Senior Mack Nuval, a shining star on the swim team, is a dedicated and accomplished athlete. With the 41st fastest time in the nation for breaststroke, Nuval has racked up some impressive stats.
“In recent years I’ve qualified for state, made the All-state team, became an All American and qualified for both the winter and summer Junior National Championships,” Nuval said.
Nuval began swimming at age six when he took basic swimming lessons but his interest in the sport didn’t spark until he was older.
“I didn’t start taking it seriously until I was 10 or 11 when I was put into an actual club swimming team,” Nuval said. “At first, I didn’t really want to do it. I was more of a basketball and soccer kid but after I hurt my ankle, my parents kind of gave up on me trying all these contact sports out.”
Amongst being a great swimmer, Nuval has many other strengths.
“I feel I’m pretty coachable and open minded,” Nuval said. “So I feel mixing that in with lots of different coaches and different ideas allows me to try new things and work hard in the water.”
In addition to swimming for Lamar, Nuval is also a member of a club swim team. Between the two teams, he trains six days a week.
“Every afternoon, I swim with my club swim team and depending on the week, I swim two to three times in the morning at Lamar,” Nuval said. “At peak training season, I’ll usually have nine practices during the week. Each practice lasts from an hour and a half to two hours.”
Preparing himself for a swim meet means planning ahead to make sure he is physically and mentally strong.
“Leading up to the meet I make sure to get lots of sleep, drink at least a gallon of water a day and make sure I eat enough food. Before I race, I make sure to stretch, do a long warm up and listen to music,” he said.
Even with all the long hours of training and school work, Nuval still finds time for friends.
“I’m a pretty simple person. I listen to music and eat out with my friends,” he said. “Not much to do when you’re swimming at least four hours a day but I kind of make the most of it”
Additionally, Nuval credits Michael Jordan and David Goggins as his role models.
“They both have a work ethic and fearlessness which have allowed them to achieve greatness in anything and everything they do. I aspire to have a work ethic like them.”
In describing what about his sport brings him the most joy, Nuval said dropping time is one of the best feelings.
“Seeing myself and my teammates drop time is one of the best feelings in swimming,” he said. “It is amazing seeing the people you train with everyday achieve their goal times.”
Nuval’s post-graduation goals and plans include competitive swimming in college and beyond.
“In college I would like to continue being a student athlete and continue competing in the sport I love,” Nuval said, “I really just want to see how far swimming can take me. I want to enjoy every moment I have in the sport and I’ll let everything fall into place.”
