Practice Makes Perfect (Godlike Basketball Tricks)
April 27th, 2008
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Check out this video of Tim Nolan, a world record holding professional juggler and basketball entertainer. He does insane tricks like chucking a basketball, letting it bounce a few times off the walls, then off the backboard, into a trampoline, off the backboard again, and then through the hoop.
He can do the juggling stuff on demand because he’s put a lot of years into it (and you can clearly see that some of what he does is at the limit of his ability). And he can do some of the basketball tricks on demand, like the over the head shot (he wouldn’t do it in front of an audience if he couldn’t get it within a few attempts).
But I think many of his basketball tricks depend a lot on luck. Just a guess, but I don’t think he’s that much better at some of these tricks than you or I would be. The difference is that he was willing to make jillions of attempts before it worked. Have you ever given up on something because it didn’t work the first time, or the tenth time, or the hundredth time, or the thousandth time?
April 27th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Amazing! One has to wonder how many takes you don’t see where he misses wildly, but nevertheless it’s impressive stuff.
Sheamus’s last blog post..Today You Die (2005). A Review.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Heck Hunter, I have given up before I finished the first try!
Harmony’s last blog post..What if You Lost Your Mind?
April 28th, 2008 at 2:19 am
Hunter,
That’s amazing. Does watching videos like that make you want to practice your juggling more?
What a rush that must be for Tim Nolan when he “nails it”. His many hours of practice proves anything is possible if we’re willing to put time into it.
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April 28th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
@ Sheamus, exactly, I’m sure he misses wildly all the time. And yet that didn’t deter him from practicing over and over again. I’m not sure how much it helps his performances if he can’t do these tricks consistently, but for a demo video, he only needs to do them once.
@ Harmony, maybe you’ve given up quickly at times, but surely you’ve persisted more on things that were more important to you.
@ Barbara, yes, videos like this make me want to practice juggling more. Unfortunately, the people at my juggling club aren’t into the same things I am, so it’s hard to find group support. It’s easier to stay motivated when you’re with other people who are working on the same things.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Sorry, I was being honest and playful at the same time. Yes, I have stuck with a thing or two.
Harmony’s last blog post..What if You Lost Your Mind?
April 29th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I’m sure you have, Harmony. After all, you probably fell down many times when learning how to walk.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 am
[...] We’re usually not good at something the first time we try it, and as we all know, practice makes perfect (or if you prefer, practice makes for [...]