You’re Making Too Many Excuses
-Cam Brock-
As you can imagine, I get asked a lot of questions about scoring goals. If you’ve heard of me, it’s probably for that one thing. It’s understandable. I have a record that continues to grow further out of reach. Last year, at 33, I led the league in goals. And goals are a fun stat, because who doesn’t love scoring?
So what’s the answer? How do I, at age 33, keep finding ways to score goals? Why are guys in their early-mid 20s getting destroyed up and down the field by a dad in a completely different decade of life? Why can’t these younger defenders find a way to keep up? It’s honestly a pretty simple answer.
They’re making too many excuses.
I won on September 15th when I went on a 5 mile run in the rain.
I won on October 25th when I woke up early on my vacation to do tempo runs.
I won on November 8th when I went to PT after nearly breaking my foot, and played through the pain in an All-Star game 10 days post injury.
I won on December 20th when I woke up at 6am to go to the gym so that I could be back home by 8 to eat breakfast with my son.
I won on January 18th when I went to do a sprint workout and throw with a teammate in mushy, muddy, 25 degree conditions.
I won because I didn’t make excuses. They lost because they did.
Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the sport, ultimate is still at a stage where people believe just showing up to practices and games are enough to prepare their bodies for an AUDL season. And while that may be an oversimplification, I know all too well that many ultimate players consider “working out a lot” as playing mini or league a couple of times a week and showing up to scheduled team events. If you really care about winning your matchups and being as prepared as you possibly can be, that’s not going to cut it.
I like to think I’m at the stage in my career where I can speak with a confidence that borders on, but doesn’t cross the line of, cockiness. And I’m comfortable enough to ask other players at this point what is hardest about guarding me. There are various answers that come up, but the most common thing I hear is some variation of “you cut harder for longer.”
Quickness, speed, verticality… I have them. But so do a lot of other players. That doesn’t make me unique. Cutting full speed a minute into a point? That’s it, right there. A willingness to cut hard knowing I won’t get the disc but a teammate will be wide open? There we go (Psst, by the way, a lot of times this results in you getting the disc a few throws later).
None of this is possible without putting in the work. Without ignoring the excuses in the pursuit of a better version of myself. And trust me, I’ve got excuses I could easily use.
In no particular order:
I coach every day after school August-October, including several weekends. This coaching extends to 2 days a week during the winter months and 2 days a week during the summer.
I have a toddler (honestly the list could stop right here, IYKYK)
My wife is pregnant with a baby girl due in May, meaning I’m currently responsible for essentially all household chores.
I am responsible for both drop off and pick up from daycare.
Oh yea, I have a job. I teach middle school.
During my breaks and summers off from teaching, I’m responsible for caring for my son by myself. This is somehow more exhausting than teaching middle school.
I attend a weekly small group.
I attend church weekly.
I run a weekly after school club.
I’m the main cook at home.
Oh, and you know, “I’m tired”, “I just wanna chill”, “I’ve been waiting for this show to come out”, “I wanna play video games”, etc.
Let’s not forget holidays, birthdays, and all those fun excuses not to work out (which only get worse with more people in the house)
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All of these things are realities. Some responsibilities that need to be taken care of, some optional relaxation, and some just faulty reasoning. But they certainly cannot be excuses. And while I’m sure you have your own list that may include something mine doesn’t, you’re not going to convince me that you can’t be out there grinding more than you are, or grinding at all for those that have been unwilling to do so.
By the way, my personal favorites are when people say they “worked out” when all they did was throw mostly in place for an hour. I’m sorry, that’s not helping you be a better athlete. You’re not in better shape. So unless that throwing was after a lifting session or some organized sprint workout, I don’t want to hear about your “workout”.
In a year, there probably aren’t more than 30 days where I legitimately do nothing to better myself as an athlete. That’s including any days where I might be specifically instructed by a doctor to take a day off. I’m doing something. Running, lifting, agility… SOMETHING. And on days where I can only find 30 minutes of time, it’s going to result in something positive, not an excuse that I “didn’t have enough time” to get a workout in. Watch me rip off a series of tempo runs, 400 repeats, ladders + sprints, or something else where I’m breathing hard and sweating profusely.
I’ll leave you with this. I was fortunate enough to be asked to work for the AUDL at championship weekend this past season. It was a fun little vacation to Madison with my wife and 2.5 year-old. We got in late Thursday night, and got to bed sometime around 12:30am after waking up at 5:30. As you can imagine, I was exhausted after a day of work and 6 hours of travel. At 6am the next day I got up and went on a 4 mile run, with each mile being run faster than the previous. I was back and showered before my family was awake so that I could watch my son as my wife got ready to head out for brunch. It would have been easy to sleep in. After all, I was on a vacation of sorts. And I did have to “work” later in the day.
But then again, it’s really easy to fail. All you gotta do is make excuses.