She never listened. She always listened. Those
seemingly incongruous thoughts sum up Nicki Nesi’s six years within our program
– five years as a student-athlete (Class of 2017) and one year as a volunteer
(graduate) assistant coach, establishing a position that expanded our staff.
She never listened: When I told her to not crank the tunes at unsafe volumes
while driving the van. Instinctively, I knew this. She confirms this at the
bottom of this Pandemic Papers interview. I grudgingly accept that but it still
pisses me off, because I’m a nervous nelly when it comes to van safety. In
fairness, Nicki was a very good and safe van driver, despite her obvious poor
taste in music -- and music volume. For the really important stuff, the
elemental stuff, the stuff that matters, Nicki always listened, learned, never
repeated the same mistake twice and when healthy was a marvelous and tough
racer. Her event, the one that she cherished the most, the one in which she
still holds the school record, was the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Tough and
fearless are two key attributes to this event and Nicki has plenty of both
traits – on and off the track.
Like so many of our women’s athletes for
the past dozen years, she flourished into a record-setting runner under Coach
Chuck, judiciously following his training plans tailored to her specific needs.
A quick glance at the record boards shows the measure of Chuck’s success for
the past decade or more. But at times, Nicki also needed some tough-love
guidance from the perpetually overdressed old man (this picture of a pre-race
lecture from me is one of my all-time favorites … me ranting about something,
Nicki probably thinking, ‘shut up, old man, I’m boutta race really fast’’). I
know that sometimes I pissed her off and I know that at times my brutal honesty
with our beloved Grandmas (fifth-years Nicki, Brie Vess, Annie Gould) may have
been a bit too blunt. Too bad. They’re big girls; they can handle it and they
know it. Nicki holds a special place in my heart, because I knew she would always
listen to my diatribes (Brie and Annie, too … miss them all, every day). I
learned from her, she helped guide me in how to try to connect better with
women’s athletes, and I think it has made me a better coach. And I’m so proud
that like many of our alums, she’s a coach now too. I’m sure she is a fiery
motivator of high school boys and girls. Like all teachers and coaches, this
pandemic has been tough on Nicki in many ways. I had no idea she was such a
voracious reader – 36 novels in the past few months, whoa! The past few months have
brought challenges to Nicki, to all of us really. But remember, kid: You’re
tough, you’re fearless and you’ll get through this. This too shall pass. Thanks
to Nicki for these great answers and even greater memories.
When, how and why did you start running? Did you play any other sports
before/during beginning your time as a runner?
I started running at 10 years old in 5th
grade. I won our local Junior Olympics 1k race and was so proud of my trophy!
(lol). I played soccer when I was younger, and I played softball up through the
beginning of Middle School until I was allowed to join modified track. I was
always the “fast kid,” so I was excited to jump in to something I was good at.
I also have a twin sister who played the same sports as me and I wanted to do
something different than her.
Talk about your high school running career -- fondest memories,
highlights, etc. I know you were almost "self-coached" for a lot of
it, what was that like?
My high school running career had its ups
and downs! I went to states a couple of times for Cross Country and Track, and
I loved the whole states “experience”- going on the bus, staying in the hotel
room with the other kids, and then competing the next day. I think my favorite
memory was going to states to compete in the steeplechase- my absolute favorite
event! I also tended to overtrain and injure myself- I had bad ankles and shins
in high school that impeded my ability to be competitive. However, Mary Cain
was from my rival hometown, and I can proudly say I beat her a couple of times
in the 3k and 1500 (before she got really, really good obviously!)
Talk about the recruiting process. What other schools were you
considering and what ultimately led you to Marist over other schools?
What was your major at Marist and how did it prepare you for your
teaching career?
I majored in Fine Arts/Art History with a
minor in English Literature when I was an undergraduate at Marist, and my love
of reading pushed me towards continuing at Marist at the graduate level to
teach English to grades 7-12. I’ve found in my teaching career that my love of
art and art history lends itself well in the classroom- I use art and images
constantly when teaching different pieces of literature, and it’s a good way to
engage different types of students/learners. Not to mention- both for undergrad
and grad school I had to write A LOT, which has definitely prepared me for
being a teacher!
You had a GREAT career as a student-athlete at Marist. What are some
of your favorite memories and highlights?
Your next question is my absolute
favorite, so I’ll wait to answer that. One of my fondest memories- though I
think it was a little stressful for you, Pete,- was when we got stuck down in
Disney my freshman year because of Hurricane Sandy! I mean how could it not be:
20 kids between 18-23 stuck for an extra 3 days in Disney, with 3-day hopper
passes to all the parks? We had a ball.
One of the greatest highlights for our
team, I think, was that special night at William and Mary. Between being stuck
in the rain, Palmer’s fantastic speech, all of the PRs in the 5k- it was just
magical.
I also cherish my 6th year with the team,
where I got to be the “Coach Nicki” because that really made me realize how
much I love to coach and mentor other athletes.
You saved the best for last -- setting a school record at your final
MAAC meet. What was THAT like?
That was probably one of the most magical
and thrilling moments of my life so far! I remember being frustrated, because
the week before at Penn Relays I had run .2 slower than the record, and I was
very nervous because the MAAC race was the final chance to get it. I used to
tell the girls that we shouldn’t get down on ourselves after bad races, but I
remember being unable to let the .2 seconds go that week. I don’t really
remember much of the race itself, but I will always remember looking up at
Chuck on the infield and seeing both of his fists in the air, and then feeling
so much joy. I felt so much love from everyone on the team that day. The stars
truly aligned and I’ll never forget it.
Talk about your post-Marist career to date. Very proud of your being a
coach!
My post-Marist career has been great! I’m
a teacher in the Eastchester School District, the next town over from where I
live, and I also coach Winter and Spring track at my old high school, Pelham
Memorial. It’s so wonderful to translate the knowledge I have acquired over the
years from Pete, Chuck, fellow teammates, and experience- and come full circle by coaching with those
who mentored me. We also have quite a group of Forever Foxes who are coaches in
Section One, so we have little reunions every weekend! Last year I also had the
honor of being the keynote speaker at Pelham Athletic’s Senior Awards Dinner.
I’m still searching for a full-time teaching position, so fingers crossed!!!
How has the pandemic affected you professionally and personally? Where
do you see this thing going?
The pandemic affected me professionally
as I was in the middle of filling a Leave Replacement position for English 9
and 10 at Eastchester right when the pandemic hit. Fortunately for me, I was
able to avoid tackling the monster that was distance learning, as the teacher I
was filling in for was able to come back to teach remotely. However, I was
upset I had no closure with my students- everything happened so quickly I
didn’t have a chance to say goodbye! It
was a strange transitioning period, and I was upset I no longer was working.
Additionally, I had to remotely coach my Spring athletes, and experiencing
their pain from losing the season (especially my senior athletes) was hard to
tackle. I can’t imagine how I would have reacted if a pandemic hit during my
senior year/5th year of college, after all the work I put in! These kids are
tough though and have really rolled with the punches. Right now, as things are slowly starting to
open up, I’m very skeptical of where this thing is going. As a teacher, I’m
curious if we’ll be in school in September!
Personally, as I’m sure many have felt, I
have hated the quarantine. One good thing was how much free time I had to read!
I read a total of 36 novels so far during the pandemic. I recently got a puppy,
so she’s slowed my pace down a bit, but I’m still reading and reviewing books
on my Instagram (LOL).
As you know, our recently graduated seasons lost so much with the
shuttering of school. What message can you impart of these men and women?
I would tell the recently graduated
Marist students not to stress too much about getting their adult lives together
right away. This is just further evidence of how life will hit you in the face
with the unexpected, and we must adapt. The current men and women seniors I had
the pleasure of being teammates with (as a 5th-year “grandma” as well as a
“coach” to them), so I know they have the grit, intelligence, and the ability
to surmount the various obstacles they face- whether it is a pandemic, or
something else. The current senior athletes have left a profound mark on the
team, and they should be proud of their accomplishments.
Anything else you'd like to ADD ...
Thank you, Pete, for including me in the
Pandemic Papers! It is an honor and I hope I have made you proud in my
post-collegiate endeavors. I feel so blessed to be part of such a wonderful
Foxy Family, and I hope to be half the coach you are one day.
P.S.- I know you hated how loudly I played
music in the vans to practice, and I know you made a special rule for me to not
raise the volume of the music over 7, but I hope you know I NEVER listened to
you :)
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