What do you do for fun?
I work of course.
I'm only half kidding about that part. But seriously, one thing that I have tried to incorporate into my life is fun. Step back from the desk, leave the computer and ditch the cell phone. I was reading an article on Steve Spurrier, the head football coach at the University of South Carolina. Spurrier has some fantastic quotes, but my favorite from this article was from his football coach, Pepper Rogers.
"The woods are full of fired coaches who told everybody how hard they worked."
I think that's a fantastic quote and something that I should take to heart. Don't take this business too seriously. I believe it was Mack Brown who told a stressed out Urban Meyer to remember that he once loved the game - football.
In 2013, I reached the end of my rope. It had been a bad season and each day seemed to pile on something new. I was working long hours with almost no success to show for it. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I would arrive on campus by 445 in the morning and get home around 945-10 at night. Tuesday and Thursday I would arrive at the same time but leave the office by 7. And each weekend had a practice or a regatta. By April I was on the verge of burn out, and by the end of the month, I had truly gone too far down the rabbit hole. I was struggling with basic fundamentals, unable to remember simple handle height drills. The final straw was staring at the varsity coach, trying to remember how to execute a double pause drill and remember the why behind the pauses.
That summer I went to Alaska for two months, hiked, fished, had my first beers in well over three years, and aside from a couple of job applications, left the world of rowing completely.
It's now fall of 2014, and I finally feel recharged, and am having a fantastic time in my graduate program and working with the Oregon State program.
So how do I relax? What do I do for fun?
I've taken on reading. My current three books in the queue to read are "Big Sur," and "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac, and "Papillon" by Henri Charriere. I'm also reading some poetry by Jim Harrison of "Legends of the Fall," fame - he has written many other novels, but the one that sticks in the head of most is "Legends."
This is now my fun, along with riding my bike eight to ten miles a day. And while it helps that I'm working with a program, not running a program, I am feeling fresher and more relaxed as the season progresses. I believe coach Spurrier is correct when he said...
"My favorite coach, philosophy-wise, was John Wooden. I read most of his books and most of his good sayings and never in any of them was his key to success outworking the other guy by hours."
I'm only half kidding about that part. But seriously, one thing that I have tried to incorporate into my life is fun. Step back from the desk, leave the computer and ditch the cell phone. I was reading an article on Steve Spurrier, the head football coach at the University of South Carolina. Spurrier has some fantastic quotes, but my favorite from this article was from his football coach, Pepper Rogers.
"The woods are full of fired coaches who told everybody how hard they worked."
I think that's a fantastic quote and something that I should take to heart. Don't take this business too seriously. I believe it was Mack Brown who told a stressed out Urban Meyer to remember that he once loved the game - football.
In 2013, I reached the end of my rope. It had been a bad season and each day seemed to pile on something new. I was working long hours with almost no success to show for it. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I would arrive on campus by 445 in the morning and get home around 945-10 at night. Tuesday and Thursday I would arrive at the same time but leave the office by 7. And each weekend had a practice or a regatta. By April I was on the verge of burn out, and by the end of the month, I had truly gone too far down the rabbit hole. I was struggling with basic fundamentals, unable to remember simple handle height drills. The final straw was staring at the varsity coach, trying to remember how to execute a double pause drill and remember the why behind the pauses.
That summer I went to Alaska for two months, hiked, fished, had my first beers in well over three years, and aside from a couple of job applications, left the world of rowing completely.
It's now fall of 2014, and I finally feel recharged, and am having a fantastic time in my graduate program and working with the Oregon State program.
So how do I relax? What do I do for fun?
I've taken on reading. My current three books in the queue to read are "Big Sur," and "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac, and "Papillon" by Henri Charriere. I'm also reading some poetry by Jim Harrison of "Legends of the Fall," fame - he has written many other novels, but the one that sticks in the head of most is "Legends."
This is now my fun, along with riding my bike eight to ten miles a day. And while it helps that I'm working with a program, not running a program, I am feeling fresher and more relaxed as the season progresses. I believe coach Spurrier is correct when he said...
"My favorite coach, philosophy-wise, was John Wooden. I read most of his books and most of his good sayings and never in any of them was his key to success outworking the other guy by hours."
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