Feb. 17, 2009

BERKELEY - Last season, Kyle Brady was honored as a senior in the last meet of the year, but he has returned in 2009 for his fourth year of collegiate eligibility, but with a slight twist. Brady is a first-year law student at Cal's Boalt Hall. Brady, who hails from Salinas, Calif., has been an integral part of team, excelling on rings and parallel bars. At last the 2008 NCAA individual championships, he advanced to Saturday evening's individual championships on parallel bars and just missed earning All-America honors with a ninth-place finish of 13.475. CalBears.com chatted with Brady about his interest in law and his experience this year of combining law school and premier collegiate gymnastics.

CalBears.com: When and why did you decide you wanted to go to law school?
Kyle Brady: "I've toyed around with the idea of law school since I was a little kid. I was a brat as a young child, and used to argue with my parents daily. Also, I used to (try to) argue my way out of everything, from going to school to eating my vegetables. Adults would always tell me that I should be a lawyer because I was good at stretching the truth. I must have thought that they were praising me for a "positive" quality, so I went along with them and told everyone that I was going to be a lawyer one day. I guess it stuck."

CalBears.com: Is it any different/more difficult to balance law school and gymnastics than it was to balance your undergrad work with gymnastics?
KB: "Yes. I am studying about three times more than I ever have before. Also, Boalt selects my schedule for me, just like freshman year of high school. It was hard to get used to that, since I have been able to schedule classes around practice for the last four years as an undergrad."

CalBears.com: What are your thoughts about law school thus far into your first year?
KB: "I absolutely love it. The work is really hard, but I'm learning a lot."

CalBears.com: What is on your iPod right now?
KB: "System of a Down is my all-time favorite band. But they went on a hiatus a few years ago. The lead singer and backup guitar, Serj Tankian started a band under his own name, and the band is really awesome. Serj has an incredible vocal range. Also, I think his music encompasses its own genre, and his melodies are innovative. When I play it in the gym, my coach calls it "Theatrical Rock.'"

CalBears.com: If you could snap your fingers and appear somewhere else, where would it be?
KB: "On the first-place spot of the awards podium at NCAA championships with the rest of my team."

CalBears.com: Did you apply anywhere else for law school? What is it about Boalt that drew you?
KB: "Apart from the fact that Boalt is one of the top law schools in the country, I had incentive to apply there because it gave me another year of competitive gymnastics. Also, my favorite part of college gymnastics is the team environment. Gymnastics is normally an individual sport, but here, everyone is competing towards the greater good of contributing to the team. In the same way, most law schools are really individual-focused and highly competitive in a negative way. Boalt, on the other hand, is a relatively relaxed environment and there aren't "real" grades, so everyone is willing to work together and help each other. It's more similar to the team atmosphere that I love than any other law school."

CalBears.com: "What superpower would you most like to have?"
KB: "I would like Batman superpowers, but with a slight twist. He is an ordinary human, but convinced the entire city of Gotham that he was a superhero. In the same way, I would like to be an ordinary lawyer, but convince the all of Congress that Title IX needs to be amended."

CalBears.com: What has been your favorite trip/meet with the men's gymnastics team?
KB: "NCAAs, hands down. The energy level is really exciting. I can't wait until this year's freshmen get to experience it, too."

CalBears.com: In the last men's gymnastics Q&A, Justin Franklin wanted the next men's gymnastics student-athlete to answer, what is your most memorable moment in the gym?
KB: "Last year, when we were training for NCAA's, we made this little game with the whole team where we had to get 10 hit routines in a row. A "hit" is when you perform your set without any errors. We figured that if we could get 10 hits in a row, three times in a row at NCAAs, then we had a good chance of winning. We worked at our goal for over a month or two without success. Finally, the week before NCAA's last year, we got the 10 hits in a row. It was awesome. The energy of the team was really high that day, since we proved that we had the potential to perform really well at NCAAs the following week."

CalBears.com: What question would you ask the next men's gymnastics teammate who is interviewed?
KB: "What motivates you?"

For a complete listing of past Q&As with the California men's gymnastics team, click here or look on the sidebar on the main men's gymnastics page.