Sorry I have a bad habit of cramming everything in at the beginning, as I'm sure you all can tell by now. It absolutely starts with stick control, straight lines, proper angles, and smooth radii. I certainly don't 'blow aside' stick control - that's something I was taught (relatively) long before I even knew what pattern flying was, and something I still practice when my radio is in my hands and planes are not in the sky.

I guess my point was to show that while the Sportsmans maneuvers seem 'simple' there is actually a lot that's going on with the plane and with the sticks (and also to encourage rudder use!). It takes a lot of practice to get things right, and a lot more practice to advance through the levels.