Making A Splash

Lucy Poppleton content editor

From age six to senior year and beyond, swimming has been the rock in Avery Bills’ life. “When things aren’t going as I planned in school or in relationships, I always have swimming to rely on as some sense of validation,” states Bills. “I can get through a hard practice and still be okay with everything.” She has been part of the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA Breakers, a club swim team based in Traverse City, for several years and thus has grown up with the sport. “[I feel] I have matured into a person that is more happy for success besides my own,” recollects Bills.

Her last season—her senior season—was extra special because of her success and the success of a relay on her swim team, as they made it to the state championship this year. Other contributing factors were the arrival of talented freshman swimmers and a new coach. “As a team as a whole, we really flourished with the help of those people,” remembers Bills. “I think it was special because we had a new coach this year, and she was also a coach of our club team, so we [already] had this bond and connection,” explains Bills. Her favorite memory from this year was when she and her teammates went down to states together. “As we went through the season and made our way to states, we were really close, and we got to travel down in a van together and stay in the same hotel rooms, and I think it just stood out because of how fun it was,” she recalls.

When looking to continue swimming in college, Bills considered everything from places in

Michigan to bigger schools across the country. Ultimately, Bills decided to swim at Hope College because of its environment. “I think Hope is special because of its class size and how supportive everyone is. I think everyone genuinely cares about you and your success, which is why it stood out to me,” says Bills excitedly. Looking forward to the future, Bills plans to major in either elementary education or something else entirely in a field of science, while also planning to take advantage of the opportunity to form new friendships. “I’m looking forward to meeting new people,” exclaims Bills. “I’m really excited to be on the [swim] team and make new friends.”

However, moving on to college also means leaving Traverse City behind. “I think I’ll miss the people. I think it’s really super hard to transition from being with my best friends every day and being with the amazing staff we have here, and it’ll be really different but different in a good way,” reflects Bills. She also notes that she will miss her coaches and the impact they have had on her while looking forward to participating with the swim team at Hope. For those whose senior years are quickly approaching, Bills advises people to enjoy their time while they are here because it goes by so quickly. “I don’t think people take it seriously enough to…take advantage of the time you have right now and never say ‘I wish this day’s going to be over,’ because pretty soon, everything’s going to be over,” reminisces Bills. “It’s crazy how fast time goes.” //