Michelle Fadley (Irvine, Calif./Northwood HS) is in her third season competing with the Pepperdine women’s swimming program. Michelle balances her roles as a wife, mother and student-athlete.  After 1 1/2 seasons away from the team, she has accomplished many best times this season.  As she prepares for her final meet of the season, she talked with pepperdinesports.com about her swimming career, her daughter and her experience at the L.A. County Lifeguard tryouts.

 

Q: What are your favorite events and why?

 

A: “200 IM and 400 IM, because you change strokes so more technique and strategy are involved.  You have to know the strengths and weaknesses of each stroke.”

 

Q: Do you have any pre-meet rituals?

 

A: “I try to go to bed early, but I usually can’t sleep because I am excited and nervous. Before my race I crack my knuckles.”

 

Q: You have had a number of personal best times this year. What do you attribute your success to?

 

A: “I have changed my strength training and I have a new outlook on swimming. It was a change in body and mind which translates to better performance.”

 

Q: This year you started swimming longer races. Why is that?

 

A: “I have been swimming more distance freestyle events. I would attribute this to a change in strength training, which allowed me to do longer races.”

 

Q: What do you like to do when you are not swimming?

 

A: “I like to run on the boardwalk in Santa Monica. I also like to watch TV and old seasons of shows on DVD.”

 

Q: Who is your favorite professional swimmer?

 

A: “Michael Phelps, because he has put in a lot of effort and yardage in the pool to get where he is.”

 

Q: You took 1 ½ years off of school and swimming. What motivated you to come back?

 

A: “I was motivated to get back in shape and reconnect with my teammates. I also felt that I could improve. I have always wanted to swim four years in college, so I wanted to finish my swimming career.”

 

Q: You are a wife, a mother and a student-athlete. How do you manage your busy schedule?

 

A: “I have to have a set schedule. Time management is important. There is no real time to procrastinate and waste time. Twenty minutes is a lot longer than it seems.”

 

Q: How many years have you been swimming competitively?

 

A: “I’ve been swimming 17 years. I started when I was 5 years old.”

 

Q: Do you plan to continue swimming after college?

 

A: “Yes, I will be involved in a Masters Program as much as I can. I really want to coach swimming when I am done.”

 

Q: You have a 2-year-old daughter, Keira. Does she enjoy swimming?

 

A: “She does, she can jump in the pool and kick. She got in the pool at 11 weeks old. She enjoys pool and bath time. The hardest part is getting her out of the water.”

 

Q: What is your favorite Pepperdine swimming memory?

 

A: “Seeing everyone at practice and going through a hard set together knowing that the whole team is right there with you.”

 

Q: What are you looking forward to the most about the final meet of the season?

 

A: “I am looking forward to seeing everyone compete and seeing all of the hard work pay off.”

 

Q: Your major is organizational communications. What are you interested in doing after you graduate?

 

A: “I want to help my dad grow his consulting company by applying my major.”

 

Q: What are your plans for the offseason?

 

A: “I will cross train a lot by running, surfing, wakeboarding and playing tennis.”

 

Q: This past fall you tried out for the L.A. County Lifeguards and were asked to go to rookie school this summer. Can you explain that experience?

 

A: “There were 210 people and we swam 1,000 meters in the ocean. Only 100 people made it to the interview process. The experience was intimidating because there were a lot of surfers and Junior Lifeguards who tried out, but my swimming skills paid off. I was the 15th-fastest person and the third-fastest girl.”