evanreas

good point. it is the hollistic view of how somebody performs that should be observed.

To be clear, I am not advocating playing sports as a mandatory part of any interview process.

What I am saying is that IF a prospective employee does play a sport, it is a HUGE value add to watch/play with them to be able to see and judge their personality in that context.

it is not to test "coding ability" at all! it tests, drive, passion, competitiveness, motivation... the skills that are more important in a startup than raw ability to code.

the coder who tries his hardest on every second in sports, is, more likely than not, going to be the better colleague because he/she will do whatever it takes to win.

ive hired people at three companies, just for context, but thanks for reading.

my theories are based on observation, and working/playing with hundreds of teammates and employees over the years and how ive seen on-the-field play translate to in-company behavior.

agreed that it doesn't work for all employees and i don't mention it as a way of finding employees, rather a way to screen potential employees if they do happen to play sports.

i'd also mention that i play ultimate with a bunch of engineers on a weekly basis so they are out there...