By Max Bowen-max.bowen@northstarreporter.com
Looking back on his time with the Red Rocketeers’ football team, Jared Vacher said it was the best four years of his life.
Vacher, who will graduate this year, was recently chosen to receive the Scholar Athlete Award by the EMASS Chapter of the National Football Foundation. This marks the 16th time a North Attleborough athlete has been recognized by the foundation since 1976. Vacher said he hadn’t heard of the award until he heard he’d be receiving it, and was excited by the news. During his time on the team, Vacher was a defensive end, playing mostly tackle but also center and tight end.
Though Vacher’s time with the NAHS football team has closed out, he will continue on with Tufts University, where he will major in economics. He said that last spring he attended football camps where he knew Tufts coaches would be, as it was among his top choices for college.
“That’s just a level of education I wanted to go to,” said Vacher, adding that he wanted to attend college in Boston so he could be close to home.
In his senior year, Vacher learned that he made team captain, and it was in the off-season that his responsibilities kicked in. He said not much changed from before, but that he’d be talking with the team more often. He said that he’d always give 100 percent in the games and would encourage others to do the same.
“So that when the game started, we’d be ready,” said Vacher.
When asked about the more challenging teams, Vacher said Bishop Feehan and Attleboro were at the top, mostly because North Attleborough could underestimate them.
“We came in with the mindset that we were better than them, and that wasn’t not the truth, but we just came in with too high of expectations,” he said.
Vacher credits his father, who also played high school football—with getting him into the sport. Vacher’s father would sometimes talk about his time on the field, and they often watched games on TV. Vacher said that education comes before sports, though in his younger years he had thought of going pro. He said it was a tough realization to make, but that it was clear he should focus on his studies. He said the importance of hard work was the biggest lesson learned during his time in football.
“Definitely working harder has translated in the classroom, into the weight room, into other sports,” he said. “And I think just keep working hard. I’ll keep succeeding where I want to succeed.”
