Alyssa and Arielle Scavo grew up in a world few little girls ever get to experience.
They played and cheered on the sidelines of countless high school football games. They logged hours upon hours in baseball clubhouses. And they were in and out of training rooms where they occasionally had the chance to mingle with top-notch athletes who received care under their father’s watchful eye.
And eventually, there were plenty of Saturday afternoons spent watching the Hurricanes play.
This world, one so often closed to outsiders, became Arielle and Alyssa Scavo’s domain because it was where their father Vinny Scavo, one of South Florida’s most respected and well-known athletic trainers, spent most of his time. And where dad was, they were.
Years later, plenty has changed. The Scavo girls have grown up and started careers of their own. But they still love sports. And they still want to spend as much time as possible with their dad.
Connecting both of those things has become a little easier now that both Alyssa and Arielle work at Miami where taking care of the Hurricanes has become, in essence, the Scavo family business.
“We’re just lucky,” said 26-year-old Alyssa Scavo, an accountant for the athletic department and the oldest of Vinny and Tammy Scavo’s three children. “I’m sure a lot of people would love to do this, but it just happened to work out for us. This position opened up at the right time, when I happened to be looking for a job. The same thing happened for my sister. Now, I see them more here than I do at home. It’s been incredible to watch what my dad does on a day-to-day basis. We used to see it at football games, but to actually see him working with the program every day has been incredible. That we get to share that and be a part of it, it’s just special.”
This fall when the Hurricanes are playing, it will be Alyssa Scavo that will help coordinate tickets for football staff members, including her father, the team’s head athletic trainer. Vinny Scavo will be on the Miami sideline, making sure players stay healthy. And 20-year-old Arielle, the latest Scavo to join the Hurricanes, will be taking care of uniforms, lockers and laundry as part of Miami’s equipment staff.
Through three weeks of camp, the aspiring physical therapist has already proven herself one of the hardest workers in the equipment room, often staying long past her shifts are completed to help her co-workers with other tasks that must be done before the Hurricanes can return to the practice field.
She collects and washes jerseys, hands out whatever equipment players need, spends time opening box after box of new gear that arrives seemingly every day and then helps run drills on the field.
And it’s out there, in the sweltering South Florida sun, where she has most impressed her father, who often can’t help but watch as his youngest daughter juggles footballs, holds chains, and makes sure Miami’s tight ends and quarterbacks — and their coaches — have what they need to do their jobs.
“I did worry a little bit when she started,” said Vinny Scavo, who has worked with athletes at the high school, college, and professional level. “I don’t want her to get run over by somebody, know what I mean? And I didn’t want her to mess anything up. But every once in a while, I’ll take a peek and see what she’s doing and she’s picked it all up. And [equipment manager] Dave Case is my guy. He’s the best. All of them in there have loved her and taken her under their wing. They’re teaching her … and she’s having a good time and it’s fun to have her out there.”
That good time though, comes with some brutal hours, with Arielle Scavo often arriving on campus long before her father and sister make their way to Coral Gables. Sometimes, she leaves well after their days are done. But at least a few times a day, their paths cross and the sisters and their father get a chance to catch up and share the news of the day. Those conversations continue at home with their brother Alec, who is studying to become a firefighter and their mother, a lifelong Miami fan whose love for the Hurricanes preceded her husband and daughters’ career choices.
For all of them, this unique situation is something special — and personal.
“We all take a lot of pride in this,” Arielle Scavo said. “It’s huge for all of us, but for me, specifically, I want to keep the Scavo name going.”
Her father and her older sister have no doubt she will.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-hurricanes/fl-miami-hurricanes-trainer-0823-20150822-story.html