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Feb. 8, 2013

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Senior swimmer Brady Fox (Olney, Md.) recently sat down with VirginiaSports.com to talk about the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, plans after the season is completed and more.

What is the team’s mindset approaching the ACC Championships?

Fox: I think that everyone is just really excited for championship season to finally come around. We’re starting to get into the taper mode, which will bring fast swimming. With fast swimming comes high energy and a lot of excitement. Overall, there is a lot of excitement on deck and there’s a positive attitude all around.

Is there any extra motivation because it is your senior year and you have had to go through injuries throughout your career?

Fox: We’ve won three ACC championships, and I’m not trying to go out without winning four. I feel like there is more pressure this time around than in previous years, but it’s still a lot of fun. I try not to think too much about my back problems. I find that the more I stress about it, the worse it is. Especially around championship time I try to think about swimming instead of the injury, and usually that works out just fine.

What do say to the younger guys on the team when preparing for the championships?

Fox: I definitely get them excited for ACCs and fill them in about different parts of the meet so nothing comes as a surprise. I try to fill them in on what to expect, so they’re not deer in the headlights once they walk into the pool. As far as tapering, I usually don’t try to tell them much. Everyone has their own routine and way of doing things, especially around taper time. The mental component of swimming is pretty big, and you wouldn’t want to mess with anyone on your team. So usually I just let them do their thing and it turns out all right.

What is your favorite part of UVa outside of swimming?

Fox: I would have to say it’s hanging out with the team. We do a lot together; whether it’s just playing games, going to a movie or going to dinner. We have a lot of fun watching football together, that’s probably my favorite thing. Whatever the team is doing, that’s always good for me.

What has been your favorite class at Virginia?

Fox: Creativity in product development, it’s a two-semester class in the engineering school. One day I would like to enter into entrepreneurship, and this class was really good for that. It uses your brain differently than a normal class. You get to be more creative and don’t just have to stick your face in a textbook. We built our own product and worked on getting a patent, which was really cool to learn about. We built a beach table that was lightweight and folded up really small. It was designed to be thrown in a backpack and to be not hindering, then fold out really quickly. It was sort of like a beach table meets a tent.

What are your plans after the season?

Fox: I was accepted this past weekend to Wake Forest for a master’s in management program there. I’m still waiting to hear back from Virginia’s commerce program, but if I’m accepted, I will have the opportunity to swim again because I have a year of eligibility left.

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