball requires players to switch directions instantly.
Racquetball players also need to possess the elite reaction time that outdoor athletes have as well. Being in close quarters with balls being hit hard the way that they are in racquetball requires players to be able to adjust instantly, just as outdoor sports require.
Futsal
Being able to maneuver through several defenders or in otherwise tight spaces is a trademark quality that outdoor athletes have to possess. In futsal, the small playing surface requires players to use intricate bits of skill to get through swarms of players trying to dispossess them, which can be reminiscent of many different outdoor sports.
The stamina that outdoor athletes typically build up is also required of futsal players as, despite the smaller court dimensions, players have to move at a blinding pace at all times, which requires just as much stamina than outdoor sports played a slower pace for longer periods of time, if not more.
Each of these outdoor sports makes it difficult to deny the parallels between them and many different outdoor sports. If an outdoor athlete is unable to play their preferred outdoor sports due to weather or other factors, they might want to head indoors and give these a try.