If you think about it for a while, you will realize that almost every talent in life is the result of repetition and desire. With the proper desire someone will spend the time and effort to repeatedly practice the skill they are trying to master.
Somewhere between novice and expert there is a threshold where talent and realism asserts themselves. Not all the practice in the world can make a short person tall but it can make a short person exceptional in a game of tall people. Recently the name Pete Maravich, a great basketball player, came up and I had a faulty memory about him being short. I was wrong; he stood at six feet five inches (6'5"). He was a great player whose career was shortened by injuries.
My faulty memory caused me to research which player I had in mind. That player was Spud Webb. Spud was only five feet seven inches (5'7") tall but he won a slam-dunk contest despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history. Wikipedia
But practice can make you more proficient regardless of the talent or natural ability. Just not perfect. That brings to mine an old quote often used for poor performers. "IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY TRY AGAIN"
I was watching a re-run of the old Andy Griffith show (the one where he was a southern lawyer). One of the scenes was of Andy at a rehearsal for a wedding. He was walking a lady down the aisle. The priest or preacher was giving directions on which way to go and what to do. Everyone who has ever been involved in a large wedding remembers the rehearsal walk through.
My own two wedding were not large events and there was no rehearsal for either one. One did not work and the second is still up for review after forty one years (41). But I will admit that prior to both weddings and particularly in-between the first and the second, I practiced the honeymoon relentlessly with different players. The proof statement of the title of the article is evidence that practice does not make perfect. It also brings the mind another myth that I have found in my advanced age.
THOSE WHO DO NOT LEARN FROM THE PAST ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.
Ah, if only that were true!!!!
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Bobby Tony said:
( August 10th, 2016 @ 2:19 pm )
I'm not up to speed on basketball and it was never a sport that I followed closely, so I am stuck with trying to compare statistics. Here is Pete and Lebron numbers from Wikipedia. I'd say that Pete held his own. Of course, most of his games were before the 3-point rule was established. I use these only as a relative comparison and not a who is the better player. Two different eras.
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Thank-you B.T. for the post.
My father went to NC State before he finished at UNC after WW2, so I grew up a fan of both NC State and UNC. What is weird though is that I attended Duke Basketball camp when I was a formidable basketball player before blowing out my news playing that damned football. So, I well remember Press Maravich, Pete's father, when he was head coach at NC State. Pete played basketball at Raleigh Broughton high school and was quite a state wide, and I believe national sensation. When Press went to LSU, he took Pete with him. Pete was quite the shooter, some would call him a ball-hog, but he was also an excellent talent at handling the ball, and could well deliver the assist when he wanted to. |
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Even my finished edited and well thoughout articles fall into the ROUGH DRAFT category.
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