Nick Amendolara Jr is a native of Bayville, New York. (Photo Courtesy: Nick Amendolara Jr.)
When you think of baseball, you think of a classic father and son sport where the father watches his son move up and play the game at different levels. For Dean College catcher Nick Amendolara Jr, that opportunity was cut short.
Amendolara started playing baseball in the first grade, since his father, Nick Amendolara, played in high school and signed him up for Little League at a young age. Amendolara also started playing football in seventh grade, a sport his father also played. Amendolara then played football in high school as a running back and linebacker. When it came time to choose between playing baseball or football at the collegiate level, Amendolara chose baseball since he always had fun playing it and had concerns about the toll football could have on his body.
Amendolara believes there are similarities in your mental toughness when playing football and baseball and that playing football helps with your speed while baseball helps with your coordination. He still thinks that football is tougher to practice, as football involves a lot of conditioning and four-hour summer practices, while baseball training often takes place on the side or during the winter by hitting in the batting cage and staying in shape in the weight room.
Amendolara has been a catcher all the way from his Little League days. When he started playing baseball in high school, he was going to be playing third base during his sophomore season. However, this never happened as COVID-19 hit the United States during that time. When he finally returned to the field, he was moved to catcher where he had been playing his whole life.
Something that catchers often have to deal with is the weather and fatigue for all nine innings and the possible pain they may feel from crouching behind home plate. “If it is freezing, you will stay warm, but I do get tired, and sometimes it is difficult because as a freshman, so much is going on and you have to know everything. I also feel like there is a lot of pressure on myself to perform,” Amendolara mentioned.
“I like catching because you are involved in every play, and you are not sitting there bored,” Amendolara explained. “Normally, people get knee pain, but I don’t get too much. I will feel tight the day after though,” Amendolara continued.
When it came time for the Bayville, New York native to decide where he wanted to continue playing baseball at the collegiate level, Dean College was by far his top choice.
“I chose Dean because it is a smaller school, and I knew I would be getting playing time. I just wanted to play,” Amendolara said.
Unfortunately, Amendolara’s father passed away this past fall on October 7th, right before Dean’s baseball scrimmage against Curry College.
“It motivates me every day to keep going and play for him. He put so much effort in me getting to the college level for baseball. It sucks that he passed away before our first game and couldn’t see me play. I just want to make him proud,” Amendolara said. “He was also very encouraging, and if I had a bad game, he always would be there for me and give the positives of what happened,” Amendolara continued.
“I am so proud of Nicholas because it is a great accomplishment to play baseball at the college level. His years of dedication and determination have paid off,” Amendolara mother, Lorraine Amendolara, explained. “His father would have also been very proud of him. He taught Nick to work hard and always have the drive to become better and not settle. Nick’s dad devoted his time and played a huge part in helping Nick achieve his goal of playing college baseball. If he was still with us, he would have loved to watch him play in person and would have attended as many games as he could,” Amendolara’s mother shared.