Genetics not mattering would be news to the horse breeding world. It has been based on genetics for a couple thousand years. I'll have to tell people spending hundreds of thousands on horses that they can buy a few thousand dollar horse and get the same results. It happens, but only one time in thousands. Even then, the genetics are there. A draft horse will never outrun a running bred thoroughbred or quarterhorse no matter how you train it from birth. Hook the horses to a few tons of weight and the speed horses can't compete with the draft horse. Genetics.
Hu
Going back over the posts in this thread I’m reminded of the reality that there are no right or wrong answers. Many are very limited, being true only in a singular perspective. Every response I made here was also limited. For example when addressing the perspective of natural player ability I quoted Joe Davis as an example of someone going from a self described no talent to world Champion. The original post citing Jackie Stewart as having no special physical reaction time advantage is another. Building myelin through practice, the benefit of deliberate practice and other insights other than genetics are just that, perspectives and realities that limit the extent to which genetics is a factor. For one thing, this is a game, not a sport. On the genetics side, endurance in long matches or clawing through the loser’s side can be a factor.
As to the thoroughbred example, the blind man, the physically challenged and other factors like age make a difference. Countering the many reasons that players state are in their mind, of what may be setting the better players apart from themselves, may be true, or they may be justifications, excuses. We have a choice, to minimize the differences, maximize them or ignore them.
I’m reminded of the definition of a potential upset. It was that if the superior player has his worst game and the lesser player his best, the formula for an upset is a victory for the lesser player. If I played tennis against any tennis pro, there would be no upset.
Some of the comments here that may seem negative are just perspectives, reality checks like the upset formula. Expectations need to be real otherwise frustration and anger become the reality checks.
Each response I made to comments were also just countering perspectives or additions, not criticism, and not a total reality either. Keeping things real was the intent. Each beg the question of "where do I go from here?"
As cogently stated by Low500 this is about what works for the individual player. This post just gives us a rack of ideas to try on and see what fits, for us.
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