Competitive is the word that best describes Dan Hammer '71. As a member of the soccer team, Dan works out after school every day. Being fleetfooted and agile, he has consistently assisted and scored for the varsity squad in the early part of the. season.

Dan believes soccer to be "a competitive sport that demands the athlete to be in top physical condition all the time." He goes on to say, "We should have a better second half record because now we play other first year teams."

Dan has been active in other sports at Maine West as well as competing in intramurals. He is highly respected by his fellow players as a hard‑working, determined athlete.

After high school he plans to attend Northern Illinois University and major in engineering. He also plans to continue his career in soccer on Northern's team.

When asked what he thought about this year's football team, Jim Hanselman '71, one of this week's sports personalities, said, "If we continue to work hard, we have a good chance of taking conference."

Jim is on the first string and plays flanker on offense, and he is a defensive halfback. The team practices every night after school until about 6:30 p.m.

Jim said, "They really work all of us hard, so we have to be in shape."

Having a large and enthusiastic home crowd, to Jim, is very important. "They give us the incentive we need to do our best," he said.

Jim has played on the football team here at Maine West all four years. Besides football, he has also lettered in baseball and basketball, although he says he enjoys baseball the most.

Jack St. John '71, varsity cross country star, first got interested in running during his freshman year in cross country. "This year's cross country team is the best Maine West has ever had," Jack stated. He also said that "We will definitely go downstate this year."