Throwing a Pot

I am taking another class at Barnsdall Art Center - Wheel Throwing 101. I missed the first class, so last Monday night was my first class. How hard can it be to catch up? It's just playing with mud - right? Let me be the first to say, throwing a pot, just a simple cylinder, is one of the hardest things I have ever done. The whole idea of centering and knowing when to pull up on the clay, then when to dip into it and begin to pull out - who knew!
The class is a good three hours, after about two, I realized that I was not going to throw a pot my first time on the wheel. I sat across from a woman who had brought her father. Slowly she taught him how to hold onto the clay with both hands, to keep the clay wet but not too wet, and most of all, to have patience with the clay. Her hands stayed clean - while mine were covered with mud. She knew when to quit and let her bowl be - while I continued to try to get mine perfect and constantly warped it out on one side. I will persevere, go back next week and start again.