Prospect’s Batcha works for success

The clock has just hit 6 a.m., and before Prospect boys track and field coach Mike Kamedula has the chance to hit the snooze bar, a text message has already hit his phone. Senior Nick Batcha is usually the sender of the text message, and it’s frequently the same question.

“He either wants to know what the next workout is, or what to do if it’s raining, or where the workouts are today,” Kamedula said. “He is a tireless worker and always wants to get better every day.”

Batcha has the body structure of the prototypical sprinters nowadays. His tall, lean frame is conducive to the 100- and 200-meter events in which he excels. To go with that are his rare abilities in the field events that only add to a typically busy track day.

The high jump and triple jump are the two other events Batcha has seemingly mastered.

“It’s my core strength that helps me keep my good form in running and jumping,” Batcha said. “I have read where good sprinters are not only fast but they have very good jumping ability.”

One sprinter Batcha likes to study is one of the best in history — Jamaican star Usain Bolt. He doesn’t have a weightlifter’s body, but rather uses his long legs, and power from his ability to almost hop from step to step in each race.

“You watch guys like Bolt and the newer sprinters and how they run and you see that they don’t turn over their steps so much as they get great force from pushing off the ground,” Kamedula said. “With Nick, it’s almost the same way. He has great power in his lower body and that strength from jumping has really helped.”

The 2010 season was the coming-out party for Batcha. While the coaching staff at Prospect knew they had something good, they didn’t think that had it this good with Batcha.

Early in the season, Batcha established himself as one of the best long jumpers and sprinters in the Mid-Suburban League. Then, on the biggest night of the regular season, the Knights’ Wanner Invite, Batcha showed the rest of the state that he had arrived.

“I think we were all excited about watching him run that finals race at the Wanner meet,” Kamedula said. “Traditionally at this meet we haven’t had great sprinters before and haven’t really gotten them out in the past so it was fun to watch him race there.”

Batcha took on some of the best sprinters from Zion-Benton, Niles North, Barrington and Lane Tech and dusted the field with a season-best time of 10.7.

“I was really excited for that night because I knew how good the competition was,” said Batcha, who also captured the long jump in the rain-shortened meet.

On the track, Batcha carries himself with confidence and determination, although he does have a small crutch before each race.

“I get really nervous,” he said with a smile. “I turn around and talk with my teammates or other guys at the line before the race.”

Once he’s in race mode, the nerves go away.

“I just get in the blocks and I block everything else out,” he said. “I don’t think about anyone else in the race or anyone yelling on the side — I just concentrate on what I am doing.”

That’s also where the determination to work harder and more often than the next guy comes from.

“I know that no matter how I work out or how many sprints I do, there are guys out there that are doing the same thing,” he said. “So I have to keep going if I want to beat those guys.”

At the Loyola sectional last spring, Batcha’s busy day could not have started better. His leap of 22-10½ in the prelims vaulted him into state meet competition for the first time. But to Batcha, the best part of the day came a few hours later.

When he crossed the line as a member of the Knights’ 800 relay, he had the chance to be joined by teammates Vito Anzalone, Nick Meersman and Joe Mack at the state meet. The school record-setting foursome was just one part of a three-event qualifying day for Batcha.

“That was great because I got to take my teammates and friends with me,” he said. “I have seen guys go downstate before by themselves. I wanted my teammates to come with me.”

Batcha earned medals in the 100, 800 relay and long jump at state last year. This time around he wants four medals — or maybe more.

“There is a team aspect to track that a lot of people don’t really see,” Batcha said. “It would be awesome to bring home a team trophy.”

Getting back to the workouts: Batcha worked himself into gaining 5-10 pounds of lean muscle mass in the off-season.

“He is such a focused kid that I think the sky is the limit for him,” Kamedula said. “I don’t know how good he will be – I don’t think he knows how good he can be. He works out and trains like he is the worst kid on the team trying to get better and make the team.”

The goals for this spring are many for Batcha. Winning the MSL is the primary team goal, and Batcha will have to be at his best for that to happen. Another best-case scenario is bringing home individual gold from the state meet.

“Sprinters from around the MSL don’t make the finals too many times, but he has been there,” Kamedula said. “He expects high things from himself and it’s fun to watch him accomplish those goals.”