When coaches talk about top defenders in the Shoreline Conference entering the 2021 soccer season, one name that often gets mentioned is Old Saybrook senior Nick Scalzo. Nick earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors for the Old Saybrook boys’ soccer squad last fall and is now leading the team as a senior captain this year.

A center back, Nick feels confident that Old Saybrook is poised for another strong campaign in his senior year. Nick helped Head Coach Steve Waters’s squad finish with an overall record of 8-3 in 2020.

“I have a lot of confidence in my teammates. We have been playing together for a very long time, and I’m looking forward to a very successful season,” says Nick. “This is my third year playing for Coach Waters. I have gained a lot of respect for his knowledge of the game. He instills hard work and determination to make us better on and off the field.”

Nick has enjoyed working with his teammates as Old Saybrook prepares to hit the pitch this fall. While Nick patrols the defensive end of the field, he’s eager to see how players like fellow senior Nick Rothman, junior Cameron DeAngelo, and sophomore Kevin DeCapua will perform on the attack.

“My favorite aspect of the sport is being a part of a team and working together as a whole. Through my years of playing soccer, my teammates have become more than just friends—they have become family,” Nick says. “Our offense is going to be really strong this year, and I’m excited to see what those guys do up front for us.”

Coach Waters describes Nick as staple of Old Saybrook’s backline. Waters is expecting the senior captain to lead the Rams’ younger players by example throughout this season.

“Nick is our mainstay defender,” says Waters. “He had an excellent junior season and, this season, he is bigger, fitter, and faster. He’s also, as usual, very resilient.”

Nick started playing soccer in the Old Saybrook rec program when he was five. Both of Nick’s parents were soccer players in high school, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps.

“My parents played soccer when they were younger, and I wanted to be like them,” Nick says. “Soccer is a sport I’ve grown to love over the years, and I’m really happy I started playing when I did.”

Even though defenders don’t always get the recognition that goal-scorers do, Nick loves leading Old Saybrook’s defensive corps and embraces everything that comes with playing the position.

“My favorite thing about playing defense is being able to see everything in front of me,” says Nick. “I also love being a part of a group in the back and having the same goal as my other defenders, which is to pick apart the other team’s offense and turn their mistakes into opportunities.”

Aside from soccer, Nick also plays baseball for both the Rams and the CT Crush. In the offseason, Nick spends most of his time working out at Beach Club Fitness in Old Saybrook and likes to practice with his teammates whenever he gets a chance.

“I’m a very active guy, and I like hanging out with my friends in my free time. During the offseason, I’m typically working out and training with my teammates,” Nick says. “That’s part of what makes us successful as a soccer program. We always like playing with each other. The more you play with each other, the more in sync you are during the season.”

Nick can hardly wait to get his senior season started at Old Saybrook. Nick wants to finish his high school career with a big year and help the Rams make a run at some postseason trophies.

“I think we have what it takes to come away with a conference title and, hopefully, a state championship this year. We’ve looked good so far this preseason, and I’m ready to get started here,” Nick says. “In the past years, we have made it not only into the playoffs, but we have gone deep in them, and I feel like we can do the same this year. I think as a team we are expecting similar outcomes out of our season. For myself, I expect to be better in every aspect due to the work I put in during the offseason.”