St. Joseph High School senior swimmer Jessi Van der Laan probably wouldn’t be where she is now—competing for a spot in the state swim meet and receiving attention from multiple college coaches—if it weren’t for one fateful day during her childhood while living in Canada.
“My dad is in the military so we moved to British Columbia in Canada,” Van der Laan told the Sun. “One of our neighbors my age asked if I wanted to try swimming.”
Van der Laan hasn’t left the pool since. When she moved to Santa Maria before her freshman year at St. Joe’s, Van der Laan knew that she would go out for the swim team.
“Since I’d been swimming for so long, it was a sure way to make new friends and fit in,” Van der Laan said.
In each of her seasons swimming at St. Joe’s, Van der Laan has qualified for the end-of-season CIF meet. She’s moved up the ranks each year, reaching the finals in her sophomore and junior seasons. Van der Laan is hopeful she’ll qualify for the state meet in her senior campaign.
“I really want to go to state,” she said. “It’s a goal of mine.”
Van der Laan specializes in the 200- and 500-meter freestyle events. Why that stroke, you ask?
“In the words of my club coach, it hurts him more to watch me do other strokes than it hurts me to swim them,” she said with a laugh. “Freestyle is the easiest stroke for me to do. I just do better swimming freestyle.”
Juggling swimming for the St. Joe’s team and the Santa Maria Swim Club isn’t easy for Van der Laan.
“It is exhausting,” she said. “On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, I have morning practice with the Santa Maria Swim Club, then I go home after school for 35 to 40 minutes, go back to the pool for club practice for three hours, and then to St. Joe’s at night for practice.”
Her love for the St. Joe’s team makes the balancing act well worth it.
“It’s really easy to bond with everyone on the team and get really close,” she said. “We’re like a little family.”
St. Joe’s swimming coach Bianca McNeil has appreciated Van der Laan’s commitment and leadership for the Knights this season.
“She’s been awesome. She’s definitely our hardworking athlete,” McNeil said. “She has the most experience on the team, and she’s helping everybody out. She’s been great moral support for all the other swimmers. She’s a wonderful athlete on the deck and off the deck.”
This article appears in Apr 7-14, 2016.