Athlete of the Week: Passion driving Nguyen in swimming pool

Austin Nguyen knows the pain is coming before he gets in the swimming pool for practice. He welcomes it, pushes through it and is ready to do it all over again the next day with a smile on his face.

There are a few reasons why Nguyen, a sophomore at Del Norte High, keeps going as hard as he does. First: he loves swimming. Second: he cannot stand the thought of somebody else outworking him.

“I look forward to getting into the pool and training hard every day,” said Nguyen, who captured the Avocado East League championship in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley on Saturday. “And I realize that there are other swimmers out there training hard. If you don’t train harder than them, they will get faster than you. Knowing that pushes me to my limit every day.”

Nguyen has been pushing his limits in the pool ever since he was 12. He started swimming when he was around 6, but he didn’t take it seriously until he approached his teenage years.

“I was lazy at 10,” he said.

Even then he was considered one of the top swimmers in the country for his age. He set a Far Westerns meet record in the 100-yard breaststroke in 2010. It wasn’t until 2012, though, that he realized just how great he could become with more effort.

“Looking back now, I regret not realizing how great of an accomplishment it was to have the second-fastest time in the nation at age 10,” Nguyen said. “If I would have trained harder, I wonder where I could have been now.”

Maybe his times would be faster, but Nguyen doesn’t have much higher to go in the local high school ranks. As a freshman, he placed second at the San Diego Section Division II championships in the 100 breaststroke and he is one of the favorites to win it this year.

The Division II championships are slated for Saturday at 9 a.m. at Granite Hills High School. Del Norte coach Andy Avila thinks Nguyen can win the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley.

“I think if he maintains the focus he has had throughout the season and continues to hold himself accountable at an elite level, he has a great opportunity to be very successful in the section in both individual events and in both relays (200 and 400 freestyle),” he said.

Nguyen is much more than a swimmer. He carries over a 4.00 GPA in the classroom and is an outstanding violin and piano player. He says swimming has helped him become a better all-around person.

“It has definitely taught me perseverance, discipline and dedication,” he said. “It has made me understand that if you really want something you have to work for it. I think all of my coaches have really helped me realize that.”

Avila loves Nguyen’s attitude so much that he made him the team captain this season. It is unusual for a sophomore to be leading a varsity team, but Nguyen has the characteristics that Avila wants others to strive to have.

“Austin has started to lead our team cheers recently and when he does the cheer you can tell it is coming from the heart and he is 110-percent into it,” Avila said. “Austin gets in there and really motivates the whole team. You can tell he is very passionate about swimming.”

That passion has led Nguyen to breaking three school records this season (100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley) and has helped him endure through the pain that comes with training nearly every day.

“You are always questioning yourself about why you are putting yourself through so much pain,” Nguyen said. “But then you look at the bigger picture and you know it will help you become a better person.”

Nguyen is proof of that.