At a recent professional development clinic, I shared with a group of coaches—and later with our players—that playing football, and coaching any sport, is a Sisyphean task. The nature of sport is that the work is never finished.
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, the King of Corinth, was condemned by Zeus to an eternal punishment: pushing a massive boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down and begin again. Like Sisyphus, athletes and coaches continually push toward something they can never permanently achieve. There is always another practice, another opponent, another season. Even after a great victory, the next day comes, and we are back to pushing the rock again.
But the value isn’t in finally reaching the top of the hill. It is in becoming stronger while pushing the stone.
The Sisyphean task isn’t meaningless because it repeats. It is meaningful because we choose to keep pushing. We show up, do the work, pursue improvement, and then come back and do it again.
The ball will be kicked off again. The whistle will blow again. The rock and the hill will be waiting.
So we push the rock.
Again.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
