“I owe everything to my coaches. They’ve pushed me in many ways to be my best. With their support and dedication I have grown to be a better person and a better player,” said sophomore Carly Cappello about her latest Junior Olympic achievement.
A very talented volleyball player, Cappello has done something that most high school athletes only dream about doing. She and her team, Altitude, placed second out of forty-eight teams in the Summer 2012 Junior Olympics. To enter the Junior Olympics, a team must first win a qualifying round. Altitude won gold in the Mideast Qualifier in Indianapolis, Indiana, several weeks before the Junior Olympics took place in Columbus, Ohio.
Cappello has been around volleyball her whole life. As a kid, she played volleyball with her neighbors in their driveway. So when she reached fifth grade and was able to play for her school, St. John the Baptist, she jumped at the opportunity. She has won several awards in the sport, including three MVP awards. At the Junior Olympics, she was named to the “All-American” team. She joined her club team, Altitude, and hasn’t spent a day without bumping around a ball, playing for her team as an outside hitter.
For her, playing college volleyball at Florida State or Notre Dame is her dream. But Cappello has even bigger aspirations: to play for team USA in the Olympics. Not such a lofty goal if you consider that her team has played in six different states, including Florida, Kentucky, and Georgia.
Cappello’s advice to other aspiring players, whether it be high school, college, or Olympic: “Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not strong enough, not tall enough, or not good enough to play. If it’s what you love, work at it with everything you have and the only outcome is greatness.”