Jim Zaccardo has been a four-year student-athlete at Malden Catholic. A four-year, three-sport athlete.

The number of football, swimming, and lacrosse practices he has participated in seems endless, one blending into another.

His lacrosse workout on Tuesday afternoon at Donovan Field in Malden, though, had a different feel. It was one of his last practice sessions of his high school career. The Lancers played Tewksbury in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament on Thursday.

So, as the senior attack from Reading cycled into a possession drill, weaving passes along the edge of the each one had a little extra zip, each subsequent in-line fist bump a little extra firmness.

“The last [lacrosse senior night] was bittersweet to say the least,’’ said Zaccardo, before adding with emphasis, “I’m really happy I’d played all 12 seasons in high school. The experiences I’ve had with my teams over the years are the reason I am who I am today.’’

There are memories that will resonate for quite some time.

¦ Oct. 23, 2015: the Lancer football team pulled out a 22-14 double-overtime victory over Catholic Memorial, the program’s first Catholic Conference victory in six years. He was the long snapper.

¦ May 19, 2016: The senior attack scored winner in the last conference game of his career, and more importantly, his last game against St. John’s Prep.

Organized sports have been a part of Zaccardo’s life for as long as he can remember.

At age 5, he took swimming lessons, and later joined the Bradford Swim Club. Three years later, he signed up for Pop Warner football, and youth lacrosse.

In the years since, it has been a revolving cycle: preseason football practices blur into the regular season, the gridiron quickly replaced by swim practices, and then lacrosse in the spring.

His days as a high school athlete, a three-sport athlete are coming to an end. It would be easy to react with feelings of gloom and melancholy. But there are lifelong lessons he has absorbed, relationships and experiences that he will carry as he moves on to other pursuits.

This fall, Zaccardo will attend Arizona State University, where he plans to major in business and sports management. He’d like to help out with the ASU football team in some capacity.

“When you bounce from season to season and team to team, you experience working together with a variety of people,’’ Zaccardo said.

“If you want to be successful, you have to develop the ability to co-exist with and help your teammates. The same is true with academic work and jobs.’’

Time management, he noted, is essential; the daily routine of classes, games and practices after school, morning swims, and team-bonding events, using one’s time efficiently becomes a matter of success or failure.

Evan Fletcher , a graduating senior at Chelmsford High, has been a four-year football, basketball, and volleyball player for the Lions.

He is headed to West Virginia University to study nursing.

“All of my friends are the guys I’ve been playing sports with my entire life,’’ Fletcher said.

“You get to know a lot of individuals, and in environments where teamwork is essential, you end up finding the people you’re closest with.’’

Such camaraderie, however, did not result in a high victory total his senior year.

The football and basketball teams finished 2-9 and 7-13 respectively.

It is in the crucible of tough times that creates the strongest qualities though.

“The [football and basketball] seasons didn’t go as well as planned,’’ Fletcher said.

“I’ve been lucky to have had coaches that spin those into life lessons though. Call it cliché all you want, but the encouragement of my coaches to keep moving forward and not give up has given me a determination that I know will come in handy when facing future obstacles.’’

At Amesbury High, a pair of senior captains on the girls’ softball team, Zoe Fitzgerald and Megan Reid, are wrapping up four-year, three-season careers that also included soccer and basketball.

“Both have been captains in multiple sports,’’ said Amesbury softball coach Jackie Waters.

“Their versatility is a testament to their hard work in each season.’’

Specialization in a single sport is a growing trend among young athletes.

But according to Waters, the diversity of the sports that athletes like Fitzgerald and Reid play directly correlates with their diversity of skills as they move past high school.

“I feel that kids become more well-rounded by honing their craft in three different sports, meeting three different sets of teammates and coaches, fighting through obstacles both similar to and unique in different sports,’’ said the coach.

“Sports come and go so fast. Go play as much as you can – have fun.’’

Reid, who plans to pursue a degree in elementary education at Westfield State University, said “I feel as though I’ve done better in each sport because of the others.’’

Added Fitzgerald, who is headed to the University of New Hampshire, “The confidence gained from finding success in different sports, at least for me, has opened up a whole new sense of potential moving forward.

Three-sport athletes have become a rare breed, an exemplification of unadulterated passion and drive.

“I’d do it all the same way if I had another shot at it,’’ Zaccardo said.

“My experiences in Malden Catholic sports have shaped who I am for the better.’’

Ethan Schroeder can be reached at ethan.schroeder@globe.com.