When Teddy Capsis first began his football journey, he was 7 years old playing for his father Doric as a Mineola Chief.
Now, the East Williston resident plays for College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts as a defensive lineman and was recently named to the All-Patriot League second team for his work on the field this year.
Teddy, 20, said he was recruited to Holy Cross by offensive line coach Bill Samko during his time at Chaminade High School, where he was a three-sport athlete between football, baseball and track and field.
Teddy said Chaminade football coach Stephen Boyd taught him to work through the struggles and trust in the process to improve as a defensive lineman.
“He always told us, ‘If you put the hard work in now, you’ll see results,'” Teddy said. “With this award, I’m starting to see results, which is exciting. We put a lot of work in year-round.”
At Chaminade, Teddy served as team captain during his senior season and helped lead the team to the 2014 Catholic High School Football League AA title. He made 87 tackles as a Flyer, including 55 solo tackles and 10 sacks.
Doric served as Teddy’s first head coach for five years for the Mineola Chiefs as an offensive and defensive lineman as well as the occasional running back on short plays.
Teddy’s mother Ariadne was constantly supportive of her son’s football career and “always patched me up,” Teddy said.
Doric said he always emphasized “Never give up on a play and good things will happen” to his team, and four of his former players have moved on to play in college.
“He took heed to this and played the game with tenacity on offense and defense at all times,” Doric said. “He was a pleasure to coach and I cherish those five years immensely. I would give him and his teammates very specific goals for each play and gradually make the goals more challenging so that they would continue to improve.”
Since his time at Holy Cross, Teddy said, he has improved exponentially from his playing days on Long Island.
He has played in every game since he joined the team in 2015, including a 17-yard sack in a win over Lafayette College as a freshman and a touchdown against Morgan State University as a sophomore.
This season, Teddy has recorded 23 solo tackles and six sacks in the Crusaders’ 11 games.
With one year left at Holy Cross, Teddy said he will push for a first team designation next year or possibly defensive player of the year. After college, he plans to use his degree to find a job in the financial sector, possibly working with banks on clientele research.
Teddy said when his defensive line coach Charlie Noonan congratulated him on the All-Patriot League honor, he told him to “set his goals higher” because he believed he could continue to grow into an even better player.
“He’s kind of molded me into who I am,” Teddy said of Noonan. “My freshman year, he was really hard on me because I had to play right out the gate because of injuries, and he expected me to play as a senior. My sophomore year, he gave me the opportunity to start right away. He kept pushing me, and I owe a lot to him.”
