With each powerful stroke, Logan Thomas seems to show little to no effort.

He makes the art of swimming look easy.

And while that is far from the actual truth for the 18-year-old recent graduate of ConVal and soon-to-be alumnus of the Peterborough Wave Swim Club, to the casual observer, Thomas’ swimming technique looks natural.

But maybe that’s because it is.

Thomas, who excels in both the backstroke and freestyle, has never really put a lot of time into training, nor has he needed to, because he always seems to do well when it comes time to race.

And to anyone involved with swimming, that just screams raw talent.

“I think he’s one of those kids who, if he directs a lot of his efforts toward swimming, he’s got national-level potential,” said Keene State College swimming coach Jack Fabian.

His lack of training has nothing to do with his desire to be a top-level swimmer, but more because there hasn’t been a whole lot of competition pushing him in the last few years, on his team or anywhere else.

But in about a month, when Thomas arrives on campus to swim for Keene State, things are going to be different.

“He’s about to take a big step,” said Wave coach Dick Cuddihee. “I’ve been telling him, ‘Just get through the first two weeks.’ ”

Swimming at the college level is going to be quite an adjustment for Thomas, but it is something he is willing to work for.

“It’s going to be a huge change,” Thomas said. “But I know I can do it.”

Right now, during his final summer season on the Wave, the practices are only an hour long a few days a week, with meets sprinkled in along the way.

Yet Thomas will be the first to admit that he struggles to make all the practices and meets, as he is taking summer classes at Keene State to get a jump-start on his education.

He tries to be there, but it has been a juggling act, another thing he must get used to when he begins the swim season at KSC in October.

The workload will be much heavier once getting to Keene State. There will be practices twice a day, two hours each, both early in the morning and again in the afternoon, and that is combined with the four classes and homework.

“For the first season, I want to get to know the team and then train, train, train and then I hope to make an impact,” said Thomas.

All along Thomas has been serious about his swimming, ever since picking up the sport when he was eight.

“You could see there was potential,” said Cuddihee. “When he was swimming as a 9 and 10 year old, it became pretty evident he could swim in college.”

Over the years, Thomas has received offers to join other swim clubs, but chose to stay with his hometown team.

“I was used to the coaching and knew what was expected of me,” said Thomas. “I swam for the Wave for so long, I didn’t want to leave.”

From the start, Thomas has always been about being in the front.

“I was just really out to beat everyone else in the pool,” Thomas said. “You want to keep doing better.”

Thomas didn’t have the luxury of moving from the Wave to a high school team, since ConVal didn’t offer one, something he wishes had been an option.

“A few of us tried, but it just didn’t work,” Thomas said of starting a team.

Growing up, Thomas played soccer, baseball and even ran some cross-country, but after his freshman year at ConVal, he focused solely on swimming.

He was good at it, so there was no reason to give that up.

“Just physically, if you look at him, he’s got a great swimmers design,” said Fabian.

Around the age of 15, Thomas started thinking about the possibility of swimming in college. He went back and forth with the idea for quite some time and it wasn’t until his visit to Keene State last fall that he truly knew what he wanted.

“I wasn’t really sure I wanted to swim in college until that visit,” Thomas admitted.

He finally knew he wanted to be there and Fabian was ecstatic to get him.

“I always saw him as a real talent,” Fabian said. “He’s good, but he could be great.”

So in the end it worked out.

Thomas gets his chance to test his abilities against the competition he has wanted and Fabian gets to see if the raw talent he has noticed over the last few years will continue to develop.

“He has the natural talent to have an impact as a freshman,” said Fabian.

Only time will tell if Thomas has what it takes.

“I would say the biggest leap has yet to come,” Cuddihee said. “He has not reach his potential yet. I really look for him to make a big jump.”