Graduating student-athletes cherish time at FSU
- Kyra Tolley
- May 9
- 8 min read
By Kyra Tolley
Asst. Sports Editor
These seniors are some of Framingham State’s finest spring student-athletes. It may be time for them to graduate, but they will always cherish the times they’ve spent with their teams playing the sports they love, and are fully prepared to take on their future careers.
Alyssa Caputo
Track and field Captain Alyssa Caputo completed her undergraduate degree in elementary education in just three years and is currently on track to finish her master’s in special education this year.
She participates in all of the throwing events in the field - shot put, discus, hammer throw, and javelin.
Caputo said she will miss “everything” about sports.
She said it is going to be sad not to have the collaboration and teamwork experience of sports anymore.
Caputo said, “Ever since I was little, I was in anything you could imagine. I started in skating, gymnastics, and switched to basketball, soccer, lacrosse, track - literally all of it. You can just throw me in it.”
She said she has also turned to weightlifting, but she hasn’t made the jump to competing yet. “I've always thought bodybuilding would be a fun thing to do. It's always been something that I've aspired to hopefully do one day.”
A lesson she has learned is to not let bad days and bad throws affect her like they did during her freshman and sophomore years. “I would kind of crash out when I did badly and it mentally weighed on me a lot.”
Caputo said she has learned to control her emotions after bad throws and the change in the mental aspect of sports has helped a lot this season.
A highlight of her collegiate career was during her sophomore year when she became the first track and field athlete at Framingham State to qualify for regionals in the history of the program and making regionals this year as well.
Caputo has lots of plans after graduation. She is currently working at the New England Center for Children and plans to work in a summer program at her high school.
She said she also hopes to get a special education job at her high school and be a throwing coach for a track and field team.
Caputo said she found her community through Framingham State sports. She referred to her track and field teammate, Kaylee Beck, and her former basketball teammate, Katie Haselton, as her best friends.
She said she and Beck “both came in freshman year, and we were the only two freshman throwers, so we kind of had a bond really quick, and it stuck with us all four years. I'm so grateful that we both came here.”
Caputo said sports “brought together all my best friends.”
The DIII level of athletics allowed her to balance her education while also giving her the opportunity to continue to enjoy sports, Caputo said.
In addition to being a dedicated athlete, she has lots of outside commitments, such as her full-time job, her field study, and her classes. “It's definitely overwhelming at times, but you find ways to destress and get things done.”
Caputo said, “The hard work, the dedication, the teamwork aspect, the communication, the collaboration, everything that you encompass as an athlete - I think you take it with you in the real world because you're always going to be working with people. You're always going to be a support for somebody else.”
She said the end of the season will be a big change and may involve some tears, but “hopefully it’s never over.”
Her advice for freshman athletes is to savor the seemingly small moments throughout college because it “flies by.”
Leah Green
Women’s lacrosse Captain Leah Green is a biology major with a concentration in wildlife biology who started playing lacrosse in second grade with girls two years older than her.
Green’s journey with lacrosse began with playing with her older sister, which she said she found difficult, but she quickly fell in love with the sport after a year of participating.
She said her favorite part of lacrosse is “just how creative it is.
“I think watching men's lacrosse, people will always be like, ‘Oh, put the girls in pads and let them hit each other.’ And that just creates a totally different sport. I find it so entertaining, just watching any lacrosse games, especially at the higher levels, because there's just way more finesse to it,” she added.
Green said she and Maggie Grout, one of her co-captains, are going to Europe for 10 days in July to play lacrosse. They will play in tournaments in both Portugal and Spain, but after returning home, Green said she wants to play in a pickup league.
She said the competitive nature of college lacrosse is what she will miss most.
Green said, “My high school was a pretty competitive program, too. We had a lot of talent, but once you go to college, the game is just way faster and the structure that comes with practice and having games - I'm definitely going to miss that. It'll just never be the same.”
Green said lacrosse has been her “entire life.”
She said, “My family's a huge lacrosse family. My dad coached me and my sister up until high school. … She’s played her whole life. I played my whole life, basically, and it's just 365 - always playing club, going to tournaments on Sundays when I was a kid.”
As a result of lacrosse, Green learned how to work with different people. She said she has taken a lot of advice from the many coaches she has had throughout her career, including how to stay disciplined.
She also said sports have taught her how to lead and use her voice to stick up for herself.
Green said winning the MASCAC Championship game her freshman year was “so fun and a great feeling.”
She said this was a highlight of her career, but “each season gives a different highlight, and I just think even playing a game next to my teammates is the highlight in itself. Those are my favorite moments - the smaller ones.”
Green emphasized how constant lacrosse has been throughout her life and how “bizarre” it will be for it to be over.
“Having these best friends you see every day and rely on - it's almost like trauma bonding in a way. You go through all this hard stuff together. It just makes you closer,” she said.
Green said she has stayed friends with teammates from years past and “nothing has changed.
“You don't see each other as often, but the feeling of family is definitely the one way I would describe my team experiences all four years,” she added.
The academic side of being a student-athlete was difficult for Green, but she said, “I think that I almost couldn't have had as much academic success if I hadn't played a sport because I've been taking two labs every semester since I was a freshman.”
Her last piece of advice for freshman athletes is, “Hug the people around you because the program is just so special. Make the most out of being here.”
Brooke Grassia
Softball Captain Brooke Grassia has been playing softball for the past 17 years, but is moving on to a future of teaching high school students.
Grassia’s first memory of playing softball was her dad throwing pitches to her in a field near their house so she could hit and run the bases.
She said softball has been the biggest aspect of her life. She said if she’s not playing softball, she’s talking about it and it’s part of her personality.
Grassia said her favorite part of softball has been the relationships she has built throughout her time playing.
She said, “The sport is fun and the games are exciting and everything, but at the end of the day … you hang the cleats up, and it's all about who you can talk about the memories with.”
She said softball “helps you find your people, but once you find your people, they're there to stay.”
Grassia said she’s not sure at what capacity she will continue playing, but coaching is an option she will definitely be exploring in the future.
She said she will miss “the little things. … It's going to practice - taking reps all day. You kind of just don't know when or if they'll ever happen again. It’s the things you take for granted.”
Grassia said the biggest lesson to come out of softball is in order to succeed, you have to fail sometimes. She said in softball and baseball, you can “fail seven out of 10 times and you’re still considered good.”
Grassia said the sport has made her stronger both physically and mentally and that she can take this strength into her future career.
In terms of career highlights, she said winning an NCAA regional game her sophomore year was “exciting” and “awesome,” but winning three MASCAC Championships “takes the cake.”
Grassia said being a student-athlete is “definitely not for the faint of heart” because of how much work it takes to balance academics and athletics. She said playing a sport helped her in her transition to college and taught her time-management skills.
Grassia said, “I think being a college athlete really benefited me. I would do it all over again if I had the opportunity.”
She plans to have some fun after graduation by taking a trip to Disney with her family, but she will also be applying to jobs soon in the hope of securing a teaching position. She is currently a student teacher for high school juniors, but is open to teaching other grades in high school as well.
She said her advice to freshmen is, “Enjoy every second of it, because, man, oh, man, does it go by quick. There are long days and long practices, but someday, you'll be hoping that you'll have a practice on Monday.”
Lucas Basile Baseball Captain Lucas Basile started the sport at a very young age - 4 years old. His first memory of playing was in his T-ball league around the ages of 7 and 8. “I used to like sliding at every base. … It was a lot of fun.” He said he will miss “being around everyone every day. You make lifelong friendships, and I'll definitely miss the guys.” With the amount of time and effort Basile puts into baseball, he said it's been “one of the top priorities.” Hitting a grand slam in his senior game this season is a highlight of his career, Basile said. Basile said he learned resilience through baseball and can take it into his future endeavors. “The only failure is quitting. I've failed so many times in my career, and you just have to keep going.” Basile doesn’t have plans to continue playing baseball after he graduates, but would look into coaching opportunities in a program he played in for three years during high school. He said he is still not limiting himself in terms of what he wants to do in the future. Being able to move out and find a job that pays well and is enjoyable are priorities for him. “I'm casting a wide net - just trying to explore what's out there.” Getting an education while being an athlete is tough, Basile said. “You definitely learn to manage your time properly. You have to think about, ‘Do I want to do this before practice, or do I want to do this after?’ … You get into good habits like that, where you just make the most out of every day and use your time.” He said he wants to stick with the community he has created in his time at FSU after graduation. “The alumni game is something that they do every fall, so I’ll definitely try to encourage the guys to come out and play that game and check in with each other and see how everyone's doing.” Basile said moving forward, spending time with his family and friends is what is most important to him. “When I came in, I certainly identified more with being an athlete, but as I've grown and played at this level and learned about other aspects of myself - my personality - I feel like it's kind of faded. “I'm kind of at the point where I definitely dedicate myself and I try, but it really is just something I do, not something I completely identify with anymore,” he added. Basile’s advice for freshmen is, “There's no reason why you should be intimidated for any reason. Just come out, play your game, and kick some ass.”
