Nick graduated from Sheffield High School in 1963 and Florence State College in 1970. He was a true leader and the captain of the Bulldog track squad in high school. He ran the mile, the half mile, the 880 and the leg of the mile relay. In 1961,as a tenth grader he set both a Sheffield and Tennessee Valley Conference record in the 880 with a time of 2:05.1.  He later bettered that mark with a time of 2:01 in the Tri-Cities Track meet. Also during his senior year Nick set a Sheffield High School record in the mile run with a time of 4:41 along with running a leg on the mile relay team that set a record of 3:32.9   After high school he was signed to a track scholarship with Northwestern St. College in Louisiana. In college he was a member of the Gulf South Conference Champion Cross-country team and a member of the two mile relay team that set a school record.