The Manning’s, the Gasol’s, the Griffey’s, and the Matthews. All of these names sound familiar because of their success in pro sports. Those are a few of the many families that had more than one person make it big in pro sports. Was this the work of luck, or is the DNA that is shared between the family what makes them athletically inclined. I believe that athleticism has a lot to do with the genes in your family.

The average small forward in the NBA is 6’7” and the average NFL quarterback in 6’3”. These are well above the average height for men in the United States which is 5’7”. Since the athletes are so much bigger than the average American it is hard to believe that they could be as athletic as they are if they were given different genes. For example my Uncle is 6’4” and my aunt is 5’10”. Their heights are well above average and this lead to my cousins being very tall. I have a girl cousin who is 19 she is 5’11”, and her younger brother who is 6’4” just turned 14. I do not think that it is an coincidence that they are both so tall when you look at the height of their parents.

There is also another case where a pair of parents had their daughter tested. The parents got a sample of their 13 month old daughters DNA by swabbing her mouth, and sent it into a lab. The lab looks for the ACTN3 strand of DNA (which is harder than it sounds because there is over 20,000 types of DNA strands). The ACTN3 strand of DNA can predict how athletic a child will be when they are fully developed. The results came back that the baby was a mix of strands that could give her a knack for sports that involve strength and endurance. Her parents were not surprised, Hillary, Ava’s mother is tall and lean, and Ava’s father once trained to be on the USA Olympic weightlifting team. This is just one example of how the right gene pool can lead to a higher athletic ceiling in a child.

Although the DNA does play a big role in how athletic a child can be it does not mean that the child is bound for greatness if they come from an athletic family. If a boy comes from a very athletic family but spends his day eating junk food and playing xbox he will not reach their full potential. But at the same time if a boy has a moderately athletic family and spends his free time at the gym and training for his sport of choice he can become a superstar. The genes a child get does not determine his or her future, but it does play a big role in how the can compete.

I think that there is luck involved in becoming a pro athlete, but a persons genes and DNA plays a greater role than luck. I think this is true because any person can get lucky, anyone can have good timing and be in the right place at the right time. But DNA is 100% about your parents and other family members. There is no way to change it or get around the DNA that you were born with.

Works Cited:

http://throughtheclydescope.com/2011/02/25/20-most-athletic-families/

http://sportsnscience.utah.edu/genes-athletic-potential/

Graph Shows Average Heights and Weights of Pro Athletes by Sport and Position

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/body-measurements.htm

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29496350/ns/health-childrens_health/t/baby-olympian-dna-test-screens-sports-ability/#.VIDvyWTF9XY

http://www.wired.com/2008/11/the-actn3-sports-gene-test-what-can-it-really-tell-you/