Across the world athletes train in the hopes of becoming professionals, but there are certain places that produce superior athletes for specific sports. This is a list of the top five places to grow up at to become a professional athlete.
1. Location: Canada
Sport: Hockey
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Hockey is a sport that has continually grown in popularity across the world. But, Canada’s absolute dominance in the sport cannot go unnoticed. Every time the Winter Olympics roll around the Canadians are atop the list as favorites to win the gold. Even with the sport’s growing popularity, over 50 percent of NHL players represent the red maple leaf for their home born country. As for the quality of players that come from Canada, many stars known around the hockey community grew up in Canada. The name that sells it all, Wayne Gretzky is undoubtedly the best hockey player to slap a puck and could be considered the greatest athlete of all time.
2. Location: Kenya
Sport: Marathon Running
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Kenya has produced three of the last six Boston Marathon winners. The Boston Marathon attracts talented runners from around the world; having one half of the winners in the last six years come from the same place is incredible. Journalists have even turned to science to help explain Kenyan’s dominance in long distance races. Science does provide an insight on the capability of Kenyan runners; their naturally thin bodies are a huge advantage in running long distances.
3. location: Australia
Sport: Cricket
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Cricket is a game commonly played on the western part of the globe. There are many countries that produce great Cricketer’s, but Australia produces some of the worlds best. Australia is very respected in the Cricket community and is home to some of the best players and fans around the game. The amount of talent created in Australia has brought up the topic of having player drafts to keep the competition at an even level. Australia is also home to some of the most renowned Cricket venues around the world.
4. Location: USA (In Particular California)
Sport: American Football
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The name says it all “American Football”, granted football is a sport that has not become largely popular around the world; but it has grown quickly in popularity of late and London has tried to bring a team to England. As of 2012 the percentage of NFL players born in America was 97.12. And at the heart of the plethora of athletes from America, California is at the top. In 2012 almost 12 percent of NFL players were born in the golden state. If the percentage stays where it is at now, America will reign king of their version of football for a very long time.
5. Location: Brazil
Sport: Soccer
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Soccer is a game loved around the world; almost every country plays the game. There are many different nations that create superstars for the sport, but what separates Brazil from the rest is their ability to produce the “cream of the crop” when it comes to soccer. The names of Neymar, Ronaldinho and especially the man that is often considered the greatest soccer player of all time, Pele give Brazil an impressive resume when it comes to soccer talent.
That’s my top five. What’s yours?
