At the end of a two hour practice, senior Yvonne Thoits continue to push herself. She is one of 30 girls propelling herself with graceful arms gliding through the humid air on their way up and then the tormented, chlorine waters on their way down. She’s tired; but the echoing voices of her coaches and the thoughts of the approaching districts cause her to persevere and, therefore, prepare.

“We’re in a new conference this year, that’s different than the past three years that I’ve been on the team,” Thoits, who is one of three captains, said. “We’re now competing against EGR, Holland, Grand Rapids Union, Grand Rapids Christian, Northview and Muskegon. To prepare for conference we’re putting in more [swimming] yardage than we ever have and we’ve been working really hard.”

On November 5, the swim team will finally have a chance to display its hard work at conference, a competition between all the schools within the league. The team has had four wins and two losses at swim meets so far this year, and for freshman Anna Wilner, this will be her first conference on this successful team.

“I’ve been swimming for 7 years but this is a lot harder than anything else that I’ve done,” Wilner, who swims the 100 breaststroke and anything freestyle, said. “It’s definitely lived up to my expectations.”

Luckily for Wilner and other new team members, the team will also have a “home-field” advantage as a result of this year’s conference being held at the Aquatic Center. Other team members have dealt with the stress of a different pool at conference, but this year that will be one more worry to take off their minds.

“I love having [conference] at the Aquatic Center because it’s a pool I’m really comfortable with,” Thoits said. “We had it here my freshman year. I know where to make my turns and I just have a good feeling with it.”

Tim Jasperse, who has been coach of the team since 1982, isn’t going to rely too much on this advantage though. He is still pushing his team to the best of their abilities and will continue to do so until the last practice before conference.

“Our expectations for conference are to get the best times and do well against EGR and Holland,” Jasperse said. “We swim hard every day, we’re really working on our kicking, then, when we get closer, we’ll rest and taper and, after that, hopefully, we’ll get some great times.”

Another technique that the team is using to prepare for conference is not shaving their legs for the entire three-month season. This requires dedication and also leads to team unity. It can be seen from a physical perspective as a technique for water resistance in the water, but many team members see it in a different light.

“I’m very excited to shave my legs,” Thoits said enthusiastically. “We don’t shave them because it’s a mental thing. We’ve been waiting all season and have been working hard and for the final shave-down [before conference] we want to go fast.”

Although, being a member of the girl’s swim team takes a lot of determination and dedication, by the sounds of giggles in the locker room that are audible from the hallway of the Aquatic Center, there is a lot of fun tied in as well.

“It’s really hard work,” Wilner said. “But there’s a lot of team bonding, so it’s a lot of fun.”