Sports
Shot Put Takes Oak Lawn's Cappos to International, Coaching Success
1987 Oak Lawn High School graduate and state shot put champion Scott Cappos competed for Canada and was an alternate for its 1992 Summer Olympics team. He currently is the men's and women's throws coach at the University of Iowa.
As Scott Cappos was becoming a three-time All-America selection for Indiana University in shot put, the next opportunity came from his birth certificate.
A coach noticed dual citizenship during paperwork. Cappos’ father emigrated from Canada, where Cappos was born before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. The 1987 Class AA state champion for Oak Lawn Community High School, Cappos could represent Canada internationally.
“The U.S. has the best shot putters in the world,” Cappos said. “I kind of looked at it as an opportunity to travel all over the world to do what I loved. Having Canada or U.S.A. on my chest, it didn’t really matter.”
Cappos was a Canadian national champion from 1992-95 and alternate for the 1992 Olympics. By 1995, Cappos had a No. 37 world ranking with a full-time job.
After an elbow injury prevented Cappos from 1996 Olympic hopes, he focused on coaching. He started in 1992 as a volunteer for Lyons Township.
“He talked about (coaching) when he was in college,” said George Dunn, Cappos' coach at Oak Lawn. “It’s nothing I really pushed him into. That was his own choice, which was a good one.”
Cappos joined Iowa as an assistant in 1997 and has been the men’s and women’s throws coach the past three seasons. In 2007, he was the USTFCCCA Men’s Midwest Region Throws Coach of the Year. Iowa’s men won the 2011 outdoor Big Ten Conference meet 125.5 to 123 over Minnesota at home.
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“To me, it was the most exciting moment I’ve ever had as a coach,” Cappos said. “I’ve been fortunate to win an individual title and team titles at Indiana. For coaching, it was 15 years in the making. It was special because it took so much more time and it’s such a big part of my life.”
In July, Cappos wore the U.S.A. uniform for the first time. He coached at the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Miramar, Fla.
“I’d like to continue to have success, All-Americans and eventually I’d like to coach on the U.S. Olympic Team. It might be a 10- to 15-year process, but that’s a goal I have,” Cappos said.
