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It seems almost impossible to me that physical sports maneuvers like a golf shot, basketball shot or baseball hits are truly random variables. In my own (laugha
by vessenes 11y ago
It seems almost impossible to me that physical sports maneuvers like a golf shot, basketball shot or baseball hits are truly random variables. In my own (laughable) sports experiences, I am working to build muscle memory -- a good move or bit of mechanics absolutely increases my likelihood of recreating that move. And, as time drops, the correlation between my mechanics and that 'great' mechanics moment drops -- my body forgets, and that's where the benefits of practice come in.
Blackjack though, maybe. I suppose it depends how on point you are with playing the odds.
- austinjp 11y agoNeurologically, sports performance can be envisaged as a search for a target in a space. If you are a beginner, then any training that takes you closer to the target is beneficial. So eg a beginner learning tennis will benefit from playing badminton, squash, etc. However, as you become more expert then the risks are greater (your opponents are better) and the margins are increasingly minimal. So your training has to become incredibly specific. No more badminton if you want to be an excellent tennis player. Also, for even the world's finest sports players, performance degrades just minutes after practice or competition. This is the purpose of warming up : to fine-tune the nervous system, to bring your performance in the search space as close as possible to the target. Human systems are chaotic, so performance is subject to fluctuation from even the tiniest perturbations. This is why even the finest sports player cannot expect 100% reliable performance every single time.