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April 03, 2007
If its only a job then its just about time to clock off
BomberT recently did an interview with Mike Sheehan. The gist of it was basically that he would do the coaching role as well as he could but in the end its only a job and if the results don’t fall our way and he is asked to move on then he will be happy to start a new aspect of his life without footy.
How terribly sensible of him. How awfully level headed of him. How dreadfully cool of him. It sort of sounds like he is emotionally dispersed and has more things on his mind than coaching footy. Now for a normal Joe Blow , that would be fine but for a man in his position , I’m not so sure.
Footballs life blood is passion. It the passion that gives the game its edge over just being a game of kicking a pig skin full of air around. The rivalries , the colours , the clubs , the interest in the game is driven by passion. To be involved at AFL level is not a thing to be pedestrian about , you must have a burning ache for it , you must yearn for it , you must be preoccupied by it. The passion helps to filters out the eternal influences and without passion it’s a highly paid task where the price of involvement can be harsh. Its not an occupation to just roll up and clock on because its just so hard , just so competitive , with so much focus on performance that with out the burning need to be involved , one will struggle to survive it whole let alone reach the level of the elite.
Now maybe Mark is a little bit shell shocked , maybe after his footballing life at Essendon and the success he tasted , the Geelong experience has been a tad too stressful for the poor chap. Maybe the complications of a full time football involvement have driven a nasty little thorn into his non football time , ensuring the pressure has no relief away from the club. What ever the reason I have to wonder about a public admission that the coaching of an AFL club is thought of as basically a “paid gig”. One might even wonder if he feels like that then is he mentally half way out the door?
Look no one doubts the consequences and the continual pressure of positions like a Prime Minister or the Australian Cricket Captain or an AFL coach. Tough positions and in tough times they are even tougher and no matter the hardness of the rock time will weather it. Eight years at a job like coaching is a long time and maybe the man hasn’t got much left in the tank. Maybe the Timex is winding down or losing its ticker all together or maybe he has just lost the taste for the fight and almost wants to throw in the towel but cant bring himself to do it. He has pride our Mark. To quit , I’m sure , would be like trying to swallow a big fat horse pill with no water. So what to do then ? Stay tough , hang in there, tough times don’t last but tough people do… but meanwhile it may just pay to give oneself a little mental out. “Its only a job” , the man said. He may as well said ‘I will not be defined by things outside of my control’, ‘I will not be blamed for failure when I have tried my best ‘, ‘I will not admit that I have failed and I have run out of ideas’ Its sort of like being stuck in a passionless marriage but hanging in there for the kids. A recipe to ensure pain and dissatisfaction.
I wonder what a coaches reaction would be to a player who said its only a job.
“Hey coach I’m feelin' a bit yucky today and I’d rather be recuperating down at the beach. Don’t start with this ‘Play for the jumper’ and dedication crap , all right, because this is just a business and I’m an employee. I’m always sick or sore and its don’t go here, don’t eat this , don’t do that . I used to love footy but this is just a job and I can take it or leave it. Really , if it didn’t pay so friggin much there’s no way I’d put up with your continual nagging. So what do you say can I go to the beach?” Something tells me the coach would tell the player where to step off. He would tell him that in the world of AFL , there is no room for someone less 100% committed , body and soul. I think he would try to demonstrate to him that life in the AFL is not just a job but a profession and if your not willing to be emotionally committed then your not being professional.
Posted by Turbocat at April 3, 2007 10:11 PM
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