# Why are ENFPs so good at sports?



## Geslan (Mar 8, 2016)

I have good knowledge about sports and athletes. When I was looking at the MBTI of top athletes on average their are more ESTPs and ISTPs on average because in theory they are supposed to be better athletes because they are Sensors. ISTPS on average have greater spatial thinking and visual memory than other MBTI. ESTPS on average tend to have a higher success rate on situations when you need quick thinking and you have to draw from experience on what works and what doesn't in quick thinking situations.

However I see a lot of top athletes and even legendary athletes who are ENFP more than other MBTI on average. How can this be?.ENFP use initutions which is supposed to give them a disadvantage against Sensors in sports?. Looking at their description I thought ENFP were more creative,artistic and good at communicating with people? Why are their so many top ENFP athletes.


----------



## compulsiverambler (Jan 7, 2010)

If it is true that there are a lot of ENFP athletes, my guesses are: 

-Dedication, courage, teamwork, comradeship, sacrifice for a cause etc. are valued by their Fi
-Te makes them more strategic than Ti users
-It starts out as a hobby that helps them turn off their dominant function on a regular basis (which many people seem to enjoy doing and I would guess is probably good for your mental health).


----------



## Nocti (Aug 2, 2016)

-dudebro voice- not all enfps
look, i'm the one exception to the rule i'm an enfp and im TERRIBLE at sports
here are my incredible qualities :

- spaghetti legs
- pygmy lungs
- beatboxing heart
- marhmallow arms
- glass bones and paper skin

i am spaghenfpi


----------



## SquashedBanana (Nov 11, 2015)

The real question is, why are ENFPs so good at everything? :kitteh: 

Lol only joking, I do love you guys though. :dog:


----------



## AdroElectro (Oct 28, 2014)

Could you specify which sports? I have a theory that ENFPs are pretty good at endurance sports due to inferior Si. With inferior Si I find it easy to just zone out and ignore unpleasant physical sensations. I was actually the best 800m runner in my school, I was able to push my body so hard that I threw up after almost every race. Why ENFP and not ENTP? My guess is that Fi brings with it a desire to prove oneself. Especially if the ENFP has some type 3 in them. Te is good at strategizing as already mentioned, Ne is good at foreseeing various sequences of events and acting accordingly.


----------



## compulsiverambler (Jan 7, 2010)

AdroElectro said:


> Could you specify which sports? I have a theory that ENFPs are pretty good at endurance sports due to inferior Si. With inferior Si I find it easy to just zone out and ignore unpleasant physical sensations. I was actually the best 800m runner in my school, I was able to push my body so hard that I threw up after almost every race.


But inferior Si users will surely be a lot more aware of their bodily sensations than types with only shadow Si. Se-doms should be more able to ignore discomfort because Si isn't even in the the top four positions of their stack. In my experience Ne-doms do tend to be wimpier about physical discomfort than Se-doms, so maybe you're an outlier?


----------



## MolaMola (Jul 28, 2012)

I am not particularly great at sports. I am good at badminton and running. I was pretty good at tennis. Other than that, yeah not really xD


----------



## MolaMola (Jul 28, 2012)

I think athletic ability has nothing to do with your MBTI, and has everything to do with your genetics lol


----------



## Razorsharp (Jun 23, 2016)

You posted this thread also in the ENFP forum. Here is the rply I made there.
In terms of team sports I think ENFPs are good playmakers, informal leaders and good tactiticians. In Soccer and Ice-hockey there are phrases like "playing without the ball/puck" meaning being at the right place at the right time in order to get the ball or disturb a player in order to get the ball. Or in a defensive position trying to anticipate and intercept passes. I dont think sensors do this significantly better than ENFPs. At least in my youth I was good at these things. So these roles should suit ENFPs like a glove.

However I think sensors are drawn to the social status and "Tournament style" attracting of sexual partners in a way that ENFPs find offputting in team sports. So I would guess ENFPs in general prefer other sports and my guess, which is also my kind of sport, is endurance sports.

In endurance sports like cycling, running, orienteering, triathlon etc you need to spend a lot of punishing training hours by yourself, and this is like meditation for me. Here is where I process all the bad energy I lift off the shoulders of my surrounding. Here is where I process and balance myself mentally. Also the whole idea of a sport not confined inside a fence is attractive to me as exploration is one of my core drives as a person. When I run or bike I often go new routes and it feels great.


----------



## Geslan (Mar 8, 2016)

AdroElectro said:


> Could you specify which sports? I have a theory that ENFPs are pretty good at endurance sports due to inferior Si. With inferior Si I find it easy to just zone out and ignore unpleasant physical sensations. I was actually the best 800m runner in my school, I was able to push my body so hard that I threw up after almost every race. Why ENFP and not ENTP? My guess is that Fi brings with it a desire to prove oneself. Especially if the ENFP has some type 3 in them. Te is good at strategizing as already mentioned, Ne is good at foreseeing various sequences of events and acting accordingly.


Yes running events like 100m Dash,diving,soccer,NBA. Lot of team sports players like soccer.


----------



## Geslan (Mar 8, 2016)

NewMango said:


> I think athletic ability has nothing to do with your MBTI, and has everything to do with your genetics lol


Well athletic ability is genetics but sports is not all about who is stronger or faster. You need mental skills such as reading the game,performing under pressure and making decisions under pressure.


----------



## ferroequinologist (Jul 27, 2012)

Name some. My guess is that they are ESFPs not ENFPs. Also, it would help to know what sports you are talking about. I can't see an ENFP being at the top of the game for any team sport like football (both American and soccer) or basketball, but maybe in baseball or golf. Those are more disciplines. And to make this controversial, all SP types will be better athletes than any NP or NJ type.


----------



## Geslan (Mar 8, 2016)

ferroequinologist said:


> Name some. My guess is that they are ESFPs not ENFPs. Also, it would help to know what sports you are talking about. I can't see an ENFP being at the top of the game for any team sport like football (both American and soccer) or basketball, but maybe in baseball or golf. Those are more disciplines. And to make this controversial, all SP types will be better athletes than any NP or NJ type.


Well Tom Brady perhaps historys greatest quarter back is typed as ENFP. Also Christiano Ronaldo was typed as a ENFP by his coach when he was developing. Christiano Ronaldo has won 3 worlds best player awards in soccer and he is the highest paid athlete in the world. Also in theory SP types are supposed to better athletes in theory but in real pracitical life its a lot diverse


----------



## Passionateheart (Aug 2, 2016)

I guess for me, I love that sports is somewhat of an outlet for my energy. enfps have a lot of energy and so when playing sports, i am able to give it my all and channel my crazyness into something productive. Did that help?


----------



## shameless (Apr 21, 2014)

I am going to use myself and my Enfp friend and ex husband playing darts. They aim for all possibilities I like to call my shot. I am a better marksman. But they are better at overall coverage which can pull out a win. Ne is covering many variations of possibilities. Se doms often have more tunnel vision I think. Both are good (especially if they are on the same team) just different ways of competing. Ok I might get a tad pissy when I get beat at darts by a lesser marksman because they just aimlessly won lol. But I get the strategy.


----------



## Sidewinder (May 22, 2009)

I was on a couple of high school teams, and can't say I noticed ENFPs being particularly good at sports. STPs seemed common, with lots of STJs who liked the team aspect but made everything less fun. Some SFPs, especially on the track team. There were some Ns, especially ENxJ. It depended on the sport/postion. Practically the whole OL was ISTJ.

ENFPs were more likely to do intramural sports, where they might not have been as talented, but were enthusiastic and had a lot of fun with their friends.



ferroequinologist said:


> Name some. My guess is that they are ESFPs not ENFPs. Also, it would help to know what sports you are talking about. I can't see an ENFP being at the top of the game for any team sport like football (both American and soccer) or basketball, but maybe in baseball or golf. Those are more disciplines. And to make this controversial, all SP types will be better athletes than any NP or NJ type.


Well, that's a bit of an overgeneralization and goes too much the other way.  I've seen all types on the field ... well, maybe not many INTs. The average team was about 50% SPs.

I think SPs do well at sports that are reactive, where they have to make a quick call and react in a changing environment, so a position like goalie in ice hockey or running back in football. But I think the pitching position in baseball strongly favors intuitives. And Ns can be good athletes, just not in the numbers that Ss will be, and maybe in different ways. I've noticed that many ENTJ athletes are super big and strong and make natural leaders and captains of teams.



Geslan said:


> Well Tom Brady perhaps historys greatest quarter back is typed as ENFP. Also Christiano Ronaldo was typed as a ENFP by his coach when he was developing. Christiano Ronaldo has won 3 worlds best player awards in soccer and he is the highest paid athlete in the world. Also in theory SP types are supposed to better athletes in theory but in real pracitical life its a lot diverse


I've seen Brady typed as ENTP as well. It's tough to say. My personal feel is that it's damn difficult to type any public figure as they are showing a managed persona. I've seen some QBs typed 4, 5, 6 different ways. But one star athlete doesn't make a trend. I can find a couple of ISFP quarterbacks too, but I wouldn't say that ISFP is prime quarterback material. It's mainly ESTP, ISTP, ENTJ, etc ... Se thinkers. I've seen no thread that types a significant number of athletes as ENFPs.


----------



## ferroequinologist (Jul 27, 2012)

Sidewinder said:


> Well, that's a bit of an overgeneralization and goes too much the other way.  I've seen all types on the field ... well, maybe not many INTs. The average team was about 50% SPs.
> 
> I think SPs do well at sports that are reactive, where they have to make a quick call and react in a changing environment, so a position like goalie in ice hockey or running back in football. But I think the pitching position in baseball strongly favors intuitives. And Ns can be good athletes, just not in the numbers that Ss will be, and maybe in different ways. I've noticed that many ENTJ athletes are super big and strong and make natural leaders and captains of teams.


I'm not talking high school sports, or just recreational. I'm talking professional sports, where you have to be at the top of your game--all the time. And yes, I'm talking about those "reactive" sports that I mentioned--football, soccer, basketball, hockey, and such. Other sports, like baseball, for instance, tend to be more evenly spread in abilities, and hence will see more intuitive types. 

But in the above sports, at the professional level, you just won't see many (if any) intuitive types. It's not their thing. 



> I've seen no thread that types a significant number of athletes as ENFPs.




In the ENFP articles subforum, there is an article about sports success (from the braintypes dude), and he only mentions relatively few ENFP pro athletes in the article, in comparison to the SP and SJ types. And most of them are from sports like track and field and diving/swimming--items that are as much disciplines as sports. 

I'm not sure what's so difficult to understand about all this. Each temperament and type has their own strong suit. That is where they will more easily excel and will tend to gravitate. Sports is not an NF thing, certainly highly competitive, combative sports. Will there be crossovers? Of course, but they will always be the outliers and exceptional. But the idea that ENFPs are all naturally good at sports--that is just a stretch. It's like saying that ISFPs make good writers and lyricists or theoretical scientists. It's not that there won't be good ones--and the ones that are can be quite exceptionally good--but that this is not our strong suit. And there may be a rare ENFP football player, and if they are, they are also likely to be exceptional--but again, they will be an outlier.


----------



## ECM (Apr 8, 2015)

With me, im told im good at what I do physically. Im pretty slender built and very flexible. Though i'm not a sporty person at all though, the only sports I was good at at school was badminton, running and hockey. Those three I excelled at. 

I love martial arts (which some people class as sports, but the arts I do are not really considered sports as they are old school killing and self defence styles that were from times before martial arts for sports was a thing but is still considered an athletic activity). I also dance too and do well at it. 

As for endurance, that's a big no for me personally, im not good with pain tolerance though its something im actively working on. However if its something im doing that I love and my Fi goes off the charts then I end up with great endurance and can last a very long time, (For example dance or sex) but after I will just be drained to utter depletion from overdrive lol. 

Its one of the reasons that I do martial arts training as my workout as well instead of going to a gym, as going to a gym is "so" mundane for me, orthodox fitness bores me and so I don't put up with it for long. but when its martial based, I can do it for hours.


----------



## Grandalf (Jun 7, 2014)

ferroequinologist said:


> And to make this controversial, all SP types will be better athletes than any NP or NJ type.


----------



## huhh (Apr 15, 2015)

Because they rarely get prescriptive ideas about how to do things, they just act


----------



## ferroequinologist (Jul 27, 2012)

Grandalf said:


>


I need to remember this the next time someone says that such and so can't be a sensor because... 

Sorry, but one can't have it both ways.


----------

