University Southern California Trojans
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Sprints
/ Track & Field
Getting To Know T.J. Brock
November 02, 2017 | Track & Field, Features
Sophomore sprinter T.J. Brock enters his second season with the USC track and field team after an impressive freshman debut. Brock placed fourth in the 100m at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships with a time of 10.37 (+2.2w). Later in the season at the 2017 NCAA Championships, Brock anchored USC's 4x100m relay, placing in 10th with the 10th-fastest time in school history of 39.05. Outside of the NCAA, Brock took home second place at the USA Junior Championships in the 100m with a time of 10.33 (-1.1) and won the 100m title at the Pan Am Games with a time of 10.45 (-0.4). Brock was also a track and field star in high school at Chaminade College Prep where he was a two-time state champion in the 100m dash. Read more about the sophomore sprinter and Trojan legacy below.
Q: What were some of the lessons you gained from your freshman year?
TB: Some of the major lessons that I learned were to trust the process and make sure I'm doing everything that I need to do. It's really important to capitalize on fall training to carry you into the spring and manage the workload. Then, when the spring comes around, I'm not trying to hurry up and catch up to speed with everybody else.
Q: How have you been able to balance your life as a student-athlete?
TB: It really comes down to taking the time to schedule out plans of when I'm going to do this assignment and when I'm going to do this assignment and so on. Even using a checklist, as cliché as that sounds, is really helpful to just go down and say 'Okay, I got that done and now it's on to the next thing'.
Q: What was it like having your mom as your high school track and field coach?
TB: It was really fun. My mom does a great job of switching between mom and coach and leaving coach at the track and being mom at home. Honestly, it was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every ounce of it and everything that she taught me throughout the years. Now to come here and be passed off to coach Caryl Smith Gilbert, who is also like a second mom to me, it's been awesome and they both mean a lot to me.
Q: Your mom was on the track and field team here at USC? Was she a major inspiration behind your decision to come to USC?
TB: My mom didn't really push for it. She really wanted me to find my own personal passion for USC. I think that when I came here and took the official (visit) and got to know everyone here, that's what really what sold it for me. My mom is considered a legacy here, but at the end of the day, it was my choice and I truly don't regret any of it.
Q: Your father played baseball professionally and is now the outfield/baserunning coordinator for the Dodgers. How did growing up in such an athletic family shape your drive as an athlete?
TB: With my parents, it was just like everybody in the household had to play a sport. You weren't allowed to just stay home and be lazy. I tried baseball for a while and then after baseball I tried out football and track. Once I got to high school I played football, track, and baseball. I ended up narrowing it down to track for college. It was a really big influence for me in my life and I thought it was just normal for me to play sports all the time. My parents used sports as a way to get us to want to be great in everything we do, both on and off the track, to make you an all-around person.
Q: Why do you consider your dad to be your sports hero?
TB: My dad is definitely my hero because of all the things he's gone through to make it to where he is today, and to still be in the game for as long as he has. It's really inspiring to see the passion he has for the sport. Even though he may not be playing any more, he still coaches with as much passion as if he was playing. Quite honestly, I don't think you can get much better than that, doing what you love for as long as possible.
Q: What has it been like to watch your dad compete as a part of the Dodgers coaching staff in the World Series?
TB: It's interesting. For me personally, he's always been on teams against the Dodgers. For so many years I was rooting against the Dodgers. Now, he's competing against a team he was with before, the Astros. I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I was rooting for the Dodgers.
Q: What inspired you to want to be a sprinter?
TB: Honestly, I didn't like running 400 meters. When I ran the 400 meters for the first time, I came back crying to my mom, 'I don't like this it hurts too much! Everything hurts!'. My mom told me that I had to do it in order to run sprints. Growing up I was always the fast kid running short distances, so I decided to run the sprints. That was my biggest driving factor.
Q: What made you want to fly planes and try to get your pilot license?
TB: Over the years traveling with my dad, I practically lived my life on a plane. We were in one city one day, and then flying to another state the next. I always loved to get the seats over the wing, even though it's not the closest or the most convenient. It was so cool to see how a plane operates. From time to time, the captains would be nice and bring me up to the front and I thought it was so cool. Ever since then, I just wanted to fly planes. Now I have the opportunity to go to flight school and try to get my private pilot license. That's the goal.
Q: Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
TB: I listen to all kinds of rap music before. But, I guess the one ritual that will never, ever, ever go away is I always have to call my brother before a meet. We just have the weirdest little chants that we do. After that, if we're in California, he'll maybe come by or I'll go and see him. We'll do our little ritual and then I'll head back. But, he's always just a phone call away and he'll always answer. That's my go to pre-competition ritual.
Q: What were some of the lessons you gained from your freshman year?
TB: Some of the major lessons that I learned were to trust the process and make sure I'm doing everything that I need to do. It's really important to capitalize on fall training to carry you into the spring and manage the workload. Then, when the spring comes around, I'm not trying to hurry up and catch up to speed with everybody else.
Q: How have you been able to balance your life as a student-athlete?
TB: It really comes down to taking the time to schedule out plans of when I'm going to do this assignment and when I'm going to do this assignment and so on. Even using a checklist, as cliché as that sounds, is really helpful to just go down and say 'Okay, I got that done and now it's on to the next thing'.
Q: What was it like having your mom as your high school track and field coach?
TB: It was really fun. My mom does a great job of switching between mom and coach and leaving coach at the track and being mom at home. Honestly, it was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every ounce of it and everything that she taught me throughout the years. Now to come here and be passed off to coach Caryl Smith Gilbert, who is also like a second mom to me, it's been awesome and they both mean a lot to me.
Q: Your mom was on the track and field team here at USC? Was she a major inspiration behind your decision to come to USC?
TB: My mom didn't really push for it. She really wanted me to find my own personal passion for USC. I think that when I came here and took the official (visit) and got to know everyone here, that's what really what sold it for me. My mom is considered a legacy here, but at the end of the day, it was my choice and I truly don't regret any of it.
Q: Your father played baseball professionally and is now the outfield/baserunning coordinator for the Dodgers. How did growing up in such an athletic family shape your drive as an athlete?
TB: With my parents, it was just like everybody in the household had to play a sport. You weren't allowed to just stay home and be lazy. I tried baseball for a while and then after baseball I tried out football and track. Once I got to high school I played football, track, and baseball. I ended up narrowing it down to track for college. It was a really big influence for me in my life and I thought it was just normal for me to play sports all the time. My parents used sports as a way to get us to want to be great in everything we do, both on and off the track, to make you an all-around person.
Q: Why do you consider your dad to be your sports hero?
TB: My dad is definitely my hero because of all the things he's gone through to make it to where he is today, and to still be in the game for as long as he has. It's really inspiring to see the passion he has for the sport. Even though he may not be playing any more, he still coaches with as much passion as if he was playing. Quite honestly, I don't think you can get much better than that, doing what you love for as long as possible.
Q: What has it been like to watch your dad compete as a part of the Dodgers coaching staff in the World Series?
TB: It's interesting. For me personally, he's always been on teams against the Dodgers. For so many years I was rooting against the Dodgers. Now, he's competing against a team he was with before, the Astros. I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I was rooting for the Dodgers.
Q: What inspired you to want to be a sprinter?
TB: Honestly, I didn't like running 400 meters. When I ran the 400 meters for the first time, I came back crying to my mom, 'I don't like this it hurts too much! Everything hurts!'. My mom told me that I had to do it in order to run sprints. Growing up I was always the fast kid running short distances, so I decided to run the sprints. That was my biggest driving factor.
Q: What made you want to fly planes and try to get your pilot license?
TB: Over the years traveling with my dad, I practically lived my life on a plane. We were in one city one day, and then flying to another state the next. I always loved to get the seats over the wing, even though it's not the closest or the most convenient. It was so cool to see how a plane operates. From time to time, the captains would be nice and bring me up to the front and I thought it was so cool. Ever since then, I just wanted to fly planes. Now I have the opportunity to go to flight school and try to get my private pilot license. That's the goal.
Q: Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
TB: I listen to all kinds of rap music before. But, I guess the one ritual that will never, ever, ever go away is I always have to call my brother before a meet. We just have the weirdest little chants that we do. After that, if we're in California, he'll maybe come by or I'll go and see him. We'll do our little ritual and then I'll head back. But, he's always just a phone call away and he'll always answer. That's my go to pre-competition ritual.
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