You all know by now that Florida Man is an avid sports fan who will watch almost anything sports related on TV.
So, last night, unable to find Poirot or rock skipping (yes, it is a sport of sorts), I clicked on the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.
Now, I played tennis fairly well in the past so I know the game, but I was amazed and thrilled by the athleticism, power, strategic skills and speed of the guys playing. Even at the top of my game, which wasn’t very high, I wouldn’t have able to lay a racket on one of their shots.
It was the writer Malcolm Gladwell who said that mastery is made not born and that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become masterful. That’s three hours a day for 3,333 days or about nine years. That rule applies to any skill, writing, cooking, dentistry, shop lifting, etc. It sounds about right to me.
High-level tennis players have the eye-hand coordination of a hockey goalie, the speed of a sprinter, the endurance of a marathoner. I also admire their mental toughness, the ability to maintain focus sometimes for three and four hours or longer on the court.
Compare them to other athletes.
Golfers for example, walk four or five miles during a round have and have excellent concentration but only hit the ball about 70 times in 18 holes.
Race car drivers sit for hours in hot machines going 200 miles an hour two inches from another car going just as fast. They have excellent focus and conditioning, but not much movement.
Soccer players are on the field for two hours, but aren’t always running. Hockey players are on the ice for maybe two minutes at a time. Basketball players run a lot for 30 or 40 minutes.
Baseball players are sloths. Most of their time on the field is spent standing around. Swimmers, except in the long-distance races, are in the water for just a few minutes.
The conclusion from this more than casual observer is that tennis is the most all-around demanding of sports.
And that’s today’s report from Florida Man Sports Central.
