OT: - Can you do what the pros do? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

OT: Can you do what the pros do?

Which do you think you'd be able to do? (If any)

  • Total voters
    94
BigErnMcCracken said:
Even then I think you'd be overestimating your own strength/athleticism unless you're a 20-something in great shape and/or a former high level athlete. Most middle aged dudes would blow out their hamstring and then get stiff armed into Bolivian if they could even get within 3 feet of a running back. We randomly stayed at the same hotel as the Cal football team a few weeks ago and their running back, Jaydn Ott, was on our floor. I'm laughing at the idea of trying to tackle this dude in any situation other than one where someone already has his legs wrapped up and I just have to fall on top of him, let alone someone like Derrick Henry.

The only one that seems remotely conceivable is the hoop thing, which would be a hell of a lot more attainable if it was any points because after one lucky three you're probably getting locked up. I just think about how overmatched Andrew Hurley looks when he's in against starters and then reduce the athleticism by about 70%.
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I miss this show. It did a good job of putting into perspective how freaky the very top athletes are...

 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Even then I think you'd be overestimating your own strength/athleticism unless you're a 20-something in great shape and/or a former high level athlete. Most middle aged dudes would blow out their hamstring and then get stiff armed into Bolivian if they could even get within 3 feet of a running back. We randomly stayed at the same hotel as the Cal football team a few weeks ago and their running back, Jaydn Ott, was on our floor. I'm laughing at the idea of trying to tackle this dude in any situation other than one where someone already has his legs wrapped up and I just have to fall on top of him, let alone someone like Derrick Henry.

The only one that seems remotely conceivable is the hoop thing, which would be a hell of a lot more attainable if it was any points because after one lucky three you're probably getting locked up. I just think about how overmatched Andrew Hurley looks when he's in against starters and then reduce the athleticism by about 70%.
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I could kick an extra point in a college football game.

I could make a two foot putt with a major golf tournament on the line.

I could hit an open three pointer in a low end division one basketball game.

And I'm quite old.
 
Deepster said:
I'm 57 years old. I would not come anywhere close to any of these and any of you in my age bracket who says you would? You're a liar.
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I disagree. Many of nights I have accomplished this and still do in my old age.

Its just that I can't remember the opponent each time I wake up.
 
shouldnt it be score 3+ points in an nba game? that line is a lot further than college.
 
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superjohn said:
The funniest would be watching any of us try and return a serve from a professional tennis player.
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I feel like given 10 tries I could probably get a return in play, but would be overhead smashed into oblivion.

Getting a non-bunt hit against a major league pitcher? That is like 100 times harder. What two knuckleheads claim they can do this?
 
Not now, but in prime I think a tackle is easier than the others. It would just really hurt. He would be bigger, faster, and stronger than you, but if you’re in the right position before the open field you can get them down.

(
 
Tenspro2002 said:
I feel like given 10 tries I could probably get a return in play, but would be overhead smashed into oblivion.
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The question didn't say you're returning against Djokovic or Nadal. Just a "pro".

It can be done. First of all, you'd need to have a decent amount of experience playing relatively competitive tennis so you know your angles, can read spin, and have an idea how much power to put into a return.

And even with that, you won't come close in 10 tries as your opponent is going to put oomph into each serve and is not trying to play a game, only to blow it by you.

However, if you possess #1 and play a lower-ranked pro (e.g. nobody in top 200) in a full three set game, you're going to face a few times where your opponent faults and has to put in a slower 2nd serve (unless he/she just doesn't care about losing a point and risks a double fault). Here's where you may have a chance to return one and actually keep it in play. The first serve is likely 125-130, but the second will typically be 30-40% slower at that level of pro. So you're looking 90-100mph, but with spin. You're odds are low of getting in a good return, but with a decent amount of experience, I would say the odds are not zero.

Of all the challenges, I think this is the easiest.
 
superjohn said:
The funniest would be watching any of us try and return a serve from a professional tennis player.
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Ha. That’s definitely my first choice, but I was a college tennis player. I lost to a future pro 6-4 7-5 my sophomore year. I played him a few times and that was probably my best showing but I always won a few games per match. I could serve at a very high level myself. I used to practice on a smooth rubber floor that caused the ball to skid really fast. When I went over to the real court, the game was in slow motion. It was a big help in learning to return a big serve.

I could also score in a D1 basketball game back then if given the minutes, but my defense would have guaranteed 0 minutes. I will say though, if the other coach assigned someone to me and told him not to let me score, I’d have trouble. I was a very good shooter and when I played against really good talent, I scored most of my points on transition jump shots and 3’s because the break allowed me to get open. In the half court I was in trouble unless someone set a great screen for me and I got the ball real quick. I lit it up playing with normal people but D1 basketball players are something else.

Also, I’d have to go back at least 15 years to have a shot at doing these things. My tennis playing days are long ever. I play pickleball now. Much easier as my rotator cuff is shot. Serving a tennis ball at top speed is painful and would result in surgery if I persisted.
 
I think scoring 3 in a basketball game would be the easiest. You just need a teammate to draw a double team or run to a corner on a fastbreak and hopefully hit the 3 pointer.
 
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I still play tennis 2-3 times a week, and consider myself to be slightly above 4. There is no way I can return a one-off serve from a pro, any pro.

In 1989, when I was still a young student at UConn, I got to play some visiting German club players on the courts down the road from Gampel (they don't exist anymore). Without being able to read their tosses and the spins and kicks they put on the ball, I struggled to make contact with many of their serves kicking up head-high.

I recently saw an ex-Xavier tennis player (~12 UTR) toy with a college freshman tennis player (~7UTR) in our club, serving aces at will. I never paid attention, but learnt from the Xavier kid that UConn doesn't have a tennis team. Surprising for a state school as big as ours.

Watch this fun piece on tennis channel on a slightly related topic:


You can also find many videos on youtube of people making fools of themselves trying to return a 120mph serve from a pro.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
I feel like given 10 tries I could probably get a return in play, but would be overhead smashed into oblivion.

Getting a non-bunt hit against a major league pitcher? That is like 100 times harder. What two knuckleheads claim they can do this?
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You're right.
Plus... The thing i didn't clarify about all of this is that I was referring to a 'game situation'.
Not Chris Sale throwing some scrub 100 pitches in a row. That's not how the game works. If an mlb pitcher really attacked a non-pro at the plate, I agree: they'd k every time.
 
maxw said:
You can also find many videos on youtube of people making fools of themselves trying to return a 120mph serve from a pro.
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You can also find some where the challenger succeeds.

 
Tenspro2002 said:
I feel like given 10 tries I could probably get a return in play, but would be overhead smashed into oblivion.

Getting a non-bunt hit against a major league pitcher? That is like 100 times harder. What two knuckleheads claim they can do this?
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I have hit a 90 mph fastball in my younger playing days (college and beyond) It's a matter of timing. Just don't throw me any breaking balls. Those are impossible to hit.
 
maxw said:
I still play tennis 2-3 times a week, and consider myself to be slightly above 4. There is no way I can return a one-off serve from a pro, any pro.

In 1989, when I was still a young student at UConn, I got to play some visiting German club players on the courts down the road from Gampel (they don't exist anymore). Without being able to read their tosses and the spins and kicks they put on the ball, I struggled to make contact with many of their serves kicking up head-high.

I recently saw an ex-Xavier tennis player (~12 UTR) toy with a college freshman tennis player (~7UTR) in our club, serving aces at will. I never paid attention, but learnt from the Xavier kid that UConn doesn't have a tennis team. Surprising for a state school as big as ours.

Watch this fun piece on tennis channel on a slightly related topic:


You can also find many videos on youtube of people making fools of themselves trying to return a 120mph serve from a pro.
Expand ...


It’s kind of hard to know what you could do if you trained for it. The guy I played had a big kick on his serve, but I was used to returning those kinds of serves from good players. You’d be amazed what you’d be able to do if you got to spend an afternoon having great players hammer serves at you for hours. Eventually, the ball doesn’t look like it’s traveling nearly as fast and you go into your back swing way faster. You start blocking them back and just keep adjusting until you are swinging at it. Very few people get the opportunity to get a lot of repetition against really good players. When you do, your game gets better quick. Whenever people were practicing their serve I’d always ask if I could return them. I felt that I got a lot out of facing different serves.
 
storrsroars said:
You can also find some where the challenger succeeds.

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Did you watch the video?

The servers in the video don't look like real pros to begin with, the challenger gets multiple chances on his forehand side always from the deuce court, still misses every one except the seventh serve, which seems like a pity serve done for the video. Any decent player will mix up where you serve and make it hard for you to guess. I can guarantee that your challenger will have no chance if the serves were coming to his backhand, or body.

If you have some athleticism and a decent hand-eye coordination, you can even get a hit of a 100mph fast ball after some (a lot of) practice. But if you take one of the yarders here that is not a pro or college level player, they will have no chance of making contact with an 80mph pitch.

Go find those videos/links where the guy serving offers $100 (or $1000, I forget) for someone to return his serve, you can see no one succeeds.
 
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maxw said:
Did you watch the video?

The servers in the video don't look like real pros to begin with, the challenger gets multiple chances on his forehand side always from the deuce court, still misses every one except the seventh serve, which seems like a pity serve done for the video. Any decent player will mix up where you serve and make it hard for you to guess. I can guarantee that your challenger will have no chance if the serves were coming to his backhand, or body.

If you have some athleticism and a decent hand-eye coordination, you can even get a hit of a 100mph fast ball after some (a lot of) practice. But if you take one of the yarders here that is not a pro or college level player, they will have no chance of making contact with an 80mph pitch.

Go find those videos/links where the guy serving offers $100 (or $1000, I forget) for someone to return his serve, you can see no one succeeds.
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Yes I watched the video.

And, as I mentioned well upthread, I have scored a point vs a ranked player (I don't recall exact number but he had completed in Opens and was, I believe somewhere around 250-300 at his peak).

Having also played college baseball, I put this task as a bazillion times easier than putting a 100mph pitch in play.

I did not play tennis in college and did not belong to a club. But I played a ton of tennis, often every day in summer, generally against people much better than I was. I regularly played against the club pro at Shippan, even winning a few sets over the years. I also stipulated that success would come playing a full 3 sets as you are pretty much guaranteed to face a second serve a few times. I also mentioned several other qualifications that come with experience, even if one isn't a pro, like reading spin, knowing how to take angles, etc.

I agree with Hoophound's post above.
 
storrsroars said:
You can also find some where the challenger succeeds.

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Actually watch the video. Those serves are nowhere near 120 mph and the black guy was never a top 100 player. He was never even on the tour.
 
maxw said:
Did you watch the video?

The servers in the video don't look like real pros to begin with, the challenger gets multiple chances on his forehand side always from the deuce court, still misses every one except the seventh serve, which seems like a pity serve done for the video. Any decent player will mix up where you serve and make it hard for you to guess. I can guarantee that your challenger will have no chance if the serves were coming to his backhand, or body.

If you have some athleticism and a decent hand-eye coordination, you can even get a hit of a 100mph fast ball after some (a lot of) practice. But if you take one of the yarders here that is not a pro or college level player, they will have no chance of making contact with an 80mph pitch.

Go find those videos/links where the guy serving offers $100 (or $1000, I forget) for someone to return his serve, you can see no one succeeds.
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I remember going to a tennis camp at Amherst College and there was a very good 6'5 D1 college player who was an instructor. He could easily crank his serves at 120+ and it's so much more than the speed. The kick he put on it was crazy and that was just a college player with a big serve. ATP players are a different ball game. Sure some rando could probably get a second serve that's guided in but the only chance some rando would have returning a first serve is if the ATP guy told him exactly where the serve was going every time. Even then there's very little chance of returning it in play. If he doesn't want you to return it, there's basically no chance you're returning his first serve.
 
If Danny drew up a double pin down screen I could def hit a 3. Still got some game at 35.
 
Hey Adrien! said:
Keep in mind, I don't play tennis at all, but last year, I tried return a serve from our top sixth grader and I. Got. Smoked.
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I player D1 tennis and did the maths to select return a serve. I still play socially
 
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superjohn said:
I remember going to a tennis camp at Amherst College and there was a very good 6'5 D1 college player who was an instructor. He could easily crank his serves at 120+ and it's so much more than the speed. The kick he put on it was crazy and that was just a college player with a big serve. ATP players are a different ball game. Sure some rando could probably get a second serve that's guided in but the only chance some rando would have returning a first serve is if the ATP guy told him exactly where the serve was going every time. Even then there's very little chance of returning it in play. If he doesn't want you to return it, there's basically no chance you're returning his first serve.
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I answered the challenge as it was written. It did not specify first serve, nor speed. I'll stand by my answer.

Like Hoophound said, you see enough serves from players better than you, you pick up things that increase your odds of being able to get to the ball and make contact. It is reactive and you need a quick first step to have any chance, which is why you see guys bouncing on balls of their feet. It's not all that dissimilar from baseball in reading a pitcher. Ball is coming in faster, but from a greater distance. You're probably 85-90 feet away from where ball is delivered, and you have a much bigger hitting surface than a bat provides. But you're not standing in a batters box, you have to move.

I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but if someone is athletic and quick, I think the odds of that guy making contact is more than zero over the course of a 3 set game (minimum 72 first serves and 3-4 second serves if my math is correct).

I'll stand by that. Your experience is yours, mine is mine.
 
Realistically, the only ones that are doable are the team scenarios where they could set stuff up for you like when they had Nykesha Sales set her record with an uncontested basket. Or have the entire defense surround a running back and let you run up and grab his ankles.

But in serious regular play, 99.99% aren't making any of these things happen.

I laugh at people who think they could return a serve even in a 5 set match against a pro or get a hit off a pro pitcher. Scoring a goal in a hockey game or soccer game - never gonna happen. I would pay good money to watch anyone here try to tackle a pro running back in the open field.

Maybe, maybe in a scratch golfers best round ever they could break +10 in a major - for a single round, not a 72 hole tournament.
 
jleves said:
I laugh at people who think they could return a serve even in a 5 set match against a pro
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Laugh all you want. I actually did that against a ranked player. That was like 38 years ago. I certainly couldn't do it now.
 
storrsroars said:
I answered the challenge as it was written. It did not specify first serve, nor speed. I'll stand by my answer.

Like Hoophound said, you see enough serves from players better than you, you pick up things that increase your odds of being able to get to the ball and make contact. It is reactive and you need a quick first step to have any chance, which is why you see guys bouncing on balls of their feet. It's not all that dissimilar from baseball in reading a pitcher. Ball is coming in faster, but from a greater distance. You're probably 85-90 feet away from where ball is delivered, and you have a much bigger hitting surface than a bat provides. But you're not standing in a batters box, you have to move.

I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but if someone is athletic and quick, I think the odds of that guy making contact is more than zero over the course of a 3 set game (minimum 72 first serves and 3-4 second serves if my math is correct).

I'll stand by that. Your experience is yours, mine is mine.
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Your math is wrong, too. When you are losing 6-0, 6-0 in a best of three set match, you are only facing closer to 24 first serves.

You trying to equate baseball batters with tennis receivers tells us tennis is not your thing. A tennis serve has more dimensions than a baseball pitch, and the receiver needs to cover a much larger distance.

Some of you are making it sound like one can easily return good serves with practice. But know that on ATP tour, 38% of first serves do no come back - they are aces or unreturned serves.

If the pros cannot return more than a third of the serves they receive, what chance do mere mortals have?
 
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