Man says he can tell whether or not you grew up playing sports. It all has to do with the ‘Euro step’

The extracurricular activities people participated in as children have a profound effect on long-term development. Activities such as sports and performing arts can shape a young person’s body, mind, and personality for a lifetime.

One former college athlete says he can actually tell when someone grew up playing sports. And he offers five examples.

‘Five signs that someone did not play sports growing up’

Former Division I linebacker Logan Foody (@loganfoody) shares his opinions regarding people who did or did not play sports growing up. His video has more than 510,000 views.

“If they can’t throw a football,” Foody says. “Like, I’m sorry, but throwing a football is not as hard as some people make it look. And if you really can’t throw one or it looks like you’re really struggling, I’m going to assume you didn’t play sports.”

The second “tell” is all about reflexes.

“If someone doesn’t immediately duck whenever someone yells ‘heads up,’ it’s a sign that they didn’t play sports,” Foody says. “Because I feel like everyone who plays sports ducks.”

Foody says people who fail to “understand why you’re so mad when your favorite team loses” likely didn’t play sports growing up. As for the fourth reason, he says he noticed that non-sports players “don’t stride up stairs when given the chance.” By contrast, he says whenever he sees “a long set of stairs, [he’s] immediately striding up those things like full sprinter mode.”

“The final thing is if they don’t Euro step stationary objects,” Foody says, referring to a basketball move. “I’m talking like poles in the ground or like even your friend when he’s sitting still in the same area. When I see those things, it’s an immediate Euro step or hezi, like, no matter what.”

‘Football and basketball aren’t the only sports’

Viewers flocked to Foody’s comment section to respond to his hot takes. They largely seemed unconvinced. A few pointed out that his views seemed highly football- and basketball-centric.

“Football and basketball aren’t the only sports bro,” one wrote. Another echoed, “Swimmers do exist.”

“Throwing a football is hard when you were a pitcher for 10 years,” another commented. “Whole different motion.”

“Idk man I was a Boxer,” another wrote. “Didn’t have much of a chance to learn to through a football properly.”

Other commenters appeared to take issue with Foody’s assumptions about what’s normal, with one person simply calling his examples “the weirdest list.” Another viewer argued that it’s more natural to catch something hurtling toward you than to duck under it.

But ultimately, more than one viewer seemed baffled by the fifth item on Foody’s list. As one commenter asked succinctly, “Tf is a euro step?”

What is a Euro step?

The Euro step, according to MasterClass, is “an offensive basketball maneuver a player can use to create open space around the basket.” MasterClass explains that a ball handler picks up the dribble, takes a long step at an angle toward the basket, then counters with a second step in the opposite direction to create space for a shot. The move is legal.

Yahoo reported in 2020 that when James Harden’s Euro step drew claims of a travel, it was ruled legal; the NBA counts the first step only after a player gathers the ball, and a player may take two steps after that. BasketNews also noted that early referees sometimes called the move a travel before it became accepted by the league.

The history of the Euro step is murkier, however. BasketNews reported in 2025 that Lithuanian Golden State Warriors player Šarūnas Marčiulionis first brought the move to the NBA in 1989. Serbian coach Vlade Djurovic claimed versions of it were used in Yugoslavia as early as the 1960s. However, the publication argued that “since the move evolved rather than being created overnight, it’s nearly impossible to credit a single player or coach with inventing it.”

A 2018 Pounding the Rock piece said “that the first [published] reference to a ‘Euro Step’ … occurred in a 2007 article that mentioned [Spurs player Manu Ginobili],” and that the move was developed on the playgrounds of Argentina. A University of Toronto Varsity article from 2020, however, described it as “a signature European invention.”

This story is republished with permission. It originally appeared on Subplot News.