Well done to Rafa Nadal for winning his 21st title, The Australian Open. I have never been a fan of his, preferring Federer’s all court languid athleticism to Nadal’s brute force and power. You have to admire his tenacity and skill not to mention his determination to recover from his many injuries. Top sportspeople live in a rarified atmosphere focused on their purpose and winning. Yesterday I watched a documentary on the great Shane Warne, the greatest spinner I ever saw. Again not a my favourite but you can take nothing away from his skill and dedication to being the best.
I have often speculated on what it must take to become the best in a sporting discipline? Apart form a huge amount of natural talent, it must take hours and hours of practice and a dedicated focus that most of us can never understand. The gap between a professional at the top of their chosen sport and us ordinary mortals is enormous, huge, massive! I freely admit that I am not and have never been even remotely good at any sport and certainly don’t have even an ounce of the dedication required to become that good. I play golf off of a high handicap and this is the only sport I play these days (the only one I’m capable of playing). Each week we speculate how we can improve and each week we do nothing about it. We all think we should play better than we do and yet get the same result every week, some better than others! You know what you should do and yet somehow you cannot communicate it to your physically on a consistent basis. Still a single good shot or a particularly good round keeps you returning and you repeat the over and over again. It’s not all about playing well, it’s being out it with your mates and just enjoying the game.
Stay well
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