After reaching the BUCS Championship final twelve months ago, the University of Men's Lacrosse first team are looking to make another run at the title with a semi-final this week, and are bolstered this year by the addition of sport scholar Owen Caputo. Caputo joined the University of Nottingham last September, just months removed from competing at the very highest level of NCAA lacrosse in America for Duke University. He finished his time at Division I level with 56 goals and 38 assists for 94 points. We recently spoke to the five-year letter winner for the Duke Blue Devils to find out more about his decision to move to Nottingham to study in the business school, his expectations for the next few weeks on the pitch, as well as his time growing up around lacrosse back home.
Good to meet you Owen. It’d be great if you could tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you got into the sport?
Absolutely, so I’m Owen Caputo and I play lacrosse. I got into the sport because my dad has been a lacrosse coach for a very long time back in America. He coached at Hofstra University and then at Duke University, which is the college that I was at before coming here to the University of Nottingham. I probably started playing the sport when I was around 7 or 8 years old and then played all the way through high school and college.
I really enjoy the athleticism and co-ordination needed to play the sport of lacrosse, as well as the IQ. It’s really a mix of everything and you can let yourself go when you’re playing. You don’t have to hesitate too much because it’s very instinctual which is what I love about it.
How would you describe your high school and NCAA experience back home?
I played at a high school called Middle Creek, and played with my brother on the team there. We made it to two state championships during my time there and won one of those in my junior (third) year. When I then moved on to play NCAA Division 1 lacrosse at Duke University, we made it to three Final Four's and one NCAA Division I National Championship final. Unfortunately we lost the final in my final year at Duke which was a heartbreaker. Overall, I’ve played on some great lacrosse teams in my career so far – it’s been fun.
What was it that made the decision for you to come and play at the University of Nottingham after you’d finished at Duke?
I didn’t want to give up the sport after I finished at Duke so that’s why I made the decision to study and play for an extra year here in Nottingham. The extra year of being able to continue play lacrosse played a big part in my decision. I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do with my life – I did have a job lined up but Phil Wood (Scholarship and Recruitment Manager at the University of Nottingham) reached out to me and it seemed like a really cool opportunity. I’d only ever been outside of the US once before moving over here and I know how easy it is to travel throughout Europe from the UK, so I wanted to use this opportunity as a way to continue playing lacrosse, further my education and also see different parts of the world, learn about new cultures, and meet new people.
How have you found the transition over to the UK?
Honestly, it’s not been too difficult. The simple fact that everyone obviously speaks English is a huge plus because I’ve been to a few different countries since I’ve been here and that language barrier can be an issue. The culture in the UK isn’t that different to back home, although one thing I have adapted to is the grading scale here, but overall, the experience here has been really cool and the transition hasn’t been too difficult for me.
What is it that you’re studying here, and what did you study in America?
The course that I’m studying now is actually slightly different to what I studied in America. I was a Sociology major at Duke, and then here I am studying International Business. I thought that it would be important to get a business degree to help me move forward in my career after my time here in Nottingham.
Have you had to adapt to a different culture here in the UK?
I would say that there is definitely a big difference here. At Duke we would practice four to six times a week depending on the time of year, whereas here we have three training sessions and a match on Wednesdays so that’s a little different. It’s a lighter load here, but that’s really helped my body and I definitely needed it. Besides that, it’s really quite similar with games every week, and here we play games in the fall and spring, rather than just in the spring in the US.
Have you had to adapt your game on the field during your time here so far?
So I play midfield here at the University of Nottingham, and I have had to change my game a little bit. At Duke, opponents would plan and defend against us more as a team, whereas here it seems opponents focus their defence more on stopping myself and a couple of others. That’s made me really have to see ahead to what defences here in the UK are going to try and do so that I can get the ball to the right place and help the team.
With the experience that you have, have you been able to become a bit of a leader in the team here?
I would say so. I think that with my dad being a coach, he passed on a lot of knowledge to me. I think that because lacrosse isn’t as big here as it is in the US, a lot of the players on the team just haven’t had the opportunity to have seen or played as much lacrosse as I have being in America so I think I can pass on knowledge to them. Whenever I see certain things happen in practice, I always try to give feedback and I do enjoy that.
How has the season gone so far for the lacrosse programme?
It’s going well so far, I think our record is pretty good so far. I think that we can go pretty deep into the playoffs with a chance of returning to the BUCS National Championship. Hopefully we get that opportunity and can bring the trophy back to Nottingham.
What do you take away from your Championship run with Duke that you can bring here to Nottingham?
So that run was a really a dream come true apart from the fact that we didn’t win it. Playing in an NCAA Championship final was incredible because going to those kind of games as a kid, I would daydream about playing in those big moments so when the time came it was just awesome. The atmosphere was fantastic because there was upwards of 30,000 people in attendance so to play in front of that many people was really cool – a little nerve racking – but a great experience.
As well as your dad being a coach, you’re from a very sporty family – is that correct?
Absolutely – my brother is still playing lacrosse at Duke in his fifth year. I played with him in high school and at university so it’s been a really cool experience to do that with him. We both played offense in high school so we had that connection where we could look for each other. Having my dad coaching at Duke as well made those years there with all three of us really special. I also have a sister who played lacrosse at ECU and had a great time too. They’ve been really supportive of my decision to continue my career here in Nottingham – I think it was a small surprise to them but I made the decision pretty early that I wanted to do this and keep playing. They all know how much the sport means to me and they were really supportive of the decision.
What would your advice be to other NCAA athletes who are thinking about continuing their playing career and education overseas?
I would say definitely do it! It’s a great experience – you get the opportunity to meet a load of new people, continue playing your sport, travel the world and see lots of different cultures so I would say to anyone thinking about it that they should definitely do it.
How will you look back on your time here at Nottingham?
I think that I will look back on this experience as life-changing and overall a really good decision. Obviously I mentioned before the opportunity to keep on playing and further my education, but I think if I didn’t make this decision I wouldn’t have the same passion for my sport or experiences that I’ve had. I hope that I can keep many of the connections that I’ve made here in Nottingham. I have roommates that I’ve met here that I hope we can continue to be good friends back in the states, and hopefully many of the UK based connections I’ve made will keep in touch.
We thank Owen for his time and look forward to seeing if he and the men's lacrosse side can make it to another final when they play Oxford in the semi-final this Wednesday (6th March). We wish him and his team mates the very best of luck in their endeavours on the pitch, and also support Owen as he looks to complete his degree here at the University of Nottingham.
You can find out more about
Men's Performance Lacrosse at the University of Nottingham here, as well as more information about
our Sport Scholarship programme here.
Posted on Monday 4th March 2024