Argentina’s Tomas Capogrosso in action at the U19 World Championship in Tunis
Tunis, Tunisia, August 23, 2019 – In the world of volleyball, Capogrosso is a familiar name. Nicolas Capogrosso, participant in this year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship and a member of Argentina’s highest ranked pair, is a well known name on the World Tour, but this is the story of his younger brother Tomas, an indoor player, who is currently defending his country’s colours at FIVB Boys’ U19 Volleyball World Championship.
Tomas Capogrosso (#10) and his teammates of Argentina’s U19 national squad
On the premises of the event in Tunisia, Tomas Capogrosso told fivb.com how inspiring is the example his brother sets for him, but also about the other members of the family, who offer him full support along the way to chasing his dreams on the volleyball court.
“Thanks to my older brother, I got into playing volleyball. I saw him play the sport, I liked it and I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” 16-year-old Tomas began the story. “I was seven years old when my passion for volleyball started. I admired my brother and wanted to be like him more than anything in the world.”
Tomas is keen of following Nicolas’s path to the highest athletic level. Yet he has made a slightly different choice of sports.
“My brother played indoor volleyball first. He was a setter and played on the national team. Then he switched to beach volleyball. Myself, I like indoor better than beach, so I have no intention on switching,” explained the young hopeful.
Still, Tomas likes beach volleyball a lot. He has played in tournaments and even won first places, but he just sees it as one of his favourite pastimes.
“My hobbies are swimming and beach volleyball. I actually started practising swimming before taking on volleyball, but I eventually opted for volleyball because I like it better,” he said.
He struggled to pinpoint what it is that he likes about volleyball the most and simply said, “Everything!”
Tomas Capogrosso has always played for one club, Son de Rosario, better known as Sonder, and he is extremely grateful to them for introducing him to volleyball’s fundamentals. However, he aspires to play professionally with a big foreign club, maybe in Europe, where he has never been, but dreams of going.
“I want to play professional volleyball in another country, like Italy or Russia. Of course, I also want to be good enough to play in the men’s national team of Argentina,” Tomas pointed out.
Tomas’s sporting idol outside volleyball is basketballer Stephen Curry. “He is a distinct player, very diverse, and I see a lot of similarities between him and me,” the 194-cm-tall youngster explained. “But in volleyball, my idol is my brother.”
Big brother Nicolas is not the only family member who inspires the talented outside hitter to follow his passion. Their parents are not athletes - the father is an office manager and the mother is a lawyer - but they offer all the support Tomas needs in his athletic endeavours.
Tomas’s mom on the stands of the Rades competition hall, where her son and his teammates battle for U19 World Championship honours
“It is wonderful that my mom came here in Tunis to see all the matches. She and my uncle travelled a very long distance to be here and it means a lot to me. I find it very motivating and I want to say ‘thank you’ to them,” Tomas pointed out and added that he also wants to pursue a career as a lawyer one day, just like his mother. “Mom always comes to my matches, usually together with my dad, who could not make it this time, unfortunately. I also want to thank my brother and my dad for always being there for me and helping me with everything.”