- November 5, 2024
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Ben Capua began playing soccer when he was 5 years old.
Ben Capua, a former standout player for the Matanzas Pirates soccer team, recently signed his National Letter of Intent to play college soccer at Montreat College, in Montreat, N.C.
Montreat plays in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Last year, Montreat won the conference title and advanced to the NAIA national tournament.
But Capua’s road to collegiate ball had twists and turns.
When he was 5 years old, he joined the Flagler County recreational soccer league. For the next three years, he loved being at Wadsworth Park. He excelled. He was a natural, it seemed.
One day, at the age of 8, Capua was watching TV when a commercial for mattresses came on. The commercial showed a man getting out of bed in pain.
After seeing it, Capua told his dad that’s how he feels when he wakes up in the morning.
The next day, Capua was working out in the yard pulling weeds, when he stopped and said, “See, that’s what I mean, my back aches like the man on TV.”
His father, also Ben, lifted up his son’s shirt and told him to lean forward.
His spine was curved.
Ben’s mother, Patty, had scoliosis as a child. It was hereditary and now, their 8-year-old soccer phenom had it, too.
Capua, who had a 29-degree curvature, was diagnosed with scoliosis — the abnormal curving of the spine. He visited with a doctor at Nemours Hospital, in Jacksonville, who recommended a wait-and-see approach because of Capua’s age and being a male. (Scoliosis is less common in males than females.)
The plan was for Capua to wear a back brace. But in order for the brace to be effective, Capua had to wear it approximately 23 hours a day.
Over the years, Capua had physical therapy, he went to a chiropractor, he got massages — anything that would prevent the curve in his spine from getting worse.
The brace was molded to his body from his underarms to his hips. He would pry it open, slip in stomach first and be strapped in from the back.
“We were astonished how much he wore it,” his mother, Patty, said. “The only time he took it off was for showers, practice and games. As soon as he got in the car, he would slip back into it.”
Over time, his curvature improved to about 18 degrees.
By the time Capua was 16, he no longer needed the brace.
“It’s still noticeable, and sometimes it aches, but I have adjustments I do to myself to relieve some pains,” Capua said.
After being called up to varsity as a freshman, Capua never looked back. As a senior, he was named captain and honored as Player of the Year. Later this summer, Capua will bring his work ethic and passion with him to North Carolina.
“Soccer is a huge part of who I am,” Capua said.”I play at the beach and at the fields constantly — for hours at a time. My friends always know where to find me.”
Matanzas coach Rich Weber said Capua’s technical abilities and work rate in practice and games are exceptional.
“This sets him apart and makes him the type of player a coach loves to have,” Weber said. “When he combines the technical ability and work rate with playing simple in the central midfield, he is a very dynamic player.”
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