Kyle Wang
You may be wondering how athletes are maintaining their skills and techniques. Many athletes have found safe and protected ways to train together or individually so they won’t feel unprepared when the season starts. Brock Larsen does club and high school soccer, and self-reliance is what helps him commit to soccer. He does several workouts to maintain his soccer skills and muscle. He doesn’t let COVID stop him from doing what he loves.
Before starting soccer, Brock has tried baseball and volleyball, but they weren’t his main sports and he only played it for fun with friends. In elementary, he joined a baseball club but his coach put him in the outfield where kids in that age group could hardly hit a ball, so he switched to soccer instead. In middle school, some of his friends were going to volleyball tryouts and Brock didn’t want to feel left out and decided to try it out. He had fun because he did “enjoy playing volleyball games with friends and the practices were always unique.” This is a similar reason for why he tried out for soccer in 6th grade, but he committed because he saw a possible future on an elite team. His passion for soccer still grows today as he continues to practice in high school and in clubs.
Throughout his years as an athlete, he accomplished several goals of his: scoring two goals in his U16 national soccer trip in the Philippines and winning the middle school volleyball championship. After middle school in Guam , Brock moved to Bothell, WA and started high school and club soccer. He was ready for new teams and looking forward to more tournaments.
When sports seasons were getting canceled because of the pandemic, many of Brock’s tournaments and soccer practices got canceled. During this time, he feels quite torn that “I can’t be doing what I love with the people I enjoy doing it most with.” Because of this Brock has become self-reliant in his ways of training: doing lots of resistance band exercises to strengthen his muscles and going to his high school’s soccer field to practice 5 times a week. He also messages his coaches and teammates to schedule small group training while keeping safe measures by wearing a mask and social distancing. This is a way for them to get in touch and still practice for the upcoming soccer season.
There have been times when Brock feels less motivated, but he stays positive by thinking about what’s about to come and hoping for a positive future. Regarding the new season, he says, “ I don’t want to be lagging behind. I want to be on top of my game.” His guts tell him that he is not doing as much as he can so he tries to always improve on and off the field by reviewing old techniques and practicing new skills.
We asked Brock for any advice for other athletes and if he thinks his life will ever go back to normal after the pandemic. He responded, “I know it’s very hard sometimes without other people to push you to help yourself but just know that when you’re working you may be getting ahead of the other players. Learning to be independent is also great; you don’t always need to rely on people to tell you what to do.” He is very hopeful that his life will go back to normal and that he will have a new soccer season, but “ if not, I’ll continue to do my best during these circumstances.”
Lastly, Brock leaves his final words of encouragement: “ There are always ways to get better and prevail against all odds. If you aspire to be a pro like I want to, then you will always put in the work no matter what.”