Jenna Rickan finished her classes at Kenmore West Senior High School and went straight to the Blue Devils’ soccer practice. Her father then picked her up to go to her travel soccer team’s practice 45 minutes away.

Depending on the season, basketball and softball practices intervened as well. Not to mention schoolwork.

The busy schedule made Rickan into a focused athlete and student heading into college.

“I don’t think that a lot of people understand how much sacrifice it is to play sports in high school and in college,” Rickan said. “You have to choose to go to sports or go to bed early or going out with your friends. It’s hard sometimes making a mature decision when you’re young.”

Rickan was not only gifted on the pitch, but also on the hardwood and softball diamond. As a point guard and first baseman/outfielder, she set Kenmore West school records and was part of several league champions, all while being a member of the National Honor Society.

Three years into her career at Syracuse, Rickan has become a key contributor. As a junior last season, she started 17 of 18 games and stood out as one of the team’s vocal leaders on and off the field. While she may not show up on the score sheet often, SU head coach Phil Wheddon said her ball control and leadership are crucial to the team’s offense.

“She’s one of those players who’s motivating and encouraging and does a lot of things off the field for the team,” Wheddon said. “She forms the team chemistry just with her personality.”

The SU captain developed those characteristics during her career at Kenmore.

Rickan remembers when years of hard work paid off and Kenmore’s soccer team won the sectional championship. She also played on the softball team starting in the middle of the eighth grade and was part of that season’s state championship team. And on the court, the point guard set the Blue Devils female record for most points in a career with over 1,000 points.

In her senior year, she was a captain and one of the best players on all three teams. Many of her classmates believed she should play Division-II or -III college basketball, but her heart was set on soccer.

And during her recruiting process, the Syracuse program felt like home.

“I went and watched Syracuse play at Niagara University and, seeing them play, I knew I wanted to come here,” she said. “It was just the right fit for me.”

A year later, Rickan was out on the field with the Orange. She remembers the Saturday afternoon in St. Bonaventure when she put her SU jersey on for the first time. Her family was in the stands.

It felt right.

The bond she now shares with her teammates is evident. She and fellow senior Alyscha Mottershead are so close that they can communicate on the field without words.

“I think we kind of just look at each other and know that we have to start encouraging our other players or using our vocals as much as possible to try to bring the game back into our direction,” Mottershead said.

Rickan is now focused on her career at SU and the team’s pursuit to rise in the Big East rankings, but she’ll never forget the memories she made in her hometown.

“It’s really cool to be a part of the history of your high school,” said Rickan. “To go back and see your name on a plaque, it’s just really cool. I look back and I don’t know how I did it.”

Published on September 5, 2012 at 12:27 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu