Rich, what were the sports that professionals guided you? How is your cute son? I enjoyed meeting him in Chicago a few years ago. During our match, he spoke about how an improper comment by an observer may have cost him a match.
I have had the most intensive professional training in Racquetball where I ultimately reached the top skill level at the amateur level (also called "Open"). Even though I had reached the top of the 6 distinct amateur skill divisions, the skill differences at the Open level were so vast that I never really considered myself one of the true elite.
I've also taken numerous lessons in skiing and scuba diving.
As for my son's incident, I personally witnessed it and it made me sick. But these were kids - it was a Children's event. It didn't maybe cost him a match. It did cost him a match, and a semi-final match at that. The situation was that he was leading 2-1 in a best of 5 games match (no cube) and thus would win the match by winning the current game. He was crushing his opponent in a nearly hopeless race. I don't know the exact position, but it was something like the following:
 is Player 2score: 0 pip: 140 | ||||||||||||||||
 |   | 1 point match | ||||||||||||||
| pip: 67 score: 0  is Player 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| XGID=aBBBBB-CB---c---bc-db-----:0:0:-1:64:0:0:0:1:10 | ||||||||||||||||
| to play 64 | ||||||||||||||||
eXtreme Gammon Version: 1.21
The opponent rolled 64, played Bar/15 and reached for his dice. His friend (and as I later discovered the other finalist waiting for the winner of this match) shouts "NO". The opponent pulls his hand back and decides to return the checker to the 19 point. Needless to say, my son's next roll is 66, the checker is hit, he goes on to lose the game and later the match.