Scott Capizzo gives voice to student achievements
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
Scott Capizzo has been involved in island sports from an early age, which isn't surprising Swhen you consider that his father is Vito, the legendary high school football coach. Scott remembers the good-natured ribbing he took from players when he was the team's waterboy, and he remembers when, years later, he was a proud member of the squad himself.

What sticks with him today is the connection to the community he felt when he was in high school, a connection he hopes today's high school students feel as well. He wonders, too, if the small-town aspect of the island is getting lost. To counter this, his plan is to deliver to students what he felt when he was growing up on the island by highlighting their efforts on cable TV.

He remembers the impact local-access television had when he was younger. Although a telecast was only seen on island, it meant you were being recognized by Nantucket. As an illustration, he tells of being interviewed by Nick Ferrantella for the old Channel 3. "It was when I was a kid at the old gym," he said. That appearance made an impression - he knew then that communications would be in his future.

Father and son. Scott in his freshman year with the Whalers.

True to his vision, Capizzo has been involved in localaccess television for several years now. His memorable and original rap announced Plum TV's arrival when it changed its identity from Nantucket Television. He followed that up on the channel with Capizzo's Corner, a lighthearted look at high school sports that attracted a loyal following.

His work on cable television keeps the familial football connection alive as well. His father is still coaching, and Scott is still involved with the team as the broadcaster for Whalers football games on Plum TV with fellow NHS alum Mark Manchester. This winter, for the second year, he is the rink announcer and voice of the newlyestablished Nantucket High School hockey team.

All of which keeps the energetic Capizzo in tune with Nantucket's youth, and for this 1987 NHS graduate the message is in the medium.

Capizzo's plan is to emphasize the positive through interviews with island students that will air on Channel 17. Working with Geno Geng, and with editor and cameraman Stephen Franklin, he already has his first interview in the can, emphasizing the academic accomplishments of a student who also plays for the varsity basketball team. That interview should air this week.

Capizzo is clear that his aim is not to focus strictly on the student/athlete but on student achievement. He hopes to give all students a showcase, a place where their abilities can be highlighted.

"There's a lot of talent on the island," he said. "This is a talented class of students. There's so much going on at Nantucket High School, and I'd like to capture that."

He sees an opportunity for students to have a chance to appear on television outside the realm of sports or school plays. "This is a way of finding other ways to put the kids on TV," he said.

Capizzo also thinks his show, while focusing on students and school activities, could branch out into other areas that are not typically seen on local television. "I'd like to feature some of the unsung heroes," he said, "people like Dennis Caron, who is the winningest junior varsity coach in Massachusetts, and no one ever hears about that." With that in mind, he also sees the show as a place to accentuate junior varsity athletes along with student contributions at the Boys and Girls Club. "I'd also like to cover issues that are important to the kids and the community." For Capizzo, the ideas are endless.

He is grateful for the opportunities given him by Plum TV on Channel 22 and is looking forward to again broadcasting Whalers football for the station. In the meantime, he looks forward to the affiliation with Channel 17 and hopes his new project will give students a chance to be recognized and to have a show in which they can feel invested, and, ultimately, an integral part of their island home.

"They should feel as though they are part of the

island, because they are a part of it," he says. I