Legendary local athlete John Capel has developed a program to help young up and coming athletes. His goal is to help prepare the next generation of athletes.
Capel’s athletic accomplishments are many. At the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, Capel won the 200-meter sprint with a time of 19.85 seconds. He then won the 200-meter gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in France. He was a favorite going into the 2004 Olympics.
He also played football at the University of Florida, where he played in every game as a Freshman and Sophomore. He did not play in the 2000 season because of his track commitments. He then decided in 2001 to forge his college eligibility and enter the NFL draft where he was drafted by the Chicago Bears.
After his athletic career ended, he returned to Hernando County. A couple of years ago, Capel, his wife Sandy and some friends started True Elite Athletes and Mentors Inc., or T.E.A.M. This organization provides opportunities for kids to compete in both track and football.
T.E.A.M. provides Track & Field for kids from 4 to 18 years old. They offer AAU Flag Football for children from 4 to 7 years old and AAU Tackle Football for kids 12 years and under. They also offer AAU Cheerleading for 6 to 13 year olds. They provide mentoring on the importance of good sportsmanship, perseverance and hard work as well as the benefits of going to college.
T.E.A.M. names their football teams after college teams, because they want the kids to get use to the idea of going to college. There are Gators, Bulldogs, Bulls, and others, but no Seminoles (rivalries run deep). Last August they took a field trip to Gainesville with the kids and showed them around the campus. The highlight of the trip was seeing the inside of the the locker room. You can tell Capel and the other coaches enjoy working with the kids.
They are also planning to offer tutoring for the athletes that need it. Sandy is a teacher at Brooksville Elementary, so she is well qualified.
It is great to see a world class athlete giving back to the community. The kids are really benefiting from the mentoring and discipline that they are learning at T.E.A.M. Their website is http://trueliteathletesandmentors.com/ and you can call them at (352) 556-8667 and ask for Sandy. They also accept donations and are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. The organization is accepting donations for new helmets. This year they need new helmets since there are many younger kids who do not fit into the larger helmets purchased previously.
Come out to watch these excellent young athletes at Springstead High School on Saturday morning starting at 9:30 for flag football (4 to 7 year olds) and tackle for the under 12’s later on.
