By Dan Canastra
If a young Vinny Tortorella had his way, he’d be tossing baseballs right now instead of hammers.
The nation’s seventh best thrower’s first love was not track, but baseball. In fact, the current Husky didn’t even think about participating in track until one day, during his freshman year of high school when his old little-league coach introduced him to the track team’s throwing coach. Tortorella joined the indoor team that winter and never looked back. As a freshman he only competed in a few meets, but decided to stick with track, forgoing baseball in the spring.
After Tortorella’s freshman year of high school, he blossomed into one of the best thrower’s in the state of Rhode Island. He was a two-time indoor state champion in the weight throw as well as in the hammer, discuss, and shot put. Not to mention he was also captain of the track team his senior year. Because of Tortorella’s success in high school, many colleges tried to recruit him.
“I was mostly recruited by schools on the east coast,” he said. “I was trying to figure out a good balance between athletics and academics. I really liked the engineering and co-op programs, which are the reasons that drove me to Northeastern and not any of the other schools that were recruiting me at the time,” said Tortorella.
Tortorella had high hopes going into his freshman year at Northeastern. However, during winter break of that year Tortorella blew out his knee, tearing his anterior crucial ligament. The injury caused him to be red-shirted for both the indoor and outdoor seasons that year. Despite missing much of his freshman year, Tortorella bounced back from the injury and had a successful sophomore campaign.
Tortorella dominated the weight throw during the track indoor season his sophomore year. He racked up six first place finishes, including the New England Championship. He found the same kind of success in the outdoor season that year, winning the New England Championship there as well.
“For what I have to do my knee doesn’t get in my way to the point that it doesn’t affect my performance, it’s not going to hold me back,” said Tortorella.
Tortorella’s middler and junior seasons topped his impressive sophomore campaign.
However, such success didn’t come easy, Tortorella had to dedicate himself to track year-round to compete at the level he does. Northeastern coach Sherman Hart described Tortorella as a workaholic; someone who’s religiously in the weight room.
“I try to make a good combination of weight lifting, plyo-metrics, short sprints and quality throwing, which includes technique. I don’t necessarily throw far, I work on the little things to improve technique that will help my distance in the long run,” said Tortorella.
Hart and the rest of the coaching staff chose Tortorella to be one of the team’s co-captains for his senior year. Hart chose Tortorella because of his leadership, saying that “he always has a comment” and that “both the guys and girls teams look up to him.”
Tortorella is honored, and feels a sense of responsibility being a captain.
“I feel I should lead the younger kids in the right direction. I try to get them to have the right approach on and off the track,” said Tortorella.
As for now, Tortorella is looking for the team and himself to have a successful outdoor season. He feels that the team needs to stay focused, and put in a quality amount of time into training.
“Each person needs to progress in the weight room and on the track. It will all come down to each athlete getting better throughout the season,” said Tortorella.
Tortorella doesn’t see himself leaving the track scene anytime soon. He doesn’t graduate until 2004, but this is his last eligible year that he can participate in collegiate track. Next year, while finishing his final year at Northeastern, he hopes to throw in a few open meets, and train for the 2004 Olympic trials, where he will throw the hammer. Once he graduates, he hopes to get a job in his field of Chemical Engineering, and, depending on what happens in 2004, wants to compete in the 2008 Olympic trials.
