Beginners can get the hang of it, and everyone else can improve. After we establish that, we’re just discussing details. Technique can be improved, tactics can be adjusted, and mental toughness and attitude can be optimized. If someone says they can’t learn something, or they can’t change, their challenge probably isn’t technical or tactical.
Without planning to, most of us put invisible ceilings above, or bubbles around, our level of performance. For reasons we can’t usually explain, we tell ourselves and others that this is as good as we can get. We say that we’re too old, or physically challenged, or limited in some other way that makes us unable to improve. I told one student in her fifties, who had significant balance and coordination issues, not to worry because this isn’t brain surgery. “Good,” she said, as she shifted her wig around, “I’ve already had brain surgery.”
How would we ever grow, if we didn’t put ourselves in awkward situations? Fortunately, she didn’t get mad and tell me how much she hated that particular analogy. She said her husband got frustrated trying to hit with her, because she couldn’t seem to ever hit the ball back to him.
I’m pretty sure her husband wasn’t a teaching professional, and even if he was, I’ve learned that being married to your student disqualifies you from teaching them anything.
We quickly established that she could learn how to hit the ball well. But she looked like she was standing on an icy sidewalk while waiting for the ball, just hoping she wouldn’t fall over. We spent some time improving her balance, widening stances, bending her knees, and generally keeping her center of gravity over her feet. After several lessons, both she and her husband told me how happy they were playing together when she could return at least some of his shots.
I am regularly amazed by what people can both learn and adapt to. Every day, news organizations show us heartwarming stories where people overcome something unimaginable to reach a goal that impresses everyone. So I’ll keep trying not to laugh when someone tells me that they can’t learn how to play tennis, or chase their dreams and desires.