December 20, 2011

Diary Series: Rob Norris, Assoc. Head Coach - Canisius

I decided to write this journal entry while riding through the Midwestern part of the United States on the bus. We had just lost a tough game at the University of Missouri Kansas City. We will learn from it and move on. We have another road test coming up with South Dakota in two days. Sounds like a lot of work. Trust me, it is a lot of work. (Editor's Note: Canisius went on to beat South Dakota, 90-80, in overtime)

We will be up all hours of the night breaking down film. So many of us coaches work our tails off daily. I talk to my buddies and they often say, " I didn't get home until 1 a.m., last night... Was watching film and putting together final scouting report..." This is very common for anyone in this profession at just about every level. Late nights, fast food, pounds jumping up and down like the stock market, it's the season and this is what we do! I am one that will jump up on my soapbox to and say how hard I’m working. It is human nature I guess. But is it really work?

Yeah, it is work, but we should never complain about our lives because we get to do what we dream about, we get to coach!

Coaches, I’d like to tell you a story that might help you through the grind of the early-portion of the season. A few weeks ago, I was absolutely wiped out. I had not been in bed before 2 a.m. and had watched more film than Roger Ebert. I remember calling my dad at about 8 a.m. after a four-hour nap. He asked me how I was doing, and of course like any son I tell him I'm fine, just a little tired. He told me he was tired too. He's 62 years old and has spent the majority of his career in basements working on furnaces. He's a tough old bird though! On the day I was talking to him, he was taking a 30-year old boiler out of someone’s basement. Let me tell you - the basements in Rochester N.Y., can be cold and damp in the winter. And I start thinking to myself, 62 years old, down on some person’s basement floor, walking up dilapidated staircases, with hundreds of pounds of asbestos-filled metals. Now, that's hard work. That is something to complain about. But does he complain? Nope. Not the old man - never complained a day in his life about work. Just puts his head down and "gets it done."  

So yes, are jobs are tough. Jobs are stressful. The recruiting season in July is tough with travel. Recruiting is a bear, but in reality how lucky are we? So no matter how your season is going, zip up that winter coat up (or your spring coat for all you working in the South) and go to work with even more energy and enthusiasm. And if anybody asks you what’s gotten into you just tell them about "a basement and a boiler!"

As my father always puts it, "just keep swinging."

Good luck coaches during the grind and always remember we are the lucky ones.

Happy holidays and safe travels!

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