University of Richmond Athletics
Fresh Faces Feature: The Capra Sibling Rivalry
10/13/2016 | Baseball
Most little kids grow up playing in the backyard with their siblings or friends until the sun goes down. As they get older the competitive drive comes out and the games mean a little more.
Growing up, Spider Baseball's Vinny Capra experienced sibling rivalry at its finest, as all three Capra brothers played baseball. However, the stakes were a little higher with all three close in age. Vinny and John are twins and their brother Nick is only a year and eight months older.
“It was very competitive,” Capra laughed. “Each one tried to be better than the other, but I think that is what kept us striving and kept us playing, and having fun with the game.”
Being close in age to your siblings has its advantages. The Capra brothers experienced playing on the same team together in high school, and had the opportunity to play together at Eastern Florida State College.
“It was one of the greatest experiences I could ever have,” said Capra. “That was the first time we were on the same team since high school, and we only got to play together in high school for one year, so having another year in college it was a different feel. It was really awesome to play with them.”
Capra was an All-Conference infielder during his two seasons at Eastern Florida State before transferring to the University of Richmond. He would move out of Florida for the first time, leaving his brothers and parents.
“This is the first time I've been away from them. It's a little different we were always together back home there wasn't much separation,” said Capra. “Coming up here it is different in the sense that now you're kind of your own person and you don't have someone that looks like you, or someone being around you and people getting you confused all the time. We definitely still talk all the time, but it is a little different being alone up here, but I like it.”
Despite being separated from his brothers, who both play collegiate baseball in Florida, Capra was excited for the opportunity to attend the University of Richmond and play for the Spiders.
“I was really excited to get up here and to just start my own life at Richmond, and I'm still really excited for the season to start,” he said. “The transition was easier than I thought it would be though. People were telling me 'you are going to get home sick,' but in reality when you have such good guys around you on the team and a great roommate it helps you to ease through everything pretty easily.”
Capra joins 11 new Spiders this year for head coach Tracy Woodson, however he is one of three guys who comes bringing in some collegiate experience. As a veteran collegiate baseball player, Capra hopes to share some of his experiences that he has learned with the freshmen especially.
“On the field I learned how to keep yourself under control in high pressure situations, which is what I can help pass on to these freshmen who are obviously going to get nervous in their first college game,” he said. “It's more about getting comfortable with the game and the pace that it has in college – the nine innings versus the seven – and you see a lot of the guys on the team that understand these pressure situations are going to come up, but its just how you handle it, and to some of the freshmen they may not know how to handle it so it is up to us older guys to pass that on to them and help them understand how to do it.”
Capra and his Spiders teammates open the 2017 season on February 17 at defending national champion, Coastal Carolina.
“I'm really looking forward to that first game of the year against Coastal Carolina,” he said. “We are going to come out hot, that's what I'm really excited for.”
