90% of what we do in coaching is grunt work. The daily grind is just that, a grind, endless mundane tasks that must be attended to. If you are like me you live for the Saturday meet and the training sessions with the athletes, but that is such a small part of the picture. Sure that is the highlight, the culmination but without the grunt work the athlete or team would not be ready for the competition or even for the training session. 
Grunt work consists of the little things. The administrative paper shuffling that comes with the territory. It means getting to the pool early and moving the lane lines to switch from the pool from long course to short course. It is digging up the long jump pit. It is drying out the throwing circles. It is setting up the weight room for the workout. It is talking to that parent who knows more than you do about training. It is properly filling out the entries for the meet and checking eligibility forms. It is dealing with the press. It is fundraising, making travel arrangements and on and on. We do all that so that we can have that precious two hours with the athletes to help guide them to their destinations.
Our task as coaches is to keep the focus on the two hours we are with the athletes and recognize that how we do the grunt work will enable us to have the highest quality time with our athletes. Nobody likes it but we must do it and do it well. The competition and the training is the icing on the cake.