University of Massachusets Athletics
Fischer's Hard Work Pays Off
January 31, 2006 | Men's Track & Field
Jan. 31, 2006
The French countryside - it's a place many tourists go to enjoy picturesque hills and meadows, to get away from the overwhelming hustle-and-bustle of Paris or to have a romance rekindled by the sunset of the nation of love.
It is not, however, a place many go to train for cross-country. Unless, of course, you are Massachusetts sophomore runner Nils Fischer. Fischer has spent every summer there since he was born.
"I mean, it's a nice countryside and a different landscape, so it's great for long runs. But at the same time I have a lot of close friends and family there, so I try to fluctuate my day so I can spend time with them and get my training in," says Fischer, whose mother hails from France. "I mean, training is training, but it is nice to be in a different landscape."
Not many college athletes would consistently find the time to get a workout while among family and friends in such a gorgeous country, but somehow, Fischer does. And that is something that UMass coach Ken O'Brien admires.
"He's one of those guys who, somehow, and I don't know how he does it, but somehow even when he's traveling he always finds time to do his training," O'Brien says. "I think his enthusiasm and his commitment and dedication, and his enjoyment of it, is one of the big reasons for our success."
Unlike many carefree student-athletes, Fischer is as enthusiastic as it comes, both athletically and academically.
"He's one of those guys who has a nice mix of interest and enthusiasm about everything that he does," O'Brien says. " He is dedicated and has enough time management skills, and he finds time to do everything. His pursuit of his degree is [his] number one [priority], but not at the expense of also getting his training in for the day, and he seems to approach both with great enthusiasm."
Fischer is currently undeclared, but has expressed an interest in food science.
Fischer's solid work ethic has certainly paid off. He was named the Atlantic 10 Athlete of the Week, the ECAC Athlete of the Week and the UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week for his performance at the New England Championships, in which he finished 22nd overall with a time of 25:38, an improvement of nearly two minutes from his performance at the meet his freshman year.
He earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors twice, had three top-five performances on the season, including a fifth-place finish at the Syracuse Classic, and this year finished 10th overall at the Dartmouth Invitational.
Despite all of these impressive credentials, O'Brien was impressed with Fischer even before he became a Minuteman.
"I first noticed his running in a couple of newspaper articles [during Fischer's second year at Nashoba Regional High School] that I followed, and so I sent him some information and I was surprised to see that he was a sophomore," O'Brien says.
However, under NCAA rules, no recruiting efforts can be practiced until an athlete is senior. O'Brien, therefore, followed the remainder of Fischer's high school career and found that his consistency was what stood out. This consistency eventually led to Fischer becoming a proud member of the Maroon and White.
"It was the college jump," Fischer says about his freshman year. "I had to run five mile races, instead of three mile races [which is the distance of races run in high school competition]. The training was running 70 miles a week, from 30 to 40 in high school. So that was a little adjustment to make."
Both Fischer and O'Brien feel the team's camaraderie is what leads to success for the Minutemen.
"All the kids on the team are close," O'Brien says. "A lot of people have a tendency to think of track and field as an individual sport, but in reality it's a very close team sport because the kids all understand what's going [on], how hard it is, and they all accept the hurdles of having a chance to win, or do well, and they all know if they have a bad day that everybody else is there to support them."
"There's a great feeling on the team, "Fischer says. "It just feels like we're coming [together], like we've got momentum."
It was this momentum, perhaps, that led the Minutemen to a sixth-place finish out of 14 teams at the Atlantic 10 Championships on Oct. 29. The Maroon and White were aiming for fifth or sixth place as powerhouses like LaSalle, Duquesne, UNC-Charlotte and St. Joseph's were favored to make up the top four.
The official order of finishes was Duquesne (claiming its first men's crown), LaSalle, UNC-Charlotte, Saint Joseph's, Richmond and UMass claiming the sixth spot.
Fischer took second for the Minutemen and 26th overall, coming in just six seconds behind senior Ryan Corbett, who finished with a time of 25:45.1.
Because he is so dominant, some might forget that he is a sophomore. He's still a young second-year student who admires his upperclassmen teammates, who he describes as "good guys."
And his older teammates are not the only people Fischer appreciates.
"I have a great coach and a great team so there's nothing more I could ask for, really," Fischer says. "What I like about [Coach O'Brien] is his very conservative style. He won't overdo things. If something's wrong you can always talk to him. He's very trustworthy."
No one knows what the future will hold for this sophomore juggernaut. But no matter how races many races he wins, he will always be thankful to his Rhode Island-born father for introducing him to the sport.
"I always really looked up to my dad and ran with him when I was little, as much as I could. So he basically got me into it," Fischer says.