Wagner's routine goes swimmingly for Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity's Jack Wagner on his way to breaking the New New York State record of 1:48.95 (set by David Kahn in 2002) with a new time of 1:48.84 in the boys 200 yard event during the New York State Boys High School Championships. (March 6, 2009) Credit: NEWSDAY/Photo by Richard Slattery
Jack Wagner wakes up at 5:15 a.m. and prepares himself a breakfast of champions: Eggo waffles.
The top Long Island swimmer has just begun a typical day at his Valley Stream home. Throughout the year, he'll qualify for the state tournament in numerous events, breaking records to get there, then breaking some more once he arrives. But it's mornings like these, somewhat insignificant and repetitive to Wagner, which provides the backbone for his assault on Long Island swimming.
The Holy Trinity senior, USC bound in the fall, broke the CHSAA state records in the 200-yard freestyle (1:39.17) and 100 butterfly (50.00) last weekend at the CHSAA finals and was meet MVP. And that's just a prelude to states, where he already owns records for the 200 IM (1:48.84) and 100 free (44.66).
But on this morning, Wagner is not concerned about shaving a half second off his time or how he can complete a turn more concisely, he's just figuring out a way to get a bit more sleep.
"They're quick to make in the morning," Wagner said about the waffles. "Because sleep is my No. 1 necessity in life, I try to maximize that. The less time I spend making breakfast, the more time I can sleep."
After breakfast, he drives to Nassau Aquatic Center in East Meadow for an early-morning practice with his club team, Long Island Swimming. The practice goes from 6-7:30 a.m.
"The practices can be really wild card, but we're mostly working on stroke, sprinting, starts and turns, and kind of getting ourselves ready for the night," he said. "It's kind of a preview."
Waking up before the sun and engaging in what essentially amounts to a polar bear swim all before you really start your day could be daunting. But Wagner's been doing it since he was in seventh grade.
"I think now I'm pretty used to it," he said. "Once it's over, it's not that bad."
After practice and a quick croissant, Wagner starts his school day. He's been a scholastic All-American for the past three years, a benefit of his athletic prowess and 95 average in school. But despite the honors, his favorite classes aren't what you'd expect.
"Last year, I took a class called 'relating' and this semester I took one called 'sacred art,' " he said. "They're really about getting in tune with yourself and your creativity. It just helps me understand why I do the things I do and what motivates me and what I need to do to stay focused."
Lunch provides 20 minutes to relax and chomp down turkey and Muenster cheese on a kaiser roll. Wagner brings his lunch from home and that same sandwich manages to find its way to his bag most days. School lets out at 2:30, but Wagner's next practice isn't until 5 p.m., giving him some time to finish homework or hang out at Panera Bread before the real work begins.
More club team practice at 5 o'clock: "Monday we do distance, Tuesday it's sprints and Wednesday is supposed to be recovery, though it can also be really hard depending on what my coach thinks," Wagner said with a laugh.
Holy Trinity practice at 7: "Usually when I go, I try to help the kids on their stroke, their dives and turns. But Tuesdays and Thursdays are actually my most hectic days because I go to a personal trainer after practice."
Finally, exhaustingly, Wagner pulls into home at 9 p.m., giving him just enough time to talk with his family and catch up on his favorite TV shows - "The Real World," "Top Chef" or "House Hunters" - before going to bed.
And then he does it all over again. After eating his waffles, of course.
