By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
One of Buckeye Central’s own will “defy the ordinary” after signing his national letter of intent to Defiance College.
Adam McGinnis made the Yellow Jackets his collegiate home after signing his letter of intent with proud parents, coaches, and principal watching Wednesday afternoon in Buckeye Central’s Library.
McGinnis explained why he was defiant about Defiance.
“I had a lot of schools contact me to play golf, but mainly I was looking for Ag Business,” McGinnis said. “There were no schools that I could play golf and major in Ag Business; so Defiance showed up at districts to recruit me. They were the only school that actually showed up to talk to me. All the other ones just sent me e-mails. So I thought that was really cool, and their assistant coaches have been in constant contact with me, and he has been the most personal.”
McGinnis’ mother Lisa McGinnis was as excited as her son at his signing.
“I am very excited he has been golfing since he was little, he loves to golf, and I think it is going to be a great experience to get to continue on,” Lisa McGinnis said. “It is a special thing to do, I am happy for him.”
“This is huge for our family,” said Ron McGinnis, Adam’s father. “My dad started my whole family in golf, I played high school golf, and I never got to this level so this is a huge accomplishment.”
Ron McGinnis explained that his son had started at an early age.
“He has been basically golfing his whole life, when he was a little kid we would chop down clubs and put grips on them for him, he would be out in the backyard in the dark hitting golf balls.”
The practice has paid off for McGinnis as this year he tied for second in the North Central Conference, qualified for districts his sophomore and senior seasons, and snagged first team NCC honors in his senior season.
McGinnis drew from his sophomore season for his favorite memory.
“My favorite memory was the day I got the school record shooting a 32 at Cranberry versus Colonel Crawford. Another great memory was shooting a 73 and winning at the Seneca East Invitational at Clinton Heights against over 80 other competitors.”
McGinnis’ golf coach Phil Loy reflected on playing at a higher level of competition.
“I think it is awesome. I think anytime you have one of your players advance to the next level and play it is very exciting,” Loy said. “Adam works very hard at that sport had a great year, had a great career, and I think he is going to do very well at Defiance.”