The Best Teachers Are In The Wrong Place

June 5, 2020

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When starting out in a sport, we think, “I’m just a beginner. I don’t need the best equipment.”

Wrong.

When a beginner calls up a tennis club and asks for her first lesson, the club usually decides, “Let’s give it to our least experienced pro. He needs the hours and it doesn’t matter that much.”

Wrong.

Most sports, especially tennis, have a huge barrier to entry.

Almost no one can just pick up a racquet and be elite. Tennis is hard. Sometimes counter-intuitive.

If you try to figure it out on your own, the difficulty will make you lose interest in a hurry.

That’s why tennis isn’t the most popular sport in the world. (It should be.)

A great athlete can be great at football with no training. A great athlete can be great at basketball right away.

A great athlete will never take up tennis on a lark and be among the best. No number ones have homemade strokes.

With some coaching, though, beginners can make amazing strides amazingly fast.

In contrast, after a player has received good coaching, he can go weeks, months, or years without a coach. Some of the greatest players of all time have gone coach-less for a while.

But if a beginner goes coach-less, he’ll quit the game.

In truth, the best coaches are in the wrong places with the wrong people.

The best don’t need help, the beginners do.

So, if you’re just starting out, don’t just wing it.

Get high-quality equipment and a high-quality coach. Don’t equate inexperienced with un-deserving.

Starting out is the most important time.

Get a good coach early, and become a superstar.

My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.