Gianni DiCrosta
Stacy Thornton sits in a chair at the edge of Lane 3 at the Steven E. Schofield Aquatic Center.
She shouts out commands to the swimmers in the pool. It’s 5:30 p.m. on April 22, and you can tell she is quite accustomed to the cold temperatures that come with her job.
Thornton gives constructive criticism to her competitive team, who race up and down lanes only to find new practice drills waiting for them.
Butterfly stroke. Breast stroke. Freestyle.
It’s an everyday routine for Thornton’s squad, a squad that consists of swimmers who range from seriously competitive to recreational.
Her swimmers come out, five days a week in freezing temperatures to improve on their skills.
However, we’re not looking at Pierce College’s very own Brahmas swim team. We’re looking at a group of five to ten-year-olds from across the San Fernando Valley.
While the Aquatic Center is home to Pierce’s own swim team, it also hosts practices and events for water polo and swim teams for high schools, clubs and the general public.
The pools are used by four high schools, the local division of U.S. Masters Swimming, summer day camps and swim lessons presented by Pierce College, according to John Vowels, head pool supervisor.
The high schools include Crespi Carmelite, Louisville, Taft, and El Camino. Three of these schools also have water polo practices at the pool.
“One of the reasons we want high schools using the Pierce College venues is so we can expose the students to Pierce and help in their college decisions,” Vowels said. “These are Pierce’s future athletes.”
All groups and organizations are required to purchase a permit to use the pool services. Once approved by Vowels at the pool’s office, permits can be purchased at Pierce’s
Enterprise Office.
According to Vowels, the Aquatic Center costs nearly a quarter of a million dollars to operate. However, he thinks it is a perfect investment.
“The justification of this pool is education. Somebody in the education hierarchy made the decision that this was a good expenditure in exposing students to swimming and water safety.”
The facility also offers recreational swimming from May to October for a fee. Swimming lasts from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Adults cost $2 and children cost $1.
Lap swimming runs year round from noon to 5 p.m. for the same prices.
Sheila Feldman, a mother from Woodland Hills, takes full advantage of Pierce’s pool facilities.
“Every summer we take classes here,” Feldman said. “My son and his brother learned to
swim here… It’s good because it’s so close. It’s right here in the neighborhood.”
Feldman’s sons are part of the CCAT Swimming program, a year-round swim club for youths coached by Stacy Thornton and her husband.
CCAT uses the facilities every night Monday through Friday.
Thornton, who coached swim at Crespi and Louisville in the 80’s and 90’s, is very pleased with the new renovations that the pool underwent from August 2008 to July 2009.
“This is tremendous, especially if you’re here on a competition day,” Thornton said. “There’s so much deck space, you can have four competitions going on at once.”
On the new Wellness Pool, she says that it is “perfect for those who want to get a taste of competitive swimming.”
More information can be found at