Yesterday, I tried Padel for the first time. If you're unfamiliar with it, it is a fun and social racket sport played in doubles on a walled court, blending elements of tennis and squash.
Anyway, it was a lovely early morning with nice friends, and it was my first time, so the only goal was just to have fun. But, you know how these things go. You're on the court, feeling good; rallies are going back and forth. Then, the urge to hit a crazy winner takes over. Backhand smash? Around-the-post volley? I think I tried them all, including stuff that hasn't been tried before on a Padel court. Not once, multiple times.
Obviously, instead of a point-ending highlight, the ball sails wildly out of bounds.
It turns out that the more I chased those flashy moves, the worse I played. But when I focused on getting the basics down, my game actually improved. And in the end, I even had more fun.
This lesson in simplicity on the Padel court got me thinking: simplicity is often the secret weapon of beginners.
When we learn something new, our minds are already overloaded with information. Adding complex techniques to that just creates confusion and, ultimately, frustration.
I must admit, trying the fancy stuff is fun every now and then, but not very effective in learning and mastering my skills. Next time, I'll do my best to focus on the fundamentals and keep it simple.