UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK : Judd in Swim of Things After Adjusting Attitude

From Apathy to Ironman . . . The Brian Judd Story.

That title is not available at video rental stores, but maybe it should be. Brian Judd, UC Irvine swimmer and avid video cameraman, is full of surprises.

Judd, a senior, came to Irvine after earning All-American honors at Fountain Valley High School. By his sophomore year, however, Judd was ready to quit.

In high school, Judd trained primarily as a long-distance swimmer, putting in many hours and thousands of yards of distance training. When he came to Irvine, though, he found himself in a program based on shorter, quality workouts.

This did not suit him.

“I had a terrible freshman year,” Judd said. “I had a bad attitude. I was whining all the time and it’s impossible to get better when you have a bad attitude. I swam slower at (the Big West) conference finals than I did as a senior in high school.”

Even though Judd realized he was slipping out of his championship form--namely on the mental side--he stopped swimming after the season ended, taking five months off. He joined a fraternity, moved in with a few of his “brothers” and allowed swimming to sink on his priority list.

“I was having fun and making lots of new friends, but when the season started, I was so out of shape, it was a joke,” Judd said. “We swam at the USC Invitational, and I had horrendous times. I didn’t want to swim. I didn’t want to be there. I just said to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ ”

That question, along with his poor performances, was enough to make Judd realize that he had to commit to swimming one way or another. After several days of self-evaluation, he decided to make swimming his top priority.

By the end of the year, his performances had improved significantly and he qualified for the U.S. senior nationals.

Today, Judd is a role model for his teammates. Last season, the Anteaters gave him the “Ironman award,” honoring the swimmer with the best work ethic.

“It was a pretty drastic (turnaround),” Anteater Coach Charlie Schober said. “Brian just decided he was going to do it and he did.”

Still, Judd said, it’s not easy to remain motivated.

“I’ll complain more than anyone before I get into the pool,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll start out saying, ‘I’m not gonna work that hard, I’m not gonna work that hard,’ then all of a sudden it’s ‘Gosh dang it! I’m gonna work hard.’ As soon as I dive in, it’s ‘OK, let’s go as hard as you can.’ ”

“Everyone really respects him,” said senior swimmer Tim Hinchey, one of Judd’s roommate. “When he swims he doesn’t just do it, he does the best he can every time.”

The hard work is paying off--Judd has set school records in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15 minutes 45 seconds, this year) and the 500 free (4:27.94, last year). However, Judd said he’ll consider his swimming career complete if he meets his top goal: qualifying for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships March 22-24 at Indianapolis.

Judd considers his best event the 500 free, and his best time is nearly five seconds short of the NCAA qualifying mark of 4:23.04. However, Schober said Judd’s chances are realistic.

“He brought his time down from 4:31 to 4:27 last year, so making (4:23.04) would be about the same measure of improvement,” Schober said.

If he does qualify, he would be only the second UCI swimmer to do so since the Anteater program gained Division I status in 1977. Brian Pajer, one of Judd’s roommates, was an NCAA All-American last year and already has qualified for this year’s NCAA championships in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke.

While Judd has recommitted himself to swimming, he hasn’t stopped having fun out of the pool. He and Hinchey spend their extra time cruising their Irvine neighborhood making videotapes of anything that comes to mind.

“It’s weird, stupid stuff usually,” Judd said. “But our idol is Chuck Henry (host of Channel 7’s “Eye on L.A.”). We want to be Chuck Henry.”

What Judd would most like to capture on film though is a race he has yet to swim.

“Never in my swim career have I had a race where you finish and, like you see in the Olympics, a guy finishes and just goes crazy because he’s so happy he did so well,” Judd said. “Just once, I want to have a race where I can feel that way.”

Anteater Notes

The UCI men’s tennis team is rated ninth in the Volvo collegiate rankings for the period of Jan. 9-March 6. . . . The middle distance track clinic, which will be hosted by UC Irvine Saturday, will feature several nationally known coaches, including Lance Harter of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Skip Stolley of the Southern California TAC. A $5 fee (doesn’t include parking) is good for the entire day. “It’s basically a freebie for coaches in the area,” UCI Coach Vince O’Boyle said.