All he wanted was Rollerblades. Not an unusual request for an adventurous 9-year-old in Upper Darby, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. But at $300, the price range was a little steep for Janice Cappelli, the mother of now Syracuse sophomore Matt Cappelli.

‘He never let anything get in his way,’ she said. ‘So I told him to earn them if he really wanted them.’

Cappelli had tremendous determination, though. And he wanted Rollerblades. He wrote to the manufacturing company and promised to promote the Rollerblades in some way if they sent him a pair, possibly in skating competitions.

‘He asked me if UPS could make a delivery to the house one night,’ Janice said. ‘I just told them not to COD.’

He got his Rollerblades for free. It was just one example of his tremendous determination. It was the same determination that got the 4-foot-4 Cappelli, who has dwarfism, into college athletics as a coxswain on the Syracuse men’s crew team. He’s believed to be the shortest Division I athlete, but the NCAA does not keep official height statistics.

Cappelli and SU head coach Dave Reischman refused comment for this story.

The coxswain position is not as physically demanding as the other rowing positions because the cox doesn’t have to row. His job is to navigate the boat and motivate the rowers. But nothing ever came easy for Cappelli.

‘When he was young, he would never let anyone do anything for him,’ said Vincent Cappelli, Cappelli’s father. ‘If he needed something on a shelf, he would always push a chair over and get it. When he got a little older, he began to accept (his height) and he let people help him.’

Now on SU’s crew team, he has to use special pedals to help him steer the boat, but his parents say he never complains.

Growing up, he was a normal kid. Cappelli played Little League baseball, soccer and was on the swim team. In his free time, he was always active, Vincent said. He liked skateboarding and riding dirt bikes. His father used to modify Cappelli’s toys and bikes to fit his size. At Syracuse, Cappelli plays on his fraternity’s intramural softball team.

Cappelli attended Holy Child Academy, a Catholic grammar school in nearby Drexel Hill. His parents wanted him to go to a private school not affiliated with a parish so there wouldn’t be as many kids, Janice said.

It turned out to be a good atmosphere for Cappelli.

‘Matt wasn’t teased,’ Vincent said. ‘He had plenty of friends and didn’t stand out until his latter years – when he was 12 or 13 – and other kids started shooting up.’

Though he had a pleasant childhood, there were still times when he would be ostracized for his height.

‘People would point and stare,’ Janice said. ‘I would get upset, but Matt would just say, ‘Mom, ignore it. This has been happening my whole life.’ ‘

Cappelli wanted to remain athletically involved when he reached high school. At St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, he decided to join the crew team.

‘Being the cox made it easier for him to participate,’ Vincent said. ‘He is especially strong for his size, but he’s still at a disadvantage because of the shortness of his limbs.’

St. Joe’s is well known for its successful crew program. In the past few years, several team members have gone on to row for Ivy League schools. SU’s engineering program was the main reason Cappelli chose to come to Syracuse, though.

At SU, Cappelli still has the same determination he had when he was a kid. Though he may never be profitable for any in-line skating company, his parents are fine with him the way he is.

‘He reaches for the stars,’ Janice said.

Said Vincent: ‘He’s perfect in any way. He’s a hero for us.’

Published on April 15, 2004 at 12:00 pm