Embrace the Drudge

Super Bowl Champion and legendary New York Giants wide receiver, Amani Toomer once remarked "you've never seen a realistic movie about football and you won't." With famous flicks like Rudy, Return of the Titans, and Invincible, fans might find this hard to believe. Toomer noted however, "so much of what happens in football is mundane. It's technical and it's boring." From pre-game prep to the post game press room—sitting in the ice bath, getting taped, studying and learning plays, watching film...and more film it's not exciting. And that doesn't translate to what you typically see on the screen." 

Toomer is right. What we—the fans see are the epic passes, incredible catches, and skilled blocks. We hold memories of coaches yelling, screaming, and crying or players getting wheeled off the field with a brutal injury. We see a lot in football. The game translates to the television and big screens quite well, but the one thing we seldom see is drudgery. And, I think that is too bad. Here's why: in order to be great, a person must live with drudgery. There is no one who has succeeded without a high capacity for it. Those who embrace drudgery are on a path to excellence. Such is a lesson from and in sports and spirituality.

What is drudgery? 
Drudgery is hard monotonous routine work. It is not pleasant. These highly repetitive tasks, are unavoidable or necessary for achieving a goal. I am entertained by the list of synonyms associated with drudgery; they include donkeywork, grind, plodding. labor, toil and more. 

People know drudgery because it is part and parcel of the human experience. I've never agreed with the axiom: "choose a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life." Why? Because every job, has its own form of drudgery. That's why we call it labor. It's why we have breaks and holidays, vacations and sabbaticals. We want time to ourselves and away. We desire a break from the drudge. Labor Day isn't far away...

But drudgery isn't an end in itself. The hard, monotonous repetition of a skill or drill can makes for a habit. Ideally, it's a good habit. A task can become second nature and performed successfully under pressure. Sports offers many examples; athletes know drudgery. As a golfer, I know that the relentless practice of drills and short game work leads to improvement. I think about ball striking and work on my iron play, my distance off of the tee and the game from 100 yards in. There's always something. How much I commit to these tasks is up to me. It's not fun but it's also not boring. It can however be a form of drudgery.

I have to link the video because the NFL has to protect its content.

I was reminded of drudgery when I went to the gym earlier this week and was bored after 30 minutes of lifting. I thought to myself, "I don't have my friends here to distract me. I think I'm on the third rep of a set of four. Complete the set. Finish strong." I realized my experience was different than what I saw captured on this five minute video promoting the workout of Niners' Tight End, George Kittle. Obviously I'm not a pro athlete, but his example helped me to realize an important truth.

I love seeing #85 run drills and lift heavy weights (he squats 405 lbs). The snapshot into his daily grind was set to music and was so inspiring. But, real work is not a highlight reel. It doesn't get amplified by the right song at the right time. At the end of the day, it's a lot of work. The body gets tired and the mind grows weary or restless. Enter in drudgery. So why put up with it?

Sally Jenkins, Washington Post sportswriter and the author of The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life provides an answer. She met Michael Phelps—the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and came to realize 

But what made Phelps truly great, I learned in conversation with him, was his embrace of absolutely drudgery. Phelps’s easy rhythm in the water was as much a matter of mental conditioning as physical, the result of years of metronomic laps like musical scales. Practice laps were tedious, but they induced a psychological blankness that Phelps, who struggled with ADHD and anxiety, found relieving. 

In the water there were no other problems, no complications, no other responsibilities than to focus on stroke technique and burn rate. That is what allowed him to regulate his pulse and control the messaging system between his body and his brain. 

“Let’s talk about neuroscience,” I said to Phelps, one day. 

“Uh-oh,” he said, laughing. 

“Are you thinking during a race?” I asked. 

“No.”

“Do you count?” 

“Count what?” 

"Strokes. Laps."

“I mean, I can tell you exactly how fast I’m going because of feel.” 

That ingrained rhythm gave him a nerveless confidence in races, he said. 

“When I’m racing,” Phelps continued, “I just get in the water and do whatever I’ve done in workouts.” 

The physical and mental repetition. The staring at a black line for hours on end and moving one's body from one end of the pool to the other—sounds pretty boring. It's also what leads to the victory podium and the Olympic gold. 

I encourage you to think about what drudgery looks like in your line of work. What is your attitude toward it? Do you give up? Give in? And in what ways have you embraced it? What has helped you to succeed? What dividends has drudgery paid for you personally? 

I think the spiritual life is full of drudgery. For example, the number one complaint I hear from young people about mass is that "it's boring." Mass can be boring. It can be passive and underwhelming. But Mass is also the ritual and practice of communal worship. Through the Mass we get the Word of God both in hearing the scripture and the Word made Flesh in the Eucharist. I also think we get outside of ourselves by thanking our Creator, praying for those in need and sitting with our family, our friends and our brothers and sisters in Christ. All of these components can condition a person to understand and become what Christ is calling us to be. 

Prayer can be drudgery as well. Even Mother Teresa struggled to hear God's voice. Her prayer life was for many years but a desert. And yet, she never gave up. Some people love the repetition of the Rosary, others find it rote and tedious. Prayer is however the building block toward a relationship with God. Father John Bartunek has written that, "The essence of prayer is relationship. It's not primarily about doing something but about getting to know someone. That someone is God and you." Both parties seem well worth the effort of getting to know! Not a bad reason to embrace the drudge.

I encourage you to consider what you are not seeing as you enjoy the Paris Olympics. By all means, delight in the fruit of the labor of the men and women who have spent at least 10,000 hours working at their sport. You are seeing the dominance of a few athletes, the direction from their coaches and display of their gifts and talents.... none of the drudgery. All are to be celebrated.

Photo Credits
Phelps Medals
Come be My Light
Kittle
Athens

One Hit Away Foundation: Something Beautiful for God

No matter what he did in His public ministry—be it healing the sick, standing in solidarity with the poor or challenging authority, Jesus was always teaching. And for some reason, the parable of the "Cleansing of the Ten Lepers" has offered a lesson that I have never forgotten. It's hard not to, because if you pay attention to human nature, you will see just how true it is.

In Luke 17: 11-19, we learn:
As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.

A response rate of one in ten isn't very good. Jesus dramatically changed their lives and 90% of them moved on. See the painting above for a strong mental image. Further probing into this story reveals that the one who returned to extend gratitude is the least likely of them all—a Samaritan. 

Maybe the truth of this parable resonates with you. Too often, we forget to say "thank you." Let Jesus' lesson serve as a reminder of who you can be.

In the past 10 years, I have written countless articles on athletes and folks doing the work of Sports and Spirituality. I am always grateful for the gift of their time, and make sure they hear me say that. I never submit a piece for publication without their review and approval. It is an honor for me to share their story. But, it is their story—not mine that gets told. 

Over time, I have realized that the motto that guides story telling is one that governed the life of Mother Teresa. She all asked us to do something beautiful for God. My sincere hope is that what I write and share is a reflection of beauty. I believe that each of us can let our life be something beautiful for God. I do. 

Perhaps that is why when asked to write another piece on Darren and Brett CdeBaca, I jumped at the chance. To share their story is a chance for me to offer something beautiful for God. It also reveals the truth of Christ's parable in a positive way.

Darren and his son Brett are the 10%. In the Spring 2010 edition of Genesis, the alumni magazine of St. Ignatius College Prep where I teach, I was excited to share that they were the first father-son recipients of the highest honor offered by SI’s football program: the JB Murphy Award. After interviewing them together, they immediately thanked me for meeting with them. When the story went to print, they reached out again. Darren told me how grateful he was to have so many former teammates and members of the SI community contact them. They might not have if they hadn't read their story. I still appreciate the note I received from Darren and his wife Jill when Brett graduated. They thanked all of the teachers who helped shape their two sons into "men for and with others." I'm lucky—I got to teach both of them!

To me, the CdeBaca's live a motto that is one St. Paul wrote in a letter to the Colossians "Dedicate yourselves to gratitude."

This past Fall, I met with Darren and Brett again to learn about their latest adventure, a profile piece on their nonprofit "One Hit Away." I will let the story speak for itself. It takes what was a painful and trialling time for Brett and his parents and says, how can we make this into, yes, something beautiful for God . Please read it here.

Co-founders of "One Hit Away"

We sat down with our director of communications for an hour long interview. One day later, Darren and Brett each thanked us for our time. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as the story came to ink, he wrote the following:

To be on Page 50 in the 50th Anniversary Issue is somewhat serendipitous!  It is friends and supporters like you that make our mission meaningful for many.  This type of acknowledgement and distribution within the SI Community is fabulous and we certainly do not take it for granted by any measure.  Jill and I are so grateful.  Our best to both of you and your families!

And it should come as no surprise, a few hours later I received a message from Brett, again, thanking us for our support.  

So let this blog serve a two-fold purpose. Aim to be the 10%. And in whatever you do for which people are grateful, make it something beautiful for God. As my colleague Fr. Fran always says "no time for any less."

Photo Credits
Ten Lepers, One Says Thanks

Janis Joplin Walks into a Sports & Spirituality Class...

I've read that it takes three weeks to form a new habit. Other sources say on average two months. On January I wrote "New Year's Resolutions 2015: To Laugh Often and Loud." Six weeks later the fact that I'm even still writing about my New Year's "habit?!" means something must be going right. Maybe it's because I picked a fun challenge. Perhaps its because I am equipped with a few tools to build the habit. I am very proud to reveal one great source of success: my students.

Teaching high school demands a sense of humor; I'm sure many students would say surviving it does too. But the jokes that were rolling in my Sports & Spirituality class are worth sharing. Not only are they funny, they reveal some interesting information about both sports and about spirituality! Here we go...

My seniors are required to read Ron Rolheiser's "What is Spirituality?" It is a fundamental to understanding the relationship between Sports and Spirituality. Rolheiser says that our spirituality is what we do with our madness, how we channel the "fire" in us, what shapes our actions, what we do with our desire and how we handle our eros.

He adds, "everyone has to have a spirituality and everyone does have one, either a life-giving one or a destructive one." How or why does everyone have a spirituality? Because desire is our fundamental dis-ease; it is always stronger than satisfaction. How we handle our desire? THAT is our spirituality. So what might be a life-giving one? What might a destructive one look like? He offers some examples.

Mother Teresa: It's easy for us to think of Mother Teresa as spiritual but not as erotic—but she was. She channeled her eros by totally giving her life to the poor. And she did this because she loved Christ. Christ Himself was poor. To serve the poor is to serve Christ. He said "that which you have done for the least of my people, you have done for me."

Ultimately her spirituality was life-giving. Not only did she affirm the dignity of the untouchables—the lepers of today's society, but her spirituality was integrated. How? Its focus was singular. She an outstanding example of Kierkegaard's definition of a saint: "someone who can will the one thing."

Go MT go!

Janis Joplin: Rolheiser believes that it's not a stretch to think of Joplin erotic, but do we think of her as spiritual? Not so much! But she was. Joplin was full of passion and desire. She once said, "On stage, I make love to 25,000 people different people, then I go home alone."

Ultimately her spirituality was destructive. She died at the age of 27 from a drug overdose. Rolheiser says "she was also an exceptional woman, a person of fiery eros, a great lover, a person with a rare energy that went in too many directions." Sex, drugs, rock n roll, creativity...all that madness and desire. It disintegrated her very life.

But, before this conversation took place, I had to make sure my students know who Janis Joplin is. I told them "I hope you all have a family member who mentors and educates you about great music from before your time. I was blessed with an uncle who passed on his love for three greats: Elvis, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. Two out of three stuck (sorry Uncle Mark!!)."

New Year's Resolution Unfolds: I don't know that anyone is going to extoll the virtues of Joplin's music in their life...and I'm not a big fan myself, but I do live six blocks from a historic, iconic venue she once played at very often: Fillmore West. I thought she might be of interest to them because the "Summer of Love" took place in our very city. I looked around the room and said "And guess where she lived! Anyone? Anyone?"People know to answer "the Haight" in reference to the Haight Ashbury neighborhood, but Joplin also lived in Marin. It is one of the few places I know of in the US where people identify their home by their county before their town.

Marin County is affluent. It lacks diversity. It's natural beauty is stunning. Nearly 15% of our student body considers it home. It's also a hot bed for one of the fastest growing sports in America. One that is known for sticks and bros, Ivy League schools and bad boys (please forgive the sweeping generalization for style's sake).

When my students found out she lived in Marin, those who live there cheered. One city kid immediately said "Did she play lacrosse?"


The entire class erupted in laughter. His timing, the black and white image up on the power point in contrast to the mental image of a lax bro from Marin. Hilarious.

I then played a brief clip of Joplin singing "Another Piece of My Heart" so they could hear the passion in her music. We watched a minute of the YouTube clip and I was excited to report that Rolling Stone said she has "the number one female rock voice." Students informally discussed what constitutes a "rock voice" (one of my favorite topics!) and I look over to a student I know and love well. A talented guitar player and singer, she immediately said "that's what I sound like in the morning." For some reason, I quipped back "that's what you look like in the morning too" to which she responds "I was wondering how you got my selfie from this morning." Our class loved the spar. Everyone was laughing.

That's just a great day of teaching Sports and Spirituality. It's not a leap to admit it's a spiritual place for me. It's where I channel my eros and help student discover their deepest desires. It's also where my New Year's Resolution is becoming a habit. I hope for a few more good laugh—and loud ones.

Photo Credits