I heard and felt that “pop” in my leg, and immediately I knew that I’d done it again. This time, it was not the hamstring, but the calf. A tear, or at best a sprain, that would take me off my feet for a couple of weeks… and that feeling of “dammit” came over me.
Just an hour earlier I had taken the field, a little anxious as to how I might perform… I’ve always wanted to do well for my team of 25 years – Greenpoint Salesians FC. We are the over 50s now. And that, I have discovered, means nothing when it comes to the notion of “relaxing” your competitiveness.
Early in the second half, it happened. I had felt that pop before, as I mentioned, several years ago when for the first time ever I tore a hamstring playing for the same team. Both these injuries are very painful, and result in a lack of mobility for several days. In fact, I called home and asked Rach to get out her old crutch from a broken leg rehab she had to endure a few years back.
In sports, an injury like this will come about because you’re not in the proper conditioning. In my case, my second appearance in a football shirt in over five years. Serves me right… right? If you’re gonna expect to push out some effort, it would definitely help to work your way into a more aligned state of readiness. Even at over 50, there are people out there that have never stopped playing. To step out onto the pitch with them really does need a little more preparation.
And yes, there’s a lesson in that. It applies to creative endeavours as well. I am playing semi-regularly in a couple of music projects, and in and of itself, that’s enough to MAINTAIN. But if I am to improve and get better, or even more slick (as the kids say… I think), I may need to do more.
Applying the Lesson
Plainly put: you can’t show up for a football game without proper conditioning, and you can’t expect to excel in your creative work without consistent “in-between” practice.
So it is with my songwriting and even skills at arrangement, production, orchestration. There are definitely lessons I want to learn there, but I’m never going to actually get there until I put in those in-between sessions as well. Little incremental improvements do really make a difference.
In music, it might be committing a block of time each day to work on something. It might be developing a new song for Eracode, learning and practising new materials for The DeadBeats, or even practising the craft of arrangement and orchestration with some structured exercises.
In the case of my football… or even an attempt to get more in-shape, I will need to put in the ten, twenty, thirty minutes every day or two on my own… in order to look and perform better when it matters.
For some of you, it might apply to areas as diverse as public speaking, work-related skills, content creation or even just journaling for clarity. You won’t get better at it if you don’t actually do it
A, Eracode song about ‘Energie’ that seems terrifyingly relevant to this discussion…
So, Why Is This So Damn Hard?
If it’s so damn logical to put in the work, why does it feel so hard to do? Why does the idea of thirty minutes on the guitar or a short jog feel like climbing a mountain? I think it’s because we’re all playing this little mind game with ourselves. We look at the top pros—the ones who never stopped playing—and think, “If I can’t put in a two-hour session, what’s the point?” That “all or nothing” mindset is a trap. It’s the voice that tells you that a half-hearted effort isn’t worth it, that you’re just not good enough, and that you’ll just start tomorrow. Which, of course, you won’t.
The real game-changer isn’t some monumental effort, but just a tiny, consistent bite of it. Forget the two-hour marathon practice. What if it’s just 15 minutes a day? Just a little, little bit. Maybe it’s putting on your running shoes right after you finish your morning coffee—a little trick they call habit stacking. It’s not about being slick from day one. It’s about showing up, even just for a moment, and proving to yourself that you’re still in the game. That’s the real win.
The Real Win: Every Day is Game Day
This little football injury isn’t just a physical setback; it’s a little stealthy gut check. It’s a popping, painful reminder that you can’t just expect to show up when it matters and be ready. Stepping onto a football pitch, getting on stage, or sitting down to write a new song isn’t a “one and done” deal. The performance and outcome is a direct reflection of the work put in when no one is watching. The real victory isn’t scored on game day; it’s earned in those quiet, “in-between sessions.”
So, I’m asking myself—and you—what are those ten, twenty, or thirty minutes of invisible practice that you’ve been putting off? For me, it’s those little scale exercises on the instrument and those short jogs to get my legs back in shape. It’s the stuff that feels like a chore but is the very foundation of getting better. It’s time to stop waiting for the big moment and start doing the little things that make it happen.
