Serious Vacca is leader in pool

Versatility helps Hun swim team

By: Justin Feil
   Nick Vacca has always been one of the top swimmers for The Hun School swim team, but this year he’s taking it a little more seriously.
   "My freshman and sophomore years, I thought of it as, ‘I swim with another team and high school is just fun,’" said the Raider junior, who is also on the Whitewaters club team. "This year, I’m using it as a good way to get racing in. It’s like swimming in races twice a week. I just thought of it more competitively this year. That’s the biggest change."
   That change is showing in the pool. In Hun’s meet 10 days ago against Lawrenceville, he broke the school record in the 500 freestyle. Friday, in a 92-72 loss to George, Vacca won the 100 breaststroke, 500 freestyle and swam legs in the medley and 400 free relays.
   "I think he wins almost every time he swims," said Hun head coach Madeline Jones. "He might get second rarely. I can always count on him to be competitive or get second. It depends on what team we’re swimming against."
   And while wins have been hard to find with only 15 swimmers on the co-ed team, the 0-5 Raiders have an unmistakable leader in Vacca. Even if he isn’t an official captain, the Hun junior is being more of a leader in his third year with the squad.
   He’s coming to more high school practices than ever before, though he’s managed to continue to make Whitewaters club team practices for three hours a day six days per week. He’s keeping up his grades, lowering his times and at the same time trying to help his teammates set new personal records as well. During meets, he’s one of the most valuable Raider swimmers.
   "It’s helpful to be able to move him around," Jones said. "He never complains. He’ll swim whatever I put him in. The kids that I have that are new, who just started swimming, for them to have someone with all the experience and as good as he is around, it helps them get motivated.
   "They’re all pretty dedicated. All these kids try hard. All of them drop their times every time they get in the pool. They do their best."
   Nobody would have accused Vacca of doing anything but his best in the past, but even he is finding a way to improve in the pool.
   "A lot of times, if I was winning, maybe I’d think to save my energy for the next race," he said. "But now, I’m doing better for every race. If I swim the first race and do well, I feel better for the other races. Even if I’m tired, I can swim them faster."
   "He’s trying harder this year," Jones agreed. "I’ve seen him swim in meets where he’s winning by so much that he won’t even try near the end because he doesn’t have to. I talked to him and said, ‘If you’re going to get better, work to get better every single time you get the pool, not just when you have competition.’ That was one of his goals this year."
   It’s already paid off tangibly with the 500 free record that was set in the 1980s, and it’s paid off in his overall fitness level as well.
   "This is probably my best high school swim season yet," the 17-year-old said. "A lot of times in my previous years, my times weren’t as fast. Lately my (high school) times have been very close to my personal bests and that’s always a plus. Before I would just swim to win my race. Now I try to get my best time every time I swim. Eventually, I figure, it will help me improve more.
   "I feel like I’ve been in better shape. I swim on my other team and sometimes we have hard practices, then I have to come right back. When we swam against Lawrenceville last Friday, the night before I had a tough practice. I felt a little tired, but I still swam my best high school (500 free) time by almost five seconds and I was only a second off my best time ever."
   Performance like that one help enforce that his hard work is paying off already. And that helps when it’s late on a Thursday with two practices to go and homework to boot. In years past, he might have only made practice for Whitewaters, which he’s been swimming for since he was 8. It’s a sacrifice that not everyone is willing to make.
   "Some nights, I’m pretty tired," he admitted. "Mostly, I limit (missing) practices for schoolwork issues. I might be tired, but I always say that by the end of the season, by counties, it’ll get me in better shape and I should do it."
   Vacca is hoping that his extra work this season pays off when Hun reaches the end of the season meets that mean the most.
   "I’m kind of looking toward doing well in counties," he said. "There are some tough swimmers in the public school teams. I’d like to make the finals or win a (consolation). I’d like to maybe swim a best time at counties or at prep states."
   Furthermore, Vacca’s work could help him as he looks into colleges in the future.
   "He’s pretty serious," Jones said. "I’m sure he’ll swim in college. I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to improve, if he could get a scholarship."
   Vacca just started exploring that avenue. Worrying about finalizing that choice won’t come for another year, and in the meantime, he’s trying to help the small Hun squad continue to improve.
   "Sometimes it’s kind of hard," he said. "You wish you could swim against Lawrenceville and put up a good fight. A lot of our swimmers aren’t naturals. But everyone always improves. I like the people on my team. We’re not the greatest team, but we always work hard.
   "It’s really tough to get in the pool and do better every time, but we’ve been doing it. The people we have now are always getting better. Every year, we’re getting better."
   Not coincidentally, so is Nick Vacca. This year, it’s due in large part to an increased dedication to the Hun swim team, one that’s paying off with his best season yet.