The maturity a person develops through the course of their time in high school is among the most significant portions of one’s life. Many enter as awkward freshmen roaming the hallways trying to find their first class and graduate as a young adults ready to head out into the world. Nick Lepore has experienced that growth during his four years at Valley Regional, whether it was in the classroom or on the field playing for the Warriors’ boys’ soccer team. Unfortunately, Nick’s development came with an added burden. In 2010, Nick’s father passed away from complications of juvenile diabetes and, as the eldest son, Nick was forced to become a young man much faster than most of his peers.

“I was at a pretty young age when my father passed away in 7th grade. I feel like it gave me life experience and made me grow up a bit,” Nick says. “You realize at an early age that this is real and that this can happen. It forced me to deal with things earlier than others. I remember we had games being dedicated to my father and tributes were announced before games, which was really nice. I used it as motivation to do my best and, when I’m on the field playing, I feel like he is there, too.”

Nick began playing soccer on club and travel teams when he was eight years old. Once he arrived at Valley, Nick saw time on varsity at outside midfielder and forward at the end of his freshman year, notching one goal. As a sophomore, he contributed significant minutes to a Warriors’ squad that won the Shoreline Conference as he scored three goals and dished out three assists. In his junior year, Nick became a full-time starter and finished with one goal and three assists, while taking on more of a leadership role.

“Nick has grown tremendously over the years, but what I’ll always remember is his first goal as a freshman and giving him a good ribbing about not even hitting the net,” says boys’ soccer Head Coach Mick Fearon. “He hit a slow roller that just barely snuck passed the goal line. You always envision a big kick smacking the back of the net and he had this dribbler that just snuck by it was going so slow. I can joke with him because Nick has a great sense of humor and we always go back and forth with each other. I think we had a good rapport and a great relationship over the four years.”

For his recent senior season, Nick moved between the forward and midfielder spots based on the situation and tallied five goals with five assists in helping Valley have another fine campaign with its record of 10-5-3. Nick also had a knack for delivering in the clutch as he scored game-winning goals against Lyman Memorial, Coginchaug, and Haddam-Killingworth.

“I didn’t expect it. I think this year we had a lot of strong players who stepped up and I was in the right place at the right time,” Nick says of the three game-winners. “As far as the first goal of my career, of course, you would like that to be more exciting and cooler, but it was great to score as a freshman and play in a State Tournament game, which gave me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Some of that confidence stems from Nick’s natural running ability. With a motor that never quits, Nick’s speed and stamina resulted in him winning Coach Fearon’s fitness test the last two years.

“Nick has an unbelievable amount of endurance. I knew I could just throw him out on the field and not worry about him needing a rest because he would keep going,” Fearon says. “Every year, we did a run to begin, so I could see what kind of shape everyone kept themselves in and Nick won junior and senior year and competed well with the older boys when he was younger. He scored a lot of very important goals for us this season and his growth and maturity over the years and his responsibility have really showed, although it would have been nice if he bought himself some new cleats.”

The cleats Coach Fearon speaks of were a pair of old, taped-up shoes that were always a fixture on Nick’s feet.

“I had one pair of cleats that had holes and were torn up, so I would just get some neon tape and wrap them up,” Nick says. “I liked them and they were comfortable, so I kept them.”

When Nick isn’t on the field netting game-winning goals in his trusty shoes, he enjoys longboarding—the act of riding on a longboard skateboard—an activity in which he won a competition in Ithaca, New York earlier this year. Nick also works hard at Valley by filming and editing school projects and can see that in his future as he ventures off to college. What Nick cherishes the most, though, is spending time with his family.

“We’re very close,” Nick says. “My mom is always there for us—me and my brother Alex and my little sister Sage. My grandmother lives with us now and we all enjoy having her around, so it’s really nice to have such a great support system.”

Nick adds it was enjoyable to compete alongside his younger sibling Alex, who just completed his junior season for the Warriors.

“It was really cool to play with my brother,” Nick says. “We both played outside and we knew each other better than we knew other players and sort of have this inner-communication. We aren’t twins, but sometimes it felt that way when we we’re out there playing.”

Aided by a vast amount of support from his family, coaches, friends, and teammates, Nick has successfully transitioned from an up-and-coming freshman into a seasoned senior who played with passion on the pitch and now looks forward to the next chapter of his life.

“I think visual arts are definitely something I’d like to pursue,” Nick says. “It’s interesting. Now that I’m a senior, you want to be more of a leader and have more authority. I feel like I’ve gotten better at that and tried to reach goals you set for yourself. Coach Fearon has helped me with that and he’s quite a character and a friend. I’ve had a lot of fun at Valley and gained a ton of experience from when I look back to where I was when I was a freshman.”