Andrea Willer

Andrea Willer, 51, came on as the manager of the Monterey Sports Center on June 20, but, like most things in life, it didn’t happen by design. Willer grew up in Huntington Beach, and earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Her ambition at the time was to become a P.E. teacher, and after graduating, she earned her master’s degree in the same subject. But when she finally started teaching and coaching, she discovered teaching wasn’t her passion – although she did like coaching – so she applied for a collegiate assistant fitness director position, and her career unfolded from there. “I just loved it,” she says. “I just fell into collegiate recreation and found that it was really my niche.”

She went on to earn a doctorate in organizational leadership, and then landed a job at CSU Fullerton, where she helped design a 95,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2008. More recently, she spent almost six years as a P.E. and recreation director at UC Santa Cruz, a move she says she made because she wanted to escape her 90-minute commutes in Southern California, and find a community where she could live, work and recreate. “When I first moved to Santa Cruz someone said, ‘Just so you know, we have a real traffic problem.’ I just smiled and said, ‘OK, I’ll take that into consideration.’”

Now living in Monterey, she has nothing but good things to say about how nice everyone is, and the dedication of her staff.

“I honestly have not seen a staff as dedicated and loyal to their membership base, and to the facility in general,” she says. “It’s really a unique and special environment here, and I feel grateful to be a part of it.”

Weekly: Do you think physical education is being adequately prioritized in our schools?

Willer: Physical education is critical, especially now when we have such high rates of obesity and diabetes. My understanding of the current California requirement is at least two years in high school, but that can be waived with extracurricular activities such as athletics or band or cheerleading. I think it’s a real missed opportunity not only to educate our young people on health and wellness, but also to give them the skills for lifelong fitness activities. Things like tennis, golf or pickleball, that they can continue to play their entire life.

How were you physically active growing up?

I played a lot of organized sports, but I also just loved being at the beach. I remember riding my bike with my boogie board under one hand and my towel under the other, and riding to the beach and spending the day there. I was also fortunate to have grandparents who taught me how to downhill ski, and we would vacation in Mammoth. In the winter we would ski, and in the summer we would hike or horseback ride. So I had a combination of organized sports and the freedom to go out and play and be outside and be with friends, which probably is why still today, I like to be outside and ride my bike, explore the ocean and explore the mountains.

Over the years, have you noticed a change in way young people view physical activity?

The change I’ve seen over the last 20 years or so, is more of a trend for fitness as opposed to organized competitive activities. And that’s in general. Obviously, there are a lot of people who want to take the route of competitive athletics. But I think I’ve seen more and more non-traditional sports, high school kids being more into mountain bike riding and skateboarding and snowboarding for fitness and leisure, as opposed to competitive organized sports. Which is great – I think that’s a healthy trend – but then we have the population that is still very sedentary, and maybe not eating as healthy as they could.

It seems there are constantly new exercise trends. What do make of that?

My opinion is a lot of these trends are based on profit, so you see trends changing. I think a lot of time they’re promoted so a company can make a profit for whatever it is they’re trying to sell you, and they are not always based on science or fact, so I would caution people to do their research.

What do you do for exercise?

My favorite way is to get outside. I love to hike and bike, I really enjoy kayaking, but it’s hard for me to do that on a regular basis. Typically I’m on a treadmill which I enjoy, and get a good workout in, but if I had my way I’d be outside.

You mentioned you like to go boogie boarding with your son. Are you afraid of sharks?

What sharks?