Dare I say it, but I suspect that at least part of this problem is performance anxiety! I bet that if you gave your friend a Fundies card now that he could probably reach those valves no problem!
In addition to all the other advice, probably the biggest suggestion is to slow it down and relax, remove the performance anxiety as much as you can.
I'd also break up the valve drill and look at each component of the drill in isolation, one valve at a time.
Start with the isolator, opening and closing it. Try it with both hands and see if there is a discernible difference. For you as mentor, you want to be looking at position. If they are feet down the tanks will be sliding down the back. If they are head forward, the distance between shoulder and valves is increased making it harder to reach. Correct those two positions first, head is normally jammed back and twisted slightly to get the room you need.
I find that the isolator is easier to open with my right hand and easier to close with my left. I believe that this is due to the biomechanics of the wrist. Ask your friend whether they find any particular movements harder than the others, if you you can change how they do the drill. I think it's allowable in GUE SoP, for example, to open the isolator with the right and close it with the left.
Switch to the right post. Again you are looking for a horizontal position and head back to ensure that you are minimising the distance between shoulder and valve. The elbow should also be close to the side of the head. When you batwing the elbow out, it is harder. Also look at their fingers and how they grasp the valve knob. Because I suffer from quite bad RSI, I acutally use a different grip to close a valve than I do to open it. Think of alternative grips. It's also worth considering whether they should go straight for the valve - I use to find it easier to grab the first stage to begin with, then work my fingers out to find the valve knob and grip the way I wanted to "in control" rather than wildly flailing for the valve.
The do the same for the left post. Work out what your friends strengths and weaknesses are. Embrace the former, train the latter!
I'd also suggest that doing less is more. If someone is finding valve drills hard, yes they need to do more of them - but space them out. Repeatedly attempting valve drills is just going to build frustration that results in a loss of relaxation. Tense muscles aren't as pliable as relaxed ones.
Hope this helps.
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