Finding the right college and the right sport to pursue at the next level came easier than Ethan Ricketts envisioned.
A multi-sport athlete, the Benjamin Logan senior chose to continue his golfing career Monday after signing with Ohio Northern University, an NCAA Division III program in Ada.
“I really loved Ohio Northern from the first day I stepped on campus,” said Ricketts. “I chose it because of the outstanding new engineering building on campus and I like the fact that it is a small, welcoming environment, and it is close to my house.”
A three-sport athlete, Ricketts never thought he would fall in love with the game of golf.
As his athletic career continued, though, he found himself wanting to stay on the links.
“At first, my love was baseball and I had always planned on playing baseball at the next level,” said Ricketts. “But, I have played golf since I was very young and growing up and watching my brothers play made me feel this was my sport.
“At a young age, I wanted nothing to do with golf and I had even quit for the entire summer. However, as I got older, I fell back in love with it and I experienced what my brothers and father found in the game before me.”
Ricketts was a reliable leader for Ben Logan’s boys golf team over his prep career. He was a four-time Central Buckeye Conference first-team selection. Ricketts was also a rare four-time district qualifier, finishing as high as 16th his junior season.
“I hope to be on the varsity team all four years that I attend Ohio Northern and my goal is to help the team win,” said Ricketts. “Individually, I hope to win a tournament every year.”
As the team’s top golfer, Ricketts kept the Raiders in league title contention year in and year out. He hopes to bring his list of intangibles to the Polar Bears.
“The skill that I hope to take with me to the next level is my leadership ability,” said Ricketts. “I hope to lead by example with my actions and not necessarily with my words.
I feel my work ethic will wear off on the other guys around me on the team and we will all improve as a result.”