Jack Kapenstein Just Keeps on Running

Jack Kapenstein is a young 71.

You may have heard other older folks use that line before. Not to say that they’re being dishonest — but when Kapenstein says it, he means it in a different way.

Take, for instance, his athletic career. Presently, Kapenstein is ranked top 25 in the world for his age group in the 100-yard dash. He regularly proves this when he competes at events like the Penn Relays and the National Senior Games. He plays adult-league baseball and pick-up basketball and runs for the fun of it on a daily basis. When one of those sports isn’t feasible, for whatever reason, Kapenstein finds another to play.

But it’s not just what he does on the court, field and track that keeps Kapenstein young. He also spends time in the dugout as assistant baseball coach at Northeast High School, his alma mater. Additionally, he can be found in the announcing booth for high school and college games doing play-by-play, as well as back on the court as a referee for high school basketball. Outside of his athletic commitments, Kapenstein loves to volunteer at the KleinLife JCC, where he teaches computer skills to immigrants and other older folks, as well as doing tax returns for free for KleinLife attendees.

“Here’s the thing,” he said. “I am 71, but I have never really changed. I am five pounds heavier than I was when I was [young]. I’m not as muscular as I used to be, but I can still do a handspring or a tip up. I’m full of energy, I like to stay busy and I like competition, and nothing has changed.”

Kapenstein has always used sports as a way to connect with people. Growing up in locker rooms where he was often the only Jewish person, Kapenstein endured some teasing, but mostly found that sports were a realm in which the only things that mattered were how good you were and how good of a teammate you were.

“And I can play,” he laughed.

Once, when he was younger, a teammate whom he liked found out that he was Jewish. Kapenstein was and is nicknamed “Jack Kap,” meaning that the Ashkenazi suffix was somewhat hidden, though not by his design — hidden until one day when the players’ names were posted on their lockers and the teammate saw his full name.
“Right away he starts with the Jewish stuff,” he said.

He began to poke and prod about Kapenstein’s name and heritage. He could see other people in the locker room get uncomfortable.

“When I was young, we were the first generation away from the Holocaust. Frankly, we experienced a lot of antisemitism. Now, it’s not really as accepted,” he said.

Kapenstein acknowledged the issue is still there — he had a recent experience that paralleled the one from his youth. Not long ago, other players on his adult league club were making fun of a Puerto Rican teammate for his heritage.

“They were riding him a little bit, and he took it, and I told him, ‘You don’t have to take that from those guys,’ and he said, ‘[I don’t do anything] because I don’t want to start any trouble.’ So there’s still an element there,” Kapenstein said.

The Northeast Philly resident and member of Ohev Shalom said that his work at KleinLife JCC also brings him close to people who come from different worlds. He has taken part in computer class instruction there for years because he “jumped right in” when computers were invented more than fifty years ago and hasn’t gotten out since.

He is often a welcome face for older peers of his who have never so much as written an email, as well as refugees and immigrants, many of whom are Jews who came to KleinLife for help after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“You teach them one thing at a time. It’s overwhelming for older people sometimes to try to get through it,” Kapenstein said. “Imagine trying to teach an 85-year-old to move a mouse.”

Kapenstein said that since the majority of the refugees and immigrants are from Ukraine, they are used to internet access and the basic motions. For them, it’s more about learning the American web and offering a kind smile in a turbulent time. Kapenstein can offer that, albeit with a translator.

“The only Ukrainian word I know is ‘niet’” he said, chuckling, explaining how he learned the word that means “no.”

“They start talking to me and I say, ‘Niet,’” Kapenstein said.

More than anything, Kapenstein just wants to keep going for as long as he can. That goes for everything: playing sports, reffing them, volunteering, being with his family and more.

“My autobiography should be called, ‘Much More Than I Deserve,’” he joked. “My parents were not athletic. I just don’t know. People say, ‘How can you keep going?’ and I tell them I’ll keep playing until they tell me I can’t.”

At Philadelphia Phillies fantasy camp two years ago, while at the ripe age of 69, Kapenstein won the camp’s best runner award. Afterwards, Phillies legend John Kruk marveled to Kapenstein about the latter’s shape.

Kapenstein’s mantra on the baseball diamond just about sums it all up.

“I always tell my kids, ‘If you’re not dirty and bloody by the end of the game, maybe you didn’t play so hard,’” he said.

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