She’s Trying Harder and Swimming Better

Mornings are tough for Michelle Ham.

That alarm clock goes off at 4:30 a.m. and hitting the snooze button is out of the question. It would only delay the inevitable.

Ham has to be in the pool by five to get a full two-hour workout. By 8, she has to be at Fountain Valley High School for her first class.

Of course that’s only three days a week. On Tuesday and Friday, Ham treats herself to an extra half-hour of sleep before going to the weight room to lift.

The cycle is repeated week after week after week. Get the picture?

Such is the life of a serious swimmer and Ham has become serious about her sport.

In the last two years, she has gone from a face in the swimming crowd to an up-and-coming talent. She has overcome injuries and apathy to get to a point where she is nearly on the same level with many of the country’s best.

“My attitude has changed a lot in the last two years,” said Ham, a senior at Fountain Valley. “There was a time when I was sick of swimming. It was either quit or dedicate myself to improving. If I would have quit, then all these years would have been wasted.”

Nothing has gone to waste.

As a member of the Fountain Valley team, Ham has dominated the 100-yard breaststroke, winning the event at the Southern Section 4-A meet in 1989 and 1990. She also won the 200 individual medley last year.

As a member of the Golden West Swim Club, Ham broke into the elite national level last spring by qualifying in eight events for the U.S. Swimming long-course senior nationals. Although she competed in the breaststroke and IM, her strongest events are the distance freestyle events.

“Michelle has made a tremendous leap in ability,” Fountain Valley Coach Debbie Kelly said. “She was always a good swimmer, but there were others her age who were better. She’s surpassed them all in the last two years.”

Ham has been swimming competitively since she was 5, but never really gave it her all. She stayed away from morning workouts, swimming only in the afternoons, and got by on raw talent.

Still, on ability alone, she was good. Ham was always among the better swimmers in her age group, just not among the best.

“The first time I saw Michelle swim, I was struck by how pretty her strokes were,” Golden West Swim Club Coach John Woodling said. “I thought that somebody should film her to teach young kids the proper way to swim.

“But, as nice as her technique was, she just wasn’t motivated.”

Even Ham’s mother, Sue Ham, said that Michelle seemed quite content to be just an average swimmer.

But Ham finally realized she wanted more.

By the time she was a sophomore, Ham was mentally and physically worn out. She had chronic problems with her shoulders and knees, caused by years of swimming.

“That brought on mental fatigue,” Ham said. “I guess every swimmer goes through it. I just didn’t know if I wanted to do this anymore.”

After thinking it over, Ham decided to keep swimming and began to double her efforts. She began attending more morning workouts and started lifting weights.

“It’s hard to put into words, but I couldn’t walk away, not after nine years,” Ham said. “And, if I was going to continue, I needed to work harder at it.”

Ham began to apply herself more about the same time Woodling took over the Golden West team. She said he has had a lot to do with her development.

Woodling, who has coached swimming for more than 20 years, helped refine Ham’s stroke. However, his most important role was that of motivator.

“Before he came, I would go to maybe one morning workout a month,” Ham said. “But he makes you want to improve yourself. He makes you want to train. Not for him, but for yourself.”

The morning weightlifting sessions have helped strengthen Ham’s shoulders and knees. Although she still has some discomfort when she swims, the pain is not nearly as intense as it was two years ago.

The extra work has paid of in the pool as well. In the 4-A meet, Ham went from a distant fourth in the 200 IM as a sophomore to first as a junior.

Her times last year in the 100 breaststroke (1 minute 4.26 seconds) and 200 IM (2:04.24) were personal bests.

Ham improved on the national level just as quickly and, last year, she qualified for the senior nationals for the first time.

Besides making the standard times in all her breaststroke and IM events, she also qualified in several distance freestyles.

“Michelle had never worked out as a distance swimmer before, but she got in the pool and made the times,” Woodling said. “That was amazing.”

Ham did well at the short-course championships last spring, finishing 10th in the 100-meter breaststroke and 10th in the 1,650 freestyle. However, her performance at the long-course championships during the summer were disappointing.

“There are many levels in swimming and I had just moved up one,” Ham said. “I went from being one of the oldest swimmers in the junior nationals to one of the youngest in the senior nationals. All the great swimmers were there, which was a little intimidating. I lacked confidence.”

Ham has that now. She is eagerly awaiting another crack at the senior nationals.

This time, though, it might be for more than moving up one level. Three international teams will be selected from this year’s event, including the team for the Pan-Am Games.

“I think that Michelle will become a national finalist, one of the top eight in a couple events, this year,” Woodling said. “From there, the next step is international competition. I think she will get there soon.”

Of course, Ham’s No. 1 goal is the same as any young swimmer. “Of course, the ultimate would be the Olympics,” she said. “But that’s going to take a lot of hard work.”

Starting tomorrow at 4:30 a.m.