Tobias Brooks (center, in navy shirt) coaches his teammates during ultimate frisbee practice at CU Boulder’s Lower Fields on Sept. 15, 2026. (Photo by Emily Couto)
CU ultimate frisbee captain's quest for greatness on hold
By Emily Couto, contributing writer
Tobias Brooks crouches low on the grass field; his eyes locked on the energetic game of ultimate frisbee taking place 20 yards in front of him. A white disc floats through the crisp autumn air, caught by a swift hand in a matter of seconds before it is hurled back into the night sky. Brooks’ eyes dart around the play, analyzing each move.
“That’s it, Curt!,” Brooks shouts to his teammate on CU Boulder’s men’s ultimate team.
He barely pauses before shouting at another teammate.
“Let’s go, Muse!”
His teammates race across the fresh grass, calling for the disc. Brooks follows the action closely reading the players and anticipating their next moves. He knows who is open. He knows when to make the run. He knows where the disc should go.
Brooks can only watch. Crouched, wearing a navy-blue sweater, jeans and flip-flops, he follows as his teammates race across the field, cutting sharply from one direction to the next. A reminder of what his injured body currently cannot do. As he waits for an MRI, his pursuit of becoming the best ultimate player in the world is put on hold.
“The mission is the same. The focus is just slightly shifted,” Brooks said.
At 21, Brooks, a senior at CU Boulder studying psychology, has built his life around ultimate frisbee. He has played for the U.S. Ultimate U-20 team, captains the CU Boulders men’s team and joined the Carolina Flyers, a professional Ultimate Frisbee Association team, at 17. Now he hopes to reach the U.S. World Games team.
But a chronic injury has kept Brooks from playing for at least one to two months, leaving him unsure of when he will play again. What does it take for an athlete chasing the top of his sport to accept being sidelined?
Brooks’ competitiveness does not stay on the ultimate field; it is a part of who he is.
Curtis Spak, a teammate and friend, learned just how competitive Brooks was during his freshman year at Boulder. Spak remembers playing a friendly game of Connect Four with Brooks in Farrand Hall. When Spak dropped the final red chip into place, connecting four and winning the game, Brooks asked for a rematch.
“Again,” Brooks said.
The tiles are cleared from the plastic frame. Another game of Connect Four is played, another win for Spak.
“Again,” said Brooks.
Another game, another loss, another win. Again. Resulting in a four-hour-long battle of Connect Four, with Spak and Brooks trading off wins.
Brooks’ father, Tim, a longtime ultimate player, saw his children’s involvement in the sport as almost inevitable. What he did not expect was the confidence and drive Tobias Brooks developed around it.
“I think it’s genetic. I just think he was lucky to be born with this confidence that if he puts his mind to it, he can accomplish something.” Tim Brooks said.
While Brooks describes his injury as chronic and suspects athletic pubalgia, commonly known as a sports hernia, an MRI will determine exactly what is causing his injury. Melissa Stokes, head athletic trainer of Club and Rec at the CU Rec Center, explained that sports hernias are chronic groin injuries that can cause significant pain and make sprinting or changing direction difficult.
“I would never say that a sports hernia is necessarily career-ending,” Stokes said.
With the offseason on Brooks’ side, he has turned to coaching. Whether he is leading drills for his CU teammates or coaching the Fairview High School ultimate team, he has found another way to compete.
For Tim Brooks, seeing his son coach has become a source of pride.
“I’m proud of that as I am of anything he’s ever accomplished on the field,” he said.
The disc rises in the autumn air again. Brooks’ eyes follow it across the field, tracking its path as he waits for the chance to chase it himself.
