Day 1, 2025 TTPOA Swat Competition. The "Old Guys" Still Got It.

Summary

---

The TTPOA Podcast

Episode: Day 1, 2025 TTPOA SWAT Competition: "The Old Guys" Still Got It
Date: October 9, 2025
Host: Brandon (TTPOA Host)
Guests: Dave Peterson (Irving SWAT), Sean (Plano SWAT)

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, recorded during Day 2 of the 2025 TTPOA SWAT Competition in Conroe, Texas (after a humorous SD card mishap on Day 1), host Brandon sits down with veteran competitors Dave Peterson and Sean. The trio discuss their long careers in Texas law enforcement, the evolution of SWAT competitions, the physical and mental challenges of competing as "the old guys," and the lessons they've learned through decades of tactical training and team leadership. This candid conversation brims with camaraderie, funny stories from past competitions, and real talk about the changes in tactics, gear, team dynamics, and the crucial role of efficiency on and off the range.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introductions & Experience

• Brandon introduces the setting and the guests, apologizing for missing the SD card the previous day.
• Dave Peterson (Irving PD, on since 1998, SWAT since 2011, competing since 2012/13):
  • “Just over 27 now. 27.” (01:50)
  • Started with peers Ralph and Mike, reminiscing about shared start dates and ranks.
• Sean (Started DPS 1997, then Plano PD, SWAT nearly 20 years):
  • First TTPOA comp: “It probably would have been... oh-five.” (02:42)
  • Part of the winning Plano team in 2005.
• All three reflect on their ages (Sean 56, Dave 57, Brandon 50) and the pride of being "the old guys" still competing.

The Value and Challenge of Longevity

• On being among the oldest competitors:
  • Dave remarks, “I heard all the comments today... The oldest one I heard was 45. You’re like, I’ll see you in 10 years. Let’s see if you’re still doing it in 10 years.” (03:35)
  • Sean: “Go back to 50 in a heartbeat.” (04:00)
  • Brandon: “SWAT years are like dog years.” (04:01)
• Discuss the pride they take in continued participation and the respect from younger operators.

Evolving from Speed to Efficiency

• Efficiency over speed as the key competitive edge:
  • Brandon notes:
    • “The efficiency of getting in a position, getting out of position, shooting, the pace you know you can shoot... is so important.” (05:01)
  • Dave and Sean add insights on learning from experience, focusing on “non-shooting stuff” and “efficiencies” that separate veteran teams.

Learning from Competition & Adapting Tactics

• After-Action Learning:
  • Sean: “Something as simple as making a hole for the next guy to get in... it carries to every event.” (06:48–07:00)
  • Dave: “Don’t run so hard that you blow out a hamstring.” (07:30)
• Injury risks and managing pace as older athletes.
  • Brandon: “SWAT comp is about taking these things and being able to go game for real ops... that’s important.” (08:55)

The Evolution of SWAT Competition & Equipment

• Gear and course design have changed dramatically:
  • Sean: “On the sniper side, for sure, there’s been huge changes. I first started... there’d be one sniper event... Now almost every event has a sniper component.” (09:50–10:13)
  • Discussion of tripods, shooting bags, positional/barricade shooting for both snipers and assaulters.
• Rising technical standards:
  • Targets are much smaller, optics have improved (from red dots to LPVOs), and bag technology has revolutionized setup and stability.
  • Brandon: “Assault guys got bags... This is the best thing ever...” (13:28)
  • Sean: “Now they got the polymer bead... super lightweight.” (14:32)

Leadership, Team Development & Training New Operators

• Passing on experience:
  • Dave: “I may not be the strongest guy... so I may have to compensate in another way... always looking for a mechanical advantage.” (09:15)
  • The constant need to mentor new shooters and help them process challenges rather than just “dumbing down” exercises.
• Learning from mistakes & after-action review:
  • Dave: “It’s a lot of mental... you just have to take a step back, slow your mind down... can’t out shoot your mind.” (29:30)
  • Sean: “I compete USPSA 3-gun because that mental management... I know I can make that shot.” (31:20)

Staying Physically and Mentally Fit as a Veteran

• Training Adaptations:
  • Dave: “Used to go a lot harder in the gym... CrossFit, higher intensity... I’ve modified that.” (18:39)
  • Avoiding injury is now the goal; “just have to be smarter, leave the ego out of it.” (19:51)
  • Sean: “Try to keep things even throughout the year... I just like trying to be in shape all the time.” (20:11)
  • Recovery time as essential for older athletes.

Notable Team Memories & Camaraderie

• Stories from past competitions:
  • Tales of difficult courses (notably, Waco and Burnet), running with sandbags, innovative use of trash bags to keep sandbags dry, and funny moments like peeing mid-event out of necessity. (22:17–25:26)
  • Dave about pre-hydration and how the culture has changed: “I used to drink a lot at these competitions. Now I need hydration.” (26:34)
• Tradition and pride:
  • Fun stories about how friendships and rivalries developed (“Y’all got beer? Well, yeah!”) and the value of coming back for the team experience.
  • Dave: “How long are you going to do it? Until I can’t.” (27:27)
  • Sean: “If someone beats me or out-shoots me... That’s a good thing.” (27:34)

Team Selection, Ego, and Brutal Honesty

• Managing team competition & selection:
  • Brandon: “My philosophy was... We got to earn this.” (28:21)
  • Dave: “We’re about being brutally honest... Egos or ranks don’t matter.” (33:03)
  • Sean: “Now, like I said, I’m the senior guy... Y’all, this is the first time you’re going to run the O course. We’re only going to be as fast as our slowest guy.” (31:47–32:02)
  • The importance of supporting but also challenging each other for growth.

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

• Key takeaways from mistakes:
  • Dave on shooting failures: “I’ve had some epic fails... Held wrong hit zones... dialed down a whole revolution on my scope.” (29:09)
  • Sean on critical misses: “We recreated it, figured it out, and then bring that back to the team...” (36:26–36:49)
  • Importance of not repeating errors, such as bracing the suppressor on a fence and missing high (Brandon, 37:45).

Competition, Community, and Consistency

• Open environment for learning:
  • Dave: “The good thing about here, everybody’s competitive, but they’re also pretty open. They’ll help you out.” (38:01)
  • Brandon: “You learn more from your mistakes than any of your successes... that sucks, but that’s just the way it is.” (38:16)
• Diversity of competence:
  • Operators come in “all shapes and sizes,” and performance consistently surprises—speed and effectiveness are not always about physique (39:11).

Looking Ahead

• Aging, longevity, and legacy:
  • Discussion of possibly forming a “Gray Beard” team in future competitions to keep the tradition alive as long as possible.
• Closing wishes:
  • Brandon: “Good luck to you and your team... hope to see y’all back next year. Maybe we can do this again, and we’ll be a year older and wiser.” (42:40)

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On still competing at 50+

  • Dave: “You're still competing? Are you coaching or you—” (04:28)
  • Brandon: “SWAT years are like dog years. It ages you so quick.” (04:01)

• On efficiency over speed

  • Brandon: “I always tell people... efficiency of getting in position, getting out of position, the pace that you are, that you know you can shoot and stuff is so important.” (05:01)

• On mental management

  • Sean: “You can't out shoot your mind.” (29:30)
  • Sean: “Mental management... Now I know I can make that shot. I have the confidence.” (31:20)

• On lessons learned

  • Dave: “I've had some epic fails... just efficiency, number one, and getting in your head mentally and letting that clock really gnaw at you...” (29:09)

• On camaraderie and tradition

  • Brandon: “That makes the, that makes all the memories... That's why I keep coming back, is just the teamwork, the team bonding, meeting other team members...” (27:08)

• On leadership

  • Dave: “As long as I'm physically capable of doing it and performing up to their level… I'll keep doing it. If I get to the point where I can't, I'll step away or, hopefully, by then somebody's come in and blow my doors off. Take it.” (28:30)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 00:17 | Podcast purpose, introduction to competition & guests | | 01:32 | Dave’s intro, experience, and start in SWAT | | 02:23 | Sean’s intro and first comp experience | | 03:15 | Discussing age, pride in longevity | | 05:01 | Efficiency and learning as a veteran | | 06:48 | Practical team examples of efficiency and mistakes | | 09:50 | Evolution of gear & sniper events | | 13:28 | Inclusion of bags for assaulter side | | 18:39 | Physical training adaptations as an older operator | | 22:17 | Past competition stories (Waco, trash bags, humbling) | | 26:34 | Drinking and competition culture changes | | 29:09 | Epic fails and lessons learned | | 31:20 | Mental management, confidence, and pressure | | 33:03 | Team honesty, coaching, and tough conversations | | 36:26 | Lessons learned from shooting and bringing back to team| | 38:01 | Openness and camaraderie at the competition | | 40:25 | Recognizing tradition and consistency | | 42:40 | Sending off with good luck and legacy talk |

---

Summary

This episode offers a compelling and unfiltered look at the realities of being a career SWAT competitor well into your fifties. Dave, Sean, and Brandon blend institutional knowledge, tactical insight, humor, and humility, painting a vivid picture of how the TTPOA SWAT Competition challenges, refines, and connects Texas’ top operators across generations. Their stories, advice, and leadership lessons make this essential listening for new and seasoned SWAT team members alike. Train smart, train hard—and never underestimate the old guys.

---

Transcript

[Brandon]

Foreign.

[Sean]

To the TTPOA podcast, a podcast for SWAT officers, military, and all first responders. We'll be talking training, tactics and leadership with the best subject matter experts around.

[Brandon]

Well, howdy, folks. Brandon. Here we're at the 2025 TTPOA. TTPOA. Damn, I messed that up again. TT SWAT competition in Conroe. And this was supposed to be day one, because we actually did this podcast yesterday with these two gentlemen, but I fucked it up and didn't put the SD card in the machine. And so all the recording was for. Not. So last night I realized that. And. And so these. These. These. These guys helped me out and came back today. So this is actually day two of the competition. So I apologize for all this. So, yeah, that's. That's all on me. So what we talked about yesterday was less is my.

[Dave]

So ironically, it's the older guys in here. You forget to put the SD card in.

[Brandon]

It's the senile.

[Sean]

I can clearly see that there is.

[Brandon]

I need to put, like, a sticky note, hit record, make sure this is on, and stuff like that. But it's funny, I've talked to other podcast guys, like, yep, I've done that. Yep, I've done that.

[Dave]

So on your defense, it's, what, your first time doing this?

[Brandon]

Yeah, it's the first time to compete and do all this. And it's. It's. It's a lot. But, hey, anyway, it's. That's. That's on me. So, man, I'll introduce you. I'll. I'll let you introduce yourself to my. My left is the sexy Dave from Irving.

[Dave]

Dave Peterson with Irving. Been with Irving since 98.

[Brandon]

All right.

[Dave]

Been on the SWAT team since 2011 and competing since camera. If it's 2012 or 2013.

[Brandon]

2012 or 20.

[Dave]

While.

[Brandon]

So you're 98. What. What month of 98?

[Dave]

September.

[Brandon]

September. Okay. I was August of 98 when I started the academy.

[Dave]

Just over 27 now. 27.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Yeah. So that's funny. I didn't realize. So you started with. Because I think Ralph and Mike were.

[Dave]

Same group, y'.

[Brandon]

All. Okay.

[Dave]

He was a little. Mike was a little before us. Like five or six months. Ralph and I got hired together.

[Brandon]

Man, I love Ralph. Yeah, I just found that out probably about a year ago. We were talking. He goes, man, I started in 98.

[Dave]

And they've actually got one badge number on him.

[Brandon]

Oh, do you.

[Dave]

Even though he hit the street sooner than I did.

[Brandon]

Now he's got rank, though, so.

[Dave]

He does. He does. So.

[Brandon]

All right, Sean, who Are you, man? Why you. Why you in my room, man?

[Sean]

I started with DPS back in 97, and then I sold out for the money. Went to Plano. 22 years, something like that. And on a SWAT team of about 20. And I've been doing the competitions since I started, so. Started.

[Brandon]

What year?

[Dave]

What was your.

[Brandon]

What was your. Your first year? Mine was in 2004. It was at Dallas.

[Sean]

It probably would have been, actually. It was the year after. After I was in Dallas.

[Brandon]

Okay.

[Sean]

Oh, five.

[Brandon]

And I think. Is that the year y' all won?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

Okay.

[Sean]

Yeah, that was. Yeah, that was the year before I actually competed.

[Brandon]

Okay. Yeah. Because I saw. I saw Dallas, it was two. Then the next year, Plano won in 2005. I can't remember where that was. I had it somewhere on my phone and stuff. It's neat. It's neat to go back to look at that trophy and see where all they were. And you're like, oh, yeah, I remember this. Or I remember that.

[Dave]

Not too many where it was or where it's been in the last decade.

[Brandon]

Yeah. So in your 56, Sean Ron.

[Sean]

Correct.

[Brandon]

And Dave, you're 50. Seven.

[Dave]

Seven.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And I'm 50. I just turned 50 this year. So my goal was last year, watching the guys compete. I'm like, man, I want to do one in 50s. I did one in late 20s, then 30s, then 40s. And then I thought, man, I'd want to do more in my early 50s. And unlike y', all, y' all still doing it, man.

[Dave]

So I heard all the comments today, you know, just walk around the different train ups and guys were commenting on. Oh, the old guy. The old guy. And I think the oldest one I heard was 45. You're like, I'll see you in 10 years. Let's see. See if you're still doing it in 10 years.

[Brandon]

I mean, I even feel like. And it's no offensive, I'm like, man, 50. But y' all got six and seven years on me, so that's a lot quick. Yeah. Hell yeah.

[Sean]

Go back to 50 in a heartbeat. Yeah.

[Brandon]

I always tell people, I'm like, SWAT years, like dog years. It's like they age you so quick and stuff, so. But I think, though, once you start my. And I'm sure yalls experience has been the same. So once you start talking with people or they see you compete, you're like, damn, how old are you? And they. You tell them, and they're like, damn, that's awesome. I think it's a. I think it's A good thing, because I was talking to an older guy today, and he's like, yeah, I'm still out here and doing my thing and. And stuff. And younger guys were. Were giving a kudos, so I think that's good.

[Dave]

Yeah, there a couple guys that recognize me or they know up there in the age, and they're. They're like, man, you're still. You're still competing. Are you coaching or you.

[Brandon]

You coaching?

[Sean]

That kind of fuels me because, yeah, I've been doing. I've been here a lot, and people.

[Dave]

Still seem like you're. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, yeah, yeah. It's a pride thing for me. It's just, you know, I just. I take a little personal pride in it. You know, I try to take care of myself and keep in shape and try to hang with these guys kind of. We were talking yesterday, just, yeah, I'm not the fastest guy on the team, but I know I try to be up there all the time.

[Brandon]

Yeah, it is funny. And that'll kind of segue into what we were talking about earlier before when y' all got. And sit down is the efficiency side of it. I think when we were young, we're like, let's go fast and. Which is important. But the efficiency of getting in a position, getting out of position, shooting, the pace that you are, that, you know you can shoot and stuff is so important.

[Dave]

Saw a little bit of that today.

[Brandon]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you see it and you see guys in your team, especially when you're practicing, you're like, okay, hey, man, you need to be more efficient. Like, and they look at you like, what? Like, yeah, like, get down sooner. Like, get your bag ready. Stage this better. Or don't line up this way. Like, why are you doing this? Like, it's just little things like that. And I think it comes from experience and things. That was one thing that I learned the last few years of not competing and watching everybody, of how efficient some of these teams are that I never saw compete before when I was really able to. To take that and go, okay, this is, like, even more important than the other side of that. So that's been good for me to see that as well.

[Dave]

Yeah. As I said it. It showed up a little bit today. And, you know, some of it's. It's inexperience, but I think once you get back and you realize what you did, you're like, okay, yeah, let me. How can I clean this up?

[Sean]

Or.

[Dave]

Or you realize when you. When you're running back, like, ah, man, I should have propped my rifle up this way, or I should have switched up something on the barricade or whatever it was, you know? But it's. What's done is done is just. You just gotta apply that going forward. Yeah.

[Brandon]

What did you learn today, Sean, from. You ran. You ran rifle, right?

[Sean]

I did run a rifle.

[Brandon]

So anything. You're like, man, if I could have done this a little different, or it was like, hey, I was pretty happy with all that.

[Sean]

I was pretty happy with how I went.

[Brandon]

I.

[Sean]

You know, I said, want to run faster in between. But, yeah, shooting the gun part, I'm pretty good at that part.

[Dave]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brandon]

Yo, y' all did good.

[Sean]

Efficiency part, that's one thing's just coming into the competitions and see. See some of the newer teams, and, like, they're all standing in the box, the guys running back, and they don't get out of the way. Like, yeah, yeah. Make a hole for the guy so they can run through, and so you.

[Dave]

Can have just something real simple.

[Sean]

Something as simple as that.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And then that. That carries through to every event, like, oh, how else can we make this a little bit better? Make room for the next guy to get in, do that kind of stuff? Or watch talking about positions with rifles and getting on the barricade, like, oh, should I drop my bag or put the bag on America, then load my rifle and get on it? That's. Those are all the little efficiencies.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Thinking, hey, how is my magazine stage for the next reload?

[Brandon]

Yeah, no, it's. It's definitely a huge part of this competition, and I think that's.

[Dave]

And kind of what. What. One of the things I was telling them is, hey, don't break yourself, and kind of what happened to your teammates? We need to run down there fast. But it's efficiency, getting in and out of your position, your cadence of your shooting. Yeah, but don't run so hard that you. You blow out a hamstring.

[Sean]

One of our guys, that was the text that we got, like, tell those guys not to blow a hamstring on the way back.

[Dave]

Yeah, I mean, you're.

[Brandon]

Well, I was one of those guys. I tweaked it, and I was down in the. The little medical bay where all those guys were getting worked in, and that's what they were talking about. Like, hey, we have a sprint competition today. And they had. It was all hamstrings, hamstrings, hamstring, hamstrings and stuff. Yeah, I'm feeling.

[Dave]

But, you know, at my advanced age, I Have to be smarter about it. I can't. I know I'm not going to be the fastest guy on our team getting to and from the line, but yeah, I can be pretty fast. Consistent.

[Sean]

And your efficiency of all the non shooting stuff.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Sean]

That's. That's where the time gets made up.

[Brandon]

Yeah. No, for, for sure. And that's that, that, that goes back to learning how to do this. It's just anything else, I think you go back to this like CQB and you look at new guys and you got other guys that are really efficient with CQB and they're able to beat guys to the next thing and the next thing. And the guys are like, how did you do that? It's like, well, I'm more efficient. I understand what I need to process and what doesn't need to be processed.

[Sean]

And I'm already, already knowing where I'm going next.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And what's going to happen when I get there.

[Brandon]

And to me, that's, that's what's so important about the whole SWAT comp is taking those things and being able to go game for real ops. Because that's important. If you look at anything, I mean, everybody's out there trying to game. They're like, let me look, let me look at this. Okay, Let me take a picture of this. Okay. They're saying okay. And everybody's doing like. And. And that's what they should be doing.

[Dave]

So, yeah, for me, it's. Learn something every time I'm down here. Kind of like we talked about yesterday is, you know, how I'm staging my gear, my equipment and, you know, I may not be the strongest guy on the team, so I may have to compensate in another way. The cheat code or something to get up to where I need to go or carry my gear. But I'm always looking for an advantage that way to.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Whether it's a mechanical advantage or, or something to, to leverage all that.

[Brandon]

So we've all been competing for several, several years now. What are the. What are some of the things that y' all seen that have changed over the competition? Whether it's gear, equipment, the stages or anything like that. What are some of the things that.

[Sean]

You all have seen on the sniper side? For sure, there's been huge changes.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I first started the sniper. There'd be one sniper event. They'd shoot four or five rounds for the whole thing.

[Brandon]

Then you're done and they're done.

[Sean]

And now almost every event has a sniper component. And even once they started that now like tripods and bags and not. Not shooting. I mean used to be lay down and shoot prone.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

There's almost none of that now.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So yeah, that's a huge change and that's for the better because operationally that's no.

[Brandon]

For sure.

[Sean]

For sure.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I never maybe once or twice laid down on my belly.

[Dave]

No, it's. You don't get the opportunity to really do that here. You're. It's like you said maybe once or twice in a whole weekend you'd shoot and you're watching everybody else go. But now that they've. And I like that they've incorporated in every event.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

Yeah. The sniper is a huge part. I mean you have to have an efficient sniper that is very accurate. I mean the teams that are doing well, that's who they. I mean they have. I mean the snipers are.

[Dave]

Their positional works really important. Yeah. The use of your gear bags, whatever you're bringing tripods or.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Even on the. Just the assaulter side with the ar. The rifles. Targets used to be fairly generous and people do that now with. Especially now when they have magnificent. Some of the targets.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Pretty small.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Yeah. It is one. I mean like if you're just running a red dot. Man, now they got a one by ten on my man. My one by six is. Now I gotta get a one by ten hard to keep up.

[Sean]

It is.

[Brandon]

And then I think too for me it looks like there's more even positional shooting with the assaulter side. Or you're shooting through these different ports. You're like, well this is a port here or this is this.

[Dave]

Or.

[Brandon]

Or you're having to. To shoot all together in one barricade. So now you're having a plan. Do we shoot one guy and then. Or do we try to shoot it all together? I mean there's a lot of things that's the invaluable.

[Sean]

Like when we train for this or and then when we come here it's like. Because like how are we going to get three dudes on this barricade? Or should we do that?

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

To start with.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And then if we're going to do it, what's the best way to do it? Yeah. And that just improves communication and skills and all that kind of stuff.

[Brandon]

No, you're right. And those things because you think. And to me it goes back to. And it's not. It's not tooting my own horn. I understand my skill set and what I'm able to do because I train a lot. But Also, forget some guys. Skill level is not the same as yours, and there's different skill sets, so.

[Dave]

You also have to bring them along with.

[Brandon]

Yes. You're like, okay, well, I know if it was me and this guy doing it, we could do it together. But now we have these two other guys that are still learning this, so we might have to not dumb it down, but just, okay, be more reasonable about how we're doing this, especially. We all talked about how we have a lot of new guys on the team just in. Period. I mean, just. Just operators. Now we're trying to do a competition, which, you know, is another level of just experience and stuff, so. Are y' all seeing that, too, Dave?

[Dave]

Yeah, we're. And, you know, a lot of it, too. At least on the sniper end, which is my specialty on the team is I've learned a lot doing these events over the years. And it just. Now, I. I learned to look for different things on it, whether it's a call out or a planned operation. And you're already pregaming it in your head. If they're going to put me here, what side of the house I'm going to be on, I'm already kind of pregaming what gear I'm going to bring. And, you know, and I try to try to get the guys to start thinking about it the same way for that. Right. So you don't just get there and.

[Sean]

You'Re like, oh, can someone go back and get this?

[Dave]

Yeah, I left that car. Or you're just stuck. And you're like, here's what I'm gonna have to do, and it's gonna suck for God knows how long. Yeah, I know.

[Brandon]

I'm not a. I've never done the sniping side of that like y' all two have done. And so this year, man, just the assault guys got bags. And I'm like, this is the best thing ever, man. I'm like, I'm putting a bag in my now. Like, this is amazing now, knowing all these sniper boys have been using these bags for. For a while now.

[Dave]

They're pretty light now, too.

[Sean]

That was our big debate.

[Brandon]

This was like, do you think.

[Sean]

I think we can bring a bag on this.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And then we're like, well, we'll see what everyone else does. I'm like, we saw other people. We're doing that, too.

[Dave]

Yeah, we thought about it, but that went back to. It was a great idea, but they hadn't really trained with it that much, and we didn't want to throw it in for something. They're fumbling with it down there and it could have.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Could have screwed us. So we just. We decided not to. But definitely be training that in the future.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And they're light, man. I was like, what the hell? I was like, this is insane. I'm like, I got it. Give me three of them, man.

[Dave]

It's good for me.

[Brandon]

Carry a whole bag because I used to be so heavy.

[Sean]

I don't want that sand or lead shot fill. And now they got the polymer bead.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Air fill or whatever. Super lightweight.

[Brandon]

And they're. They're. Man, they got them all sizes and stuff. So I was really impressed with that. I think that's. That's another part of just the evolution of what's going on. And I think. I think it's going to be interesting. I think we kind of got a preview today while we were in the little like rules when Sean and the other guys were talking. Jeff and kind of preview kind of what's in store. Which I. I'm happy about. I think it's a good thing. I think when there's. When there's turnover, not. And not because someone got fired or anything, but just, hey, I'm. I'm trying to move on. I'm needing to move on for something else. And other guys come in that have done competitions and understand what we do. I think it's going to be fun next year. I mean, I'm already excited about next year of like, some of the stuff that I think they'll have in mind. It's good.

[Dave]

Good having a sniper guy up there.

[Brandon]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got two guys. Yeah. I'm like, man, can we get another. Just a pure assault guy up there because we need some more loving. What was Yalls thoughts on the. The round count? Like, hey, let's go blast. Let's go a couple two or three extra or. Hey, we're gonna stick with just six rounds. Six bullet or six, you know, targets and stuff. What did y' all think?

[Sean]

I'm back and forth on that. I'm. I'm. You know, that's Jeff. He likes that. Like uspsa.

[Brandon]

It's.

[Sean]

Yeah. You know, you can give people all the rounds and they think that's going to help them.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

It's not if one. Because you got to hit to go fast.

[Brandon]

Right.

[Sean]

But also like swat.

[Brandon]

That's.

[Sean]

We are an accuracy. Our business is getting the hits.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

I made the comment somebody putting a.

[Sean]

Lot of rounds in.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

That I. I like having an alibi. It's it's nice. I think it's. And the competition setting kind of makes you sloppy. Yeah, I'd rather have one round, one target. If one.

[Sean]

It's one over one. It's.

[Dave]

Yeah, there's.

[Brandon]

There's a level of stress that it definitely is a. You're like, okay. I, I think for me, personally, because of the practical side of shooting that, that I train, I think there's a mixture. I think you could do both where, hey, there's could be some events where, hey, it's four targets for, you know, whatever, and then mix in some of this other stuff. I think it would be a good, good deal because I think there's still.

[Sean]

Guys that if they don't score, like, hit factor, then. Then it'll just be a hit, a foot race, like. Yeah, everyone's gonna. Everyone's gonna hit all the targets. They're gonna knock them down. If you have unlimited rounds.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Then who can run the fastest?

[Brandon]

Yeah. So it's. It's a deal. Because then I go back to, man, like, when you start getting two and three, four minutes ahead of somebody, dude, that's almost impossible.

[Sean]

It's.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

And now. Okay, well, now 15 seconds between you. Now that's doable. So there's, There's. I mean, it goes back and forth. I mean, it is what it is. And at the end of the day, we all know you got to be able to shoot. You got to have the hard skill of being able to shoot. If you don't and if it's not just you, it's just your whole team.

[Sean]

So you got to bring five guys that can do everything.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And that's hard sometimes. I mean, injury, you know, I mean, there's been times, like right now, we got two of our best shooters. Well, they got things that are going on their life that they just can't be down here.

[Dave]

And I'm like, you dealt with that before the competition. I, you know, two weeks. Two weeks ago, I. I couldn't stand up from a chair my. Throughout my back so bad, and I was worried I wasn't going to make it. And we have another guy has some. Some arm elbow issues that he's working.

[Brandon]

You're in like a big fight or something?

[Dave]

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah, we're.

[Dave]

We're not going to cover that. For those who know, you know, it was.

[Brandon]

It was funny yesterday in our first podcast that we did, Dave had to run the O course because one of their guys was, you know, hurt. For what? Yeah, he was hurt. Whatever. His little elbow Hurt. And so Dave had to run it and he kicked ass and did really well. So he came up because that was, that was his punishment, that he had to listen to you brag about how badass you are. Yeah, yeah. So it was pretty funny. We're giving him a hard time and stuff. So. Yeah, that was the podcast that no one will ever hear because it never got recorded.

[Sean]

It was the best one.

[Brandon]

Definitely. It definitely was. So, Dave, what have you. What do you do throughout the year to keep yourself being able to come back each year as far as physically and then what do you do on your own time, like shooting and things like that?

[Dave]

I used to go a lot harder in the gym, or we call it the barn work. Keep our special equipment, the hot box. And I used to go a lot harder.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

CrossFit stuff, real high intensity, heavier weights. As the years have crept by, I've. I've modified that a little bit.

[Sean]

Just.

[Dave]

It's just more injury prone, at least for me, and it's harder to recover. Yeah, I've never had any surgeries, thank God, but I've seen other guys on the team. Just about everybody has something.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

And my goal was just kind of stay in one piece, which gets harder.

[Sean]

And harder every year.

[Dave]

So. Yeah, you know, sometimes I'll just do straight, straight body weight stuff and then some conditioning, aerobic conditioning, sprints. I'll do some long runs. I try not to run more than four or five miles at a time. It's gets painful. But yeah, I try to. I won't say go easy. I just, I just try to be smarter. Yeah. Like I said yesterday, I can't. I'm not going to throw up, you know, £400 on a. On a back squat and do it, I'll. You're gonna find me on the ground.

[Brandon]

Yeah, but you might. Your pants, man, you are older now, so, you know, it'd be terrible.

[Sean]

That'd be a good.

[Dave]

So, yeah, I mean, it's. I just have to be a little smarter. Leave the ego out of it.

[Brandon]

Right.

[Dave]

I mean, everybody. You look over and you see your buddies deadlifting or squatting twice what you are, and you're like, ah, man. But I know the second I do that, yeah, I'll be laid up for a while.

[Brandon]

Yeah, for sure. What about you, Sean?

[Sean]

Try to. You keep things even throughout the year. Like, I just, you know, people like, oh, the competition's coming or I gotta get in shape. Like, I just like try and be in shape all the time.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And when I was younger, you know, Obviously stronger and faster, but I would just go hard every day.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And the biggest thing now is, like, I can't. I can put in those hard efforts, but I need way more recovery time.

[Dave]

Yeah. I was about to say those days, I could just. The next day.

[Sean]

Yeah, the next day, I felt fine. When you just go again and go again and go again. Like, that doesn't happen anymore.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

I think, especially getting older, recovery time's important. I think it's important for everybody. I think even the younger guys, you know, I think the exercise science has come a long way, and then it has. But I think as you get older, you really have to respect the recovery time. If you don't, you do that two, three weeks in a row, you'll pay.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Guess what?

[Dave]

You're. You're gonna be taking a couple weeks off for sure.

[Brandon]

Well, it's like this week, I mean, there's 10 events, and I mean, I'm sore today. I'm hurting. And that was just one event. You're like. And. And so we're not doing that every single day. So for us, it's like, oh, you know, when you're 27 years old, you're like, okay.

[Dave]

You know, I was sitting out there, and I sat down and touched my leg to something and chair, and I thought, what the hell was that in my calf? I didn't. I didn't feel it until I hit it.

[Sean]

I used to come down here, and after the days, I'd go to the gym and work out or go for a run because I. I didn't get enough. Yeah, that doesn't happen.

[Brandon]

You're like, I just need to go get some good dinner and lay in my bed.

[Dave]

We made that mistake one year on the evals. Hey, we just need more PT and the next year, they marched us to death.

[Brandon]

Were you the. Were you all the dumbasses that the next year in Waco, we had to run four or five miles, which I. I dug that.

[Sean]

That was kind of y'.

[Brandon]

All. Except for the shooting the one. One round. And that was. That one.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

That was irritating.

[Brandon]

Well, that, and let's put on this sandbag, a backpack, and let's get yourself wet. I was like, now and then we run up that bank. I'm like, okay, one bullet.

[Sean]

If we could have shot. I mean, there's plenty of places to do it. Set up a couple ranges out there.

[Brandon]

There's 15 miles of running. We could have done game it.

[Dave]

Right? It was right. We brought trash bags. So when they handed us our sandbag, we put it in the trash bag and put it in our backpacks when they got us wet.

[Brandon]

Oh, look at y'.

[Sean]

All.

[Brandon]

Look at y'. All, man, that's. That's high level.

[Dave]

We knew this was gonna suck, but that is. We were done.

[Sean]

We didn't think of that.

[Dave]

We got the top of hill, and he's competing this year. One of our guys, he. He tripped, and I saw him roll by me. Oh, I thought, oh, we're. We're like 20 yards into this damn thing. And then he managed to get up. He's dusting himself off. And I took my shot, and it felt like I shot myself in the leg. And I thought, oh, the was that. And it knocked my leg back. And the arrow's like, here. Are you okay? I'm like, I don't know. He goes, are you bleeding? I don't know.

[Brandon]

So he reached over.

[Dave]

He goes, no blood. I'm like, okay, you're shooting a little close to the place. And it ricocheted straight back and hit me in the thigh.

[Brandon]

Oh, dang.

[Dave]

When we were done running, took the pants off, and I had a nice black and blue welt right in the center of my thigh. Oh, wow. That was a miserable run.

[Brandon]

Yeah, that was. I. I was. I was the litter guy. So when we got to the litter and so I got put in the litter, and then I'm yelling at him like, come on, hurry up. And I'm like, rocky. Be like Rocky. And dude, they were so pissed at me when they dropped my ass at the finish.

[Dave]

I was the last guy of that eight foot wall we hopped over. And I. As I'm jumping over the wall, he's already laying in the litter. The other guys are taking a breath. I'm like, God damn. It was like 1,000 yards uphill. Holy shit.

[Sean]

It was a long. A long way to the finish.

[Brandon]

Oh, that was a long one. It was funny because, you know, we. We used to run our own SWAT schools for a while, and they were pretty tough. And one of our guys is running by, and he's like, hey, you remember me? I went through y' all SWAT school. I'm on the other side now. He's just giggling like, oh, man, and stuff. Did y' all compete the. The one year we had at Paul House Place at Nacogdoches?

[Sean]

I love. I love. I love the competition.

[Brandon]

That was a. That was cool. And you had to run and do. And then the. And was the O course then you finished and you had to run up.

[Sean]

The hill on the O course.

[Brandon]

Yes. Yeah, that. That was, that was one of my favorite ones. That was. That was some tough stuff. So.

[Dave]

So dragging the log up the hill.

[Brandon]

Yeah, and that. And that was a long run to. I don't know. I know it wasn't that four miles or whatever it was, but it was a pretty good jog through the. The woods and you had to shoot and then, and then the end was the obstacle course and so I was the first one on the O course and I finished and I'm waiting for the guys and there's the litter that one of your guys has to be put in to carry them up the damn 400 yard uphill. And so I'm waiting and waiting and man, I'm like, man, I gotta pee, man, I really gotta pee. And I'm like, I'm already wet. I'm like, oh gosh, this feels so good. Like, well, no one who cares, man, at this point. Yeah, I was like, I gotta pee.

[Sean]

And you weren't even old.

[Brandon]

No, I wasn't old back then. Yeah. Cuz that was. I don't know how long ago that was. That was.

[Sean]

That was probably 15 years ago.

[Brandon]

Yeah, that was a long time ago. But that was a fun. That was a. Just a Disneyland of stuff.

[Sean]

A couple years. Those are some of the best.

[Dave]

Those are right before my time. The. I think the hardest ones that I've done were the Burn it year, the three years and Burn it, that's a badass place. Every one of those events was. If we had to go back there now I'd be the coach.

[Brandon]

Those were, those were rough. That's the first time I met Kelly. Kelly Purkle was. Was that competition several years ago. That was, that was a fun. That was a fun place. So, yeah, I think this is my 15th one to do. We've done two in Florida and then the rest in Texas and stuff. So yeah, it's. It's neat to reminisce some of the, the old things or listen to like the old guys ahead of you that, you know, did competition. That's how like Irving and Garland got so close as years ago. Garland's sitting there drinking and Irving walks by and they're like, y' all got beer? And they're like, yeah, you want some? Well, yeah, that was burning.

[Dave]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brandon]

And it was like back before I was even on the team. So like got Cutler and Cerami and all those guys and then all our old heads and that's how they all got, you know, buddies, buddies with each other and stuff.

[Dave]

I Was going in for the night, and Sean was on the tailgate of a truck listening to some country music. Drinking a lot, huh? That's a good idea.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Oh, hell yeah. Three in the morning.

[Sean]

What time we gotta get out?

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

I used to drink a lot at these competition. Now I'm like, man, I need water. I need hydration.

[Dave]

So that's another thing that's changed. Yeah, I can't.

[Brandon]

I.

[Dave]

If. No. If I did that, I would not be competing the next day. Oh, yeah, that was a different time.

[Brandon]

We did that one year with y' all was like, the best we could get was ninth, and the best y' all could get was, like, eighth. And so it was just, let's go have a good time. And then to run the Oakhorts the next day, I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is terrible.

[Dave]

Not good ideas.

[Brandon]

And stuff. So.

[Dave]

But that.

[Brandon]

That makes the. That makes all the memories and. And stuff. So I. I do. That's why I keep coming back, is just the teamwork, the team bonding, meeting other. Other team members and talking with people. And like, you said, people like, man, you're still doing this. It's like, yeah, like, it's a pride thing. And.

[Dave]

Yeah, some. You know, like I said, somebody asked me today, and I'm like, how long are you gonna do it? Until I can't. You know, either somebody's gonna.

[Sean]

Someone beats me or out shoot me.

[Dave]

Or compete me on the team. We have guys that probably could. That for whatever reason, they don't compete. You know, family issue, or they just can't. But. But, you know, if they showed up on the team, I'd probably be a coach. And. But that's. That's a good thing.

[Brandon]

No, for sure. And I think in our first podcast, that's what we kind of talked about. Like, my first last year when I didn't compete and we were back because we stayed off. Our department wouldn't let us for a few years. And my philosophy was, I'll let the new guys come in there. And then after seeing them, I was like, wait a minute. We got to earn this. Like, yeah. And I think that's the way it should be. I mean, that's the way it is on everything else we do. Hey, man, have you earned the spot to make entry? Have you earned the spot to do this? Have you earned the spot to get to go these schools and stuff? So I think. I think that's important.

[Dave]

Yeah, I still have the competitive g. You know, I want to come out here and compete every year yeah. And as long as I'm physically capable of doing it and. And performing up to their level. Yeah. I mean.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Then I'll. I'll keep doing it. And if.

[Brandon]

If.

[Dave]

If I get to the point where I can't, then I'll step away or hopefully some. By then somebody's, you know, come in and blow my doors off. Take it.

[Brandon]

I wish I had my body from when I was 30, but my abilities now in my brain. But that's just not how life works. Unfortunately, it doesn't do it that way. So you got to learn the hard way, I think, and learn by trial and error. So, speaking of that, Dave, what's something. Or a couple things that you've learned, earned by failure at these competitions that you. You brought back to the team or you brought back and you're like, hey, I can't do this again, or we can't do this or whatever. What's been some lessons learned.

[Dave]

You know, I've had some epic fails over the years. Just efficiency, number one, getting in your head mentally and letting that clock really gnaw at you. And you think, I'm going so slow, and you start speeding things up faster than you're capable. And, I mean, I've. I've held wrong hit zones.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

And had great results. I'm like, oh, this is great. And then I realized, oh, no, Those are high 18 out of 20 rounds, you know, And I had a. A subpar scope on my rifle, and it was a. It's great. It's great scope. Don't get me wrong. It was. Yeah, it was the user operator error when I. I dialed down a whole revolution on there, and that. That bit me out here, first year out here. And. But that's all stuff that. It's a lot of mental. So you just have to take a step back, slow your mind down a little bit and realize you're really moving fast. You're moving efficient. You just. You just can't get in your head and out shoot your. Your mind.

[Brandon]

No.

[Dave]

Yeah. I've learned to just kind of call myself getting ready for that.

[Brandon]

Do you find yourself all. Both of y'. All. Do y' all find yourselves that you have. Because there's a lot of guys on Yalls team that I'm like, man, I've never seen y' all compete. Same with us. Do you find yourself having to work on you, but also help other guys out and, like, kind of.

[Dave]

Yeah. You're trying to keep an eye on them, too.

[Sean]

I think that's the men. What I'VE taken away from all this. Like, I can remember the first time that I competed and I was like the new guy on the team. The new guy on the competition team. Like, hey, you're gonna do this one event. Yeah, whatever. Like. And the whole thing is like, don't it up.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Because they're all up, you know.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Our team usually did pretty well.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Y' all had a great tradition of having really top teams.

[Sean]

So the pressure is if you this up, they're all going to kill you. So don't this up.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And over the years, in time that I realized. So the. The mental piece, like, yeah, you. Everyone can probably make the shot if you don't stress on them go out and do this. But that's why, like we talked Yesterday. I compete USPSA 3:1 doing different things because that mental management. And then now I'm I guess to the point where, like, I know I. They're gonna. You're gonna shoot here 50 yards, whatever. I know I can make that shot.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I have the confidence. I can just dial down my brain. Okay. This is what needs to happen. This is what this high picture needs to look like. This is what the trigger press needs to look like. And it happens where. When you're young and you don't know what you're doing. Oh, yeah. Oh, my gosh. I hope it works.

[Dave]

Watching them for things like procedural stepping.

[Brandon]

Out of a box or.

[Dave]

Or holstering a weapon and starting to turn. You know, just simple stuff that'll really bite you and it could set you back pret.

[Sean]

Now, like I said, now I'm. I'm the senior guy on the team.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Like, we the new guys on the competition team. I'm like, hey, y. This is the first time you are going to run the own course. And like, he's in super good job.

[Dave]

Like, you're.

[Sean]

Yeah. We're only gonna be as fast as our slowest guy. That's ain't gonna be you. So help everybody else.

[Brandon]

Go calm.

[Sean]

Don't. Don't redline yourself. Get all excited.

[Brandon]

To me, it reminds me of like being a team leader and you getting new guys assigned to, like, my team or. And having to do all the stuff that you have to do as a team leader, all the planning, and then you're doing your own CQB and then you're having to watch them. And there's just. To me, it's just another layer. Like, that's why you have to be like, proficient in what you do. You have to put in the time on your own to do good. I mean, that's.

[Sean]

That's what gives me the driver's club. Like, well, I'm the senior galler. They're looking at me, looking at me. Yeah, I can't this up, so I gotta go practice and stay on top of my.

[Brandon]

Yeah, and for me, too.

[Sean]

It's.

[Brandon]

It's. And it's like, I have that balance. I don't know if y' all do. If y' all do. I'd love to hear that too. It's. It's balancing of letting them have ownership in the competition team as well, and letting them have ideas and letting them kind of learn from some of their mistakes, but also giving them guidance and wisdom and being, like, encouraging and. And so there's a lot that you're having to do, I think.

[Dave]

Yeah, there. There is. And. And we've always come down with the mindset of, you know, you. You made the team, but we're. We're about being brutally honest with each other down here. Your egos or your ranks on the team. Doesn't matter.

[Sean]

Right.

[Dave]

If you it up, you up, we're let you know. And. But you don't want to. You don't want to be so hard on them that it's in their head now. The next event, they just go out and fall apart.

[Brandon]

The wheels came off.

[Dave]

Right. So. But I think we've done a pretty good job with that. So most of the time they'll realize, hey, I went down there. Here's what I did. Maybe I didn't take your advice and like, okay, I see now that, hey, that would have worked.

[Sean]

Right.

[Dave]

Or what they wanted to do and then didn't change their mind at the last second and they realized, ah, I should have done that.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

And again, it's that clock working on your right mindset. And. Yeah, just. Just got to keep an eye on that.

[Brandon]

No, because. Because I. Because I'm the same way. Like, the way I got on our team, the way I was treated, all that stuff was just. It was. It was what it was back then. It just.

[Sean]

It was different.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And. And that's the way I was raised. I still think that's a great way to do things, but I also understand that just some people don't respond to that.

[Dave]

Right. No.

[Brandon]

And so, like, like you said, man, it was. There was some ugly converse. There was some, like, we're going to go to fight, kind of. So I try to balance that now with more constructive, like, okay, this is. We start to build you up and we and my deal is we come down as a team, we leave as a team.

[Sean]

Because you're not gonna blow sunshine up there.

[Brandon]

No, no, keep everybody. And we've had some hard conversations and. And that's what I am proud of our team. We're all like, now we get it. We're big boys. Just.

[Dave]

Yeah. And we. We know coming down, look, if. If you have a really bad event where you. It was within your control, but you just. You just went off the rails.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

There's a good chance that you may not shoot the next event. Right. Because we're going to give you time to cool down and we're going to substitute somebody in there and. And then we go with the hot streak. Like maybe that guy.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Dave]

You know, shoots lights out. We may stick with him the next time. We may go back the next day, start over. But, yeah, I mean, that's where we're. Where the honesty comes in. Because you may come down here as one of the main competitors. You may end up on the sideline.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And we've done like, you're the guy and you realize I'm not ready. And like, that's say, hey, someone else take a spot.

[Dave]

Because I've been there. Yeah.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Dave]

I had a, you know, just a crap event. And they're like, yeah, you're not shooting this next Monday. Yep. Thank you.

[Sean]

Right.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And. And that's good. And I think for me, just in my personal experience, that's one of the only places in police departments is the SWAT team where guys can just be, hey, man, I'm telling you this out of love for you, out of love for the team, the betterment of the team. It's all out of the. Out of the right reasons. Now sometimes I can be an ass about it, and that is. But it all. Everybody knows it's all coming from the right reasons, and we're all trying to.

[Sean]

Make each other better.

[Brandon]

And yeah, you have to be that way because other. Other parts of the police department are not like that. So you're like, what. Why did I get moved? Or why that. It's just not a good fit or whatever. You're like, well, what happened to this conversation we need to have with people? So. But I am proud of that. Casey, what's some of this. Or Sean, what's some of the things that you've learned from the hard way of competition?

[Sean]

Like yesterday, one of the ones big take was. Was it we talked about Waco down after the. The mud fiasco and shooting under the car at a target. The Tornado four feet away at the. The clay pigeons. And I missed that. And I. I could not believe that I missed it. And I had no idea why.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

So I went back and we recreated it and figured it out. And then bring that back to the team, of course. Make them have the same experience that I did.

[Brandon]

Oh, yeah.

[Dave]

And then.

[Sean]

And then show them the answer. But that's. Every, like, every time we come, there's something like, oh, yeah.

[Dave]

That way. Yeah. Inevitably, they throw something at you down here. We're like, man, I've never seen that. Yeah. And you'll bring it back to the. To the guys and go, hey, look, let's. Let's train this or practice. We may run into this at some point. It just never occurred to you. Yeah.

[Brandon]

Mine was one of the years in Waco, we had to shoot with your gun cannon sideways and understanding, hey, you have to aim high into your magazine side. Depending on distance, there's a lot of different things, but you just can't put it right in the middle. It's not going to go where you want it to go. That was a big lesson learned. And then one of mine was, we just got suppressors and. And I stuck it through a fence and stuck that damn suppressor on the fence. And where do you think all my shots went? Really high. And I'm like, the dot is on here. What is going on? This is 50 yards away. This is a easy shot.

[Sean]

It's not moving.

[Brandon]

It's stable.

[Sean]

This is going to be awesome.

[Brandon]

Oh, man, it killed me.

[Dave]

Still see at least one team every year do that.

[Brandon]

And, yeah.

[Dave]

And they're shaking their heads like, man.

[Brandon]

I don't know what happened.

[Dave]

And I think the good thing about here, everybody's. Everybody's competitive, but they're also. They're pretty open.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

They'll help you out. Yeah.

[Dave]

So I'll try to tell them, like, hey, guys, next time, don't touch the barrel. And you're gonna shift your impact. They're like, oh, my God, I never.

[Brandon]

Even thought about that. Yeah. Or.

[Dave]

Yeah, I knew that.

[Sean]

And I'm just.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Just.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Yep.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

It's funny. It's good.

[Dave]

So it's easier to do it that way, right?

[Brandon]

Yeah, you definitely learn. And that's the thing, man, you. You learn more from your mistakes than any of your successes, and that sucks. That is the way it is, but that's just the way it is.

[Dave]

So.

[Brandon]

And. And I think that's. I think that's what makes us good, and that's what. That I'm Proud of, be a part of this association and just in the community. Because when you. When the guys come down here, man, they're wanting to be here. Like, no one's forcing you to come down here.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Brandon]

Because it's not going to be. And there's. There's all types of shapes and sizes of guys, man. There's no, like, hey, you got to be 6 foot, you know, 195 pounds and chiseled out. I mean, there's every shape and size. I'm like, damn good. You. And there's some people that will shock the. Out of you how fast they are. I'm like, you can run, dude. So that's really cool too, to see. And there's other guys. You're like, you got a lot of muscles, but those muscles aren't doing you right now.

[Sean]

They need a lot of oxygen.

[Brandon]

So there's. There's that too.

[Dave]

Something like, hey, he's real fast. He's a big dude, but he's afraid of heights.

[Brandon]

Yo, man. Yeah, yeah, that's. There's. I mean, I don't love heights, but I've gotten to. I'll just. I'll just suck it up and do it. But it was funny doing those train ups today. Watching the Mars and guys getting up there. I mean, just.

[Dave]

Surprisingly quick. Yes. In short. Yeah, but man, you stick him up on a Mars and he come down that rope and death grip, take him like an hour to get to the bottom.

[Brandon]

And you could fall really fast, too. You won't even know fast you're falling. But yeah, you're right. I mean, there. It's. It's everything, man. There's so many things, components down here. Luck has some things to do with it. I mean, injury. I mean, there's all kinds of things. I mean, there was some top teams today that do really well, had some mistakes. You're like, whoa, didn't see that coming. I mean, didn't see that coming at all. You know, you just never know. I mean, the consistent. To be consistent is. Is really. I mean. And Yalls, two teams have been consistent for many, many years. So kudos to y'.

[Dave]

All.

[Brandon]

Y'. All. Y' all have some of the top teams, so I think in the last. I think. I think they had it on the website the last five years. I mean, I think y' all been in the top five or six or you're always up there somehow. So that was always good. So good. Good for. For y', all for passing on that tradition and making it part of Yalls Team and things like that. So try. Yeah. So y' all got anything else, man? All right, cool. You're like, just welcome to your second. It's your second podcast, but actual first official.

[Sean]

And I can say everyone, too. Yeah.

[Dave]

No one will ever hear the first one. The first one was way better.

[Brandon]

So I'll. I will try to hook y' all up tomorrow, so with something from the TTPA store, since I screwed you over the first time. So get with me, and I'll. I'll go get with a guy and beg him, say, hey, man, can you please give them something? Y' all probably have everything, but I.

[Dave]

Didn'T see any rifles or pistols in this store.

[Brandon]

Yeah. Every year we've done a podcast with Sons of Liberty. I'm like, like, hey, is there a podcast rifle? And they look at me like, I'm got dicks in my face. Turned out this year, man, that was. Those dudes.

[Dave]

That was. That was super cool.

[Brandon]

I was like, I would have come down here and volunteered to get a free raffle.

[Sean]

We host.

[Brandon]

Yeah, we're hosting now. Yeah, that was pretty impressive. Yeah, that. That. I remember the first year that. That they came down, it was in Waco, and I think San Antonio, of course, won it, and one of their extra guys was there, and he's like, he didn't get a rifle. Hey, man, give him a rifle. That right there. I thought, okay, that's somebody I need to listen to and, like, follow, because that's a lot that the man had to do. Like, that was. That was pretty cool of him.

[Dave]

So was that the year that. Because they usually way more than the six. They have a coach and a. They gave the whole crew. Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah, that was. It was in Waco.

[Brandon]

Yeah, it was a Waco. Yeah. So, yeah, I was talking to one of the Waco guys today, and he was. We were living some of the Waco stuff of the mud and the hurricane or the tornado stuff. I remember they told us to go one way, and they're like, wait a minute, that's where the tornado's coming from. Turn around, go this way.

[Sean]

You're like, we had a guy on our team, and we all went the correct way. Yeah. Like, hey, go this way. Not him, not him. He went straight in. He's like, I saw it.

[Brandon]

And there's nowhere out there to go. There's nothing.

[Sean]

You could see it from miles away. Yeah, he's. Yeah, he went the wrong way.

[Brandon]

That's. That's. That's funny. So, well, good luck to you and your team, man. I hope everything goes well as far as injury wise and. And. And I hope to hear or not here, but I hope to see y' all back next year and maybe we can do this again and we'll be a year older and wiser, right? Yeah.

[Dave]

Or see if we can set the record for the oldest guys ever to.

[Brandon]

Yeah, maybe one day we will get. So I'll be like the gray beard team. We'll just all combine together and. And, you know, just make one team like those guys did several years ago. They did what, two. Two years or something?

[Dave]

A couple years, I think it was here, right?

[Brandon]

Yeah, yeah. Gray beard team. So I think they were from all over, their old dudes that competed and stuff like that. So maybe we'll do that one day. So. Yeah, y' all run the O course, though. All right, boys. Y' all train hard, man, and we'll see you on the next one.

[Dave]

Thanks, Brian.

[Sean]

Thanks.