By John Cinnamon
He dreamed of playing for the college team in the Hoosier state, but the odds were long. This was a national championship winner with a storied history. He was a walk-on considered too small to make the team, much less see any playing time. But through perseverance and hard work, by the time he was a senior he reached the pinnacle. “Rudy” and the Notre Dame football team?
Nope. This is the story of Paul “Whitey” Kapsalis and his quest to play college soccer at Indiana University, a story Kapsalis and co-author Ted Gregory tell in the book, To Chase a Dream (Meyer & Meyer, 2014).
Originally from Michigan, Kapsalis moved with his family to Carmel, Indiana when he was a sophomore in high school. It was during that time playing soccer for the Greyhounds that Whitey fell in love with the I.U. soccer program. “It was such a neat program,” he said. “They just had an aura about them and a tradition.” And even though he had already earned a partial scholarship to play at Michigan State, he couldn’t shake the notion of playing for a national soccer powerhouse.
It was a long shot that the 5’5”, 140-pound Kapsalis would make the team and everybody knew it. “People in the know, my (high school) teammates, they were supportive but they were realistic,” said Whitey. “You just don’t go to that kind of a place and play. I wasn’t of the caliber that was typical of playing at I.U.” Even long-time I.U. soccer coach Jerry Yeagley, while kind, was still blunt in his assessment of Kapsalis’s chances in Bloomington. “You’re more than welcome to try out, but it’s not likely that you’ll ever play here,” said Yeagley as Whitey recalls.
But he did make the team as a freshman in 1983 – barely. “I was the 35th man on a 35-man roster,” he said. To Chase a Dream – available at amazon.com – chronicles Kapsalis’s journey from walk-on freshman to team captain; years marked by injury, doubt, perseverance, and drive. For Whitey Kapsalis, the dream came true … and then some. “In the end, the dream was better than what I thought it would be.” Kapsalis lives in Fishers with his wife and three children.
