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Who is Responsible for "Harm"?
A Tennis Metaphor for ... Many Things
I am only going to discuss tennis. Draw your own conclusions about what these principles extend to (which is my real interest here).
1/ ending in END.
A Tennis Metaphor for ... Many Things
I am only going to discuss tennis. Draw your own conclusions about what these principles extend to (which is my real interest here).
1/ ending in END.
In tennis, any ball inside the boundaries of the court is legal (before it has bounced twice or hit an obstruction, including your teammate) and as long as you have not purposely hit it twice.
Any ball. Cheap shots. Baby shots. Bizarre spin shots.
And? Most relevant to this thread. Balls that are drilled right at your head or body by your opponent. See the 2 circled guys? They are close to the net. They are targets. Their opponents can slam ball at their eyes.
And? Most relevant to this thread. Balls that are drilled right at your head or body by your opponent. See the 2 circled guys? They are close to the net. They are targets. Their opponents can slam ball at their eyes.
Let me repeat that. Their opponents can legally, legitmately slam the ball at their eyes.
The guys I circled who are targets? They could get hurt. They could even be blinded.
The guys I circled who are targets? They could get hurt. They could even be blinded.
I am a moderately good amateur player. I am not as good as I once was, I peaked at a USTA 4.0 in my 50s. This is much better than an average player and a little better than an average serious (tournaments, USTA) tennis player.
Some of those guys (and some women too), could crush the ball. Hit it so hard it was scary.
Here are two screenshots of this actually happening, not at the guy's eyes, but the guy slammed the ball right at him. On left, you can see guy setting up for a slam. On right, the aftermath, where he hit it so hard the guy on right is off balance just trying to protect himself.
Sometimes, in tennis, when this would happen, the target, the person who just had the ball slammed at them, would get angry, upset, with some version of "How dare you? What do you think you are doing? You could have put my eye out!"
This is completely wrong. Reminder: Any shot within bounds is legal. If someone thinks their best chance of winning the point is to smash the ball *right at you* -- that is the right shot to hit.
Here is my daughter, she has some serious disabilities, this shows her playing in the Special Olympics. You don't get it. Most of the players there are *good*.
You know how she got there? I played non-Special Olympics competitive tennis (tournaments/USTA) with her for years.
You know how she got there? I played non-Special Olympics competitive tennis (tournaments/USTA) with her for years.
I have no pictures, but one of the things we used to practice? Me slamming the ball at her.
I once did this in a pickup match against here. Won point after point. There was a small crowd of onlookers who started booing me. But I *knew* she could volley my hardest shots off the court.
I won 3 in a row. The 4th time, tho, as I knew she could, she volleyed my hardest shot off the court. The crowd went wild. I did it 2 more times to help her groove the shot and make sure it was not a fluke. She nailed both of those for winners, too. Crowd went nuts.
I am not talking about teaching kids or beginners, But in serious amateur tennis, if you cannot handle a ball smashed right at you in tennis? if you get hit? Even if you get *hurt*? That is not your opponents' fault.
It is not your opponents' responsibility to insure you can hit the ball. The opposite. It is your opponents job to do everything possible to insure you cannot hit the ball.
If insuring you cannot hit the ball means hitting ball *right at you*? That is what your opponent should do.
If you cannot handle it, you know whose job it is to insure you do not get hurt? It is yours. You have lots of options.
If you cannot handle it, you know whose job it is to insure you do not get hurt? It is yours. You have lots of options.
1. Like my daughter? Learn how to hit a volley off a hard ball.
2. But what do you do if you are playing and haven't learned how yet? This is not hard. Back up. Do not play at the net.
The gods have not declared "Thou Must Make Thyself a Target."
Get the F off the net.
2. But what do you do if you are playing and haven't learned how yet? This is not hard. Back up. Do not play at the net.
The gods have not declared "Thou Must Make Thyself a Target."
Get the F off the net.
It is not your opponents' job to NOT hit the ball at you. It is not your opponents' job to insure you do not get hurt. It is not your opponents' job to insure you do not get hit by a hard hit ball.
You know whose job that is? Yours.
You know whose job that is? Yours.
Everything in this thread is, tennis-wise, completely true. But that is not why I threaded this.
Instead, it is a metaphor of some generality for ... many things. Apply as you see fit.
END.
Instead, it is a metaphor of some generality for ... many things. Apply as you see fit.
END.
