PEREZ BREATHING EASY AND SWIMMING WELL

Age: 18

High School: Monarch.

College: Florida Atlantic University

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

Asthma led Nick Perez to swimming seven years ago, his love for the sport kept him in it.

The Monarch High School senior started swimming after his father, who swam as a child for his asthma, suggested that he try it to help his breathing.

“It helped my dad’s asthma so he got me into it,” Perez said. “The cardio was better for my lungs. I liked it and it really did help my asthma.”

Perez’ interest in swimming increased and he decided to drop soccer and focus solely on swimming.  

“I had more of a love-hate relationship with swimming,” Perez said. “I did both sports for a while but I liked the competitive aspect of swimming more than soccer. It was more a race against yourself. That’s what initially dragged me into the sport.

“I wish I had been more consistent when I first started. If I had dedicated myself fully at the beginning I would have turned out better but I am happy with what I earned. It was definitely awesome to swim with a top training program like Coral Springs where swimmers actually had gone to the Olympics.”

However, it took Perez a while to get used to the early morning workouts.

“That was tough the first couple times,” Perez said. “I learned pretty quick dedication was the No. 1 thing you need to be a swimmer. Personally, I don’t enjoy morning workouts but it’s not bad. It was worth it when I first started and it’s still worth it.”

Perez, who competes in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly, hopes to walk on the FAU men’s team this fall.

“One of the best things swimming helped me with was time management,” Perez said. “Knowing I had practice in the morning and afternoon, school, homework, a job and sleep, I knew that I had to get everything done at a certain time. I know that’s the No. 1 thing that’s going to help me later in life.”

The week before Perez moved into Coach Chris Jackson’s group, he had a breakthrough swim during the Division II meet where he broke a minute in the butterfly for the first time.

“I had hit a plateau for a couple months but I was still training,” Perez said. “It was going to be my last competition for a while. I swam in the morning and I qualified for the final. I wasn’t going to swim it until my dad convinced me to go back. I ended up swimming my best time. That was a highlight for me.”

Sharon Robb can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it