Captain

From the age of five, Nicholas Filzen loved soccer. His love for the game, led him to join the team once he got to high school. As a freshman, he made the varsity team and started as a defender.  Despite being just a Junior, Filzen is now the captain of the soccer team.  In his Junior season, Filzen won the All White Division Honor. His honors and role on the team can be attributed to the fact that, “He likes to be a leader and take charge,” explained teammate, Junior Brendan Leviten. Outside of school, Nick plays soccer for an Edison travel team called EUSA.

Unlike soccer, Filzen just started playing volleyball when he got to high school. But he had an aptitude for the game and despite missing his freshman season due to an injury, he was on the varsity team his sophomore year, although he wasn’t able to play until the second half of the season. This year, as a Junior, he is now the captain of the team and has moved to the front row to be a hitter. Even though he doesn’t have much experience playing, Junior teammate Thomas Ciulla said, “He is the hardest worker on the team and has the fire needed to  win.”

Vice-President

Filzen is not only involved in sports,  but is also a member of several clubs throughout the school. This year as a Junior, he ran for vice-president and won the election. As the vice-president, he has a say in many of the decisions that affect his class, such as selecting members to play in March Madness.  Not only is he the vice-president, but he also is a member of the student advisory. This year, Filzen was selected as a member of Heroes and Cool Kids where he goes to talk to middle school students about issues such as bullying and drugs. He was also inducted into the National Honor Society this year, a prestigious honor.  After school on Wednesdays, he goes to Ping Pong Club where he came in second place in the tournament this year. Filzen takes great pride in doing so well in the tournament calling himself, “[Being] the second best ping pong player in the school is pretty cool.”  As the vice-president of the class, he is expected to participate in the spirit week events. But, Filzen takes it to the next level, going all out on every day of spirit week.

Coach/Worker

On Tuesday and Friday nights, Filzen can be found doing the scoreboard for recreational basketball games, and on Saturday mornings, he referees basketball games for Colonia Youth Basketball. Filzen’s  love for basketball inspired him to become a coach to an 8-year old boys’ travel team. They play in the Mayor’s Trophy tournament. Filzen hosted the tryouts, holds practices, and coaches the boys during their games. His experience with basketball comes from playing for almost ten years with Colonia Youth Basketball. In addition to playing basketball for all those years, he also played baseball up until this year when he has finally decided to stop.

Home Life

At home, Nick Filzen lives with his mother Susan and father James. Filzen has an older brother named Tim who is a Colonia High School Alumni who is now away at college. Next month, Filzen will be celebrating his 17^th birthday and he looks forward to getting his license and being able to drive on his own. The Filzen home is a hot spot to be with Nick’s friends. During the summer, his friends can be found almost always in his backyard in the pool. When they aren’t in the backyard, they’re most often in his basement which consists of a ping pong table, pool table, weights, a foosball table, a basketball shooting game, and his Xbox.

“Fil”

Even though Filzen spends a lot of his time working, playing, and coaching, he still finds time to be with his friends. Amongst his friends, his nickname is “Fil.” The nickname can be credited to his friend Jimmy Becker who was the first to start calling him by the name. The name stuck, and is now more common than “Nick” to him.

With his friends, “Fil” enjoys playing basketball and just hanging out. Even in pick-up games of basketball, Filzen works hard and friend and former teammate Andres Camacho noted, “He’s the best teammate and friend on and off the field.”

Filzen takes a lot of pride in what he does and this especially applies to his hair. Every morning, he takes styles his hair and makes sure it stays perfect throughout the day. Not only does he take pride in how his hair looks but also in his shoes. He owns somewhere around 14 pairs of shoes. This passion for his shoes and hair could be the reason he won the award for best style in middle school. With his friends, he is known as a great chef. He is the cook amongst his group and is the one to be in charge of the grill at barbeques.