Jim Pucci’s Mind Makes His Swims Matter for North Haven/North Branford Indians' Boys' Swimming

North Haven-North Branford boys' swim coach Colleen Delaney describes Jim Pucci as an athlete who not only features the physical tools to thrive in distance freestyle events, but who also uses "mind over matter" to help him persevere through pain and perform at a premium level.

Jim already has four victories in the 200 freestyle this winter-having posted a season-best mark of 2:00.05-and Delaney is pleased with how well the junior captain has fared with both the high school team and the squad she coaches at Hamden Hall.

"Jim has it is his mind that he can do anything; he's not afraid to push himself through pain and that's a quality most swimmers wish they had," Delaney says. "Jim is always revved up and ready to go, a confident, hard-working, and self-motivated swimmer who excels in the pool and in school. He trains hard and it shows."

Jim started swimming competitively at age seven, and though his trademark events had always been the backstroke and butterfly, the Indians needed someone to go the distance and so Jim quickly found himself swimming the 200 and 500 freestyles. Another thing Jim discovered was how strenuous those events can be, but as Coach Delaney says, Jim doesn't shy from pain because he wants to help his team gain.

"I treat the 200 like a 100 in that I go all out for eight laps and kind of do that same thing in the 500," says Jim. "My training with Hamden Hall is a big reason why I have the endurance to stay with it, and though it can be painful, the pain is temporary, but your time stays forever."

Jim has aspirations of getting his 200 time down to 1:54 and his mark in the 500 to 5:08 by the time the postseason arrives. Meanwhile, Jim is helping build the North Haven-North Branford program, whether it's returning to his roots by sometimes swimming the 100 butterfly in a dual-meet, or lending guidance to his teammates as a captain, a role he shares with fellow junior Doron Rose.

"I enjoy the 100 fly because I get a chance to mix it up while helping the team in any way I can," Jim says. "As a captain, one of the best things is how you notice the potential in your teammates and encourage them to keep working at it so they'll see everything pay off. The program is building and I like having an impact on that so I'm going to keep teaching my teammates certain technical things, motivate them to swim fast, and then cheer them on while they do."

Coach Delaney is impressed with the way Jim has approached his captaincy, in addition to how he volunteered to take on managerial responsibilities with North Haven's girls' team this fall, a team for which Jim's sister Sarah was a standout before graduating last year.

"I'll get them pumped up before a meet, but then Jim pulls them aside and talks to them and it means more when those words come from a captain," Delaney says. "And with the girls' team this year, Jim was like having an assistant coach with how he scored our meets and wrote down the girls' times. He liked being part of it and did a great job. Jim is a role model for everyone as both as a swimmer and an overall person."

Says Jim: "I wanted to be involved by supporting the girls the same way they've supported us. I really felt like I was part of the team and I loved it."