By Jennifer Small, Courier Sports Editor:
Steve Kapinos has not had the easiest job as the captain of
the East Haven football team. After going 0-10
last season, the Yellowjackets are winless so far in 2008, but Steve is hoping
to end his final year of football on a high note.
“Our goal now is to beat Branford in the Thanksgiving Day
game,” he says. “Our chances are good because records mean nothing and all that
matters is who wants the game more.”
The biggest challenge Steve has faced as a captain this
season has been motivating his teammates to want it as much as he does. While
it has been tough as the Yellowjackets have dropped some close contests, Steve
has been focusing on keeping the morale up.
“Some of the kids are down that we’re losing and feel
there’s no need for practice so it’s tough to keep them wanting to play, but we
go out every day trying our hardest,” he says. “We just tell them you could win
every game and it begins at practice.”
Steve has had plenty of practice with the sport as he
started flag football when he was five years old and never looked back. He grew
up playing for East Haven Youth Football where he used to play quarterback.
Entering high school, Steve switched to fullback and outside
linebacker—positions he has held throughout his high school career.
“I love those positions,” says Steve. “There’s a lot of
contact and not as much pressure as quarterback, but you get to tackle and get
hit.”
Steve isn’t the first in his family to play football. His
older brothers, Michael and Matt, were both athletes at East Haven High School
with Matt playing football as a senior when Steve was a freshman.
“It was nice watching him play and giving me determination
to play all four years myself,” says Steve. “Everyone looked up to him and I
did too and it made me want to be just like that when I was a senior.”
In addition to playing four years, one of Steve’s biggest
goals was to be named captain, like Matt. That goal came to fruition this
season and marks the highlight of Steve’s football career.
“It’s a big accomplishment and I’ve been working toward it
my whole life,” he says. “When I was younger, I would always imagine being
captain of the football team.”
While football is Steve’s favorite sport, his athletic
endeavors don’t stop there. He again looked to his older brothers for
inspiration as he took up basketball at age four and will be a captain of the
Yellowjackets this winter, like his brother Michael.
Steve, a small forward or shooting guard, saw varsity time
last year and has high hopes for this season as well.
“We want to go really far in state tournament,” says Steve.
“We have a good group who has been playing together since we were little kids.”
In the spring, Steve is a member of the outdoor track team
for which he runs hurdles and throws the javelin. Though he originally joined
to stay in shape for football and basketball, he found he enjoyed that sport as
well.
Athletics isn’t the only area in which Steve’s brothers have
influenced him. He also followed in their footsteps in the classroom as Steve
is ranked sixth in his class and a member of the National Honor Society. He
plans to study engineering at UConn, where Matt is also at school.
“My brothers were also ranked high so watching them handle
it all really taught me that school comes first and sports come after that,”
says Steve. “My parents have always been there, too. They’re at every game. My
coaches through the years have really pushed me as well.”
While basketball is looming just around the corner, for now,
all of Steve’s focus is on Nov. 27 when the Yellowjackets will take on the
Hornets in the annual Thanksgiving Day game.
This year will mark the second Thanksgiving game Steve has
played in with the first being last year’s last-minute heartbreaker. Though
disappointed with the loss, it gives Steve and his team further motivation to
notch the win next week.
“We all want to go out on a winning note,” says Steve. “The
seniors are 0-20 so it’d be nice to win our last game—and our first game. I’m
going to miss being on the field with all my friends and teammates and playing
football every day. It hasn’t sunk in that it’s over yet, but I think
Thanksgiving is when it will be tough.”