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FEATURED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Jake Bennett, Greencastle
Jake Bennett is a senior at Greencastle and participates in golf.
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Banner Graphic: Banner Graphic: How important has golf been to you?
Jake Bennett: “Golf has always been one of those things I’ve done. We live on Windy Hill, and we moved there in second grade. It’s always there for me. I wake up, look out and there’s a golf course right there. It’s awesome. I remember I was a fifth-grader I got my first set of clubs and played with my dad. In sixth grade, I decided to play for the middle school team. I was terrible. I was shooting 60s for nine holes. I would go from golf practice to baseball practice, and I decided to focus on golf. I started playing in summer tournaments between my sixth and seventh grade yea, and golf just kind of took over from there. It’s pretty much all do year around now.”
BG: What have you learned from golf?
JB: “It takes a lot of hard work, and it’s a great life lesson to learn how to deal with a stressful situation. Golf is the gentleman’s game, and has helped me to become a nice person in dealing with people. You have to learn how to relax yourself in stressful situations, when your head is spinning and you’re not sure what to do. It’s the same thing in school when you have a big test, and you don’t know the answer to a question and you have to figure out really quickly what to do. For me, I’ve been in high pressure situations where I need to make a birdie and I have learned how to deal with things like that.”
BG: What else do you do besides go to school and play golf?
JB: “In the winter, my friends and I play basketball a lot to keep in shape. We play at least three days a week at DePauw. I like to shoot 3-pointers. Movies with Will Farrell are the best. He just cracks me up. The old time golf movies are also great. I listen to music all the time. I will listen to any thing, really all types except country. We have kayaks, and I go kayaking in the summer time. We go on Big Walnut Creek, and take about a four-hour trip. It’s relaxing and it’s a good time. On TV, I usually just watch Netflix. I like a lot of crime shows — ‘Law and Order’ is one of my favorites.”
BG: What is your greatest fear?
JB: “Getting robbed. That would freak me out. I watch all these crime shows and get that thought in my mind.”
BG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods?
JB: “My favorite is calamari. My least favorite is lettuce. I just never liked it; I don’t like the texture of it.”
BG: Describe your personality in one word.
JB: “Outgoing. I’m not shy or afraid to talk to people. I love talking to people. I have gone to football games in the freezing cold with my shirt off and my chest painted purple. I judged a midget wrestling match last year. One of my friends had texted me about it, and we got ringside seats. They just selected a random person from the crowd to do it, and I did it. They said to stay out of the way and not to let things get out of control. I got to go backstage and meet all the wrestlers. It was a pretty interesting experience.”
BG: What pro golfers do you look up to?
JB: “People have ones who they look up to, and for me it’s Tiger Woods (because of how dominant he was) and closer to home it’s Chad Collins. Everything he did, being from a small community like Cloverdale, shows me that no matter how little we have to work with here you can be great. We don’t have the training simulators and indoor training facilities like the big schools around Indianapolis do. We have grass outdoors and a big net indoors. It’s hard for us to get better around here. Chad shows it’s possible to play golf at a professional level. I’ve been wanting to sit down and talk with him, and see what his suggestions would be for my career.”
BG: What do you want to do after high school?
JB: “I have signed to play golf at Marian University, but I don’t really know what I want to major in. Hopefully I can make the PGA tour and make enough money to not have to work after that. I would like to be a motivational speaker and talk to kids who are trying to get on the PGA tour.”
BG: Do you have any random skills that people may not know about?
JB: “I can pogo stick. I saw a video on YouTube when I was younger, or a movie, and I asked for it for Christmas. I tried to do it over and over again, and eventually I could get it. I would try to go with one hand, and then with no hands. I tried to go no hands and one foot and do it over and over again. One time I jumped on a skateboard and I fell really hard on the concrete. It was fun. I haven’t done it for a long time, but I bet I could still do it.”
BG: What is something you have never done before that you would like to do someday?
JB: “Skydiving. That’ s a bucket list item. My dad has always talked about it. He’s done it a bunch of times, and he’s told me he loved it. One of my friends did it in September and he really loved it too.”
BG: Describe your overall Greencastle High School experience.
JB: “My freshman year, I started out as No. 2 player behind Jake Buis, and I have always striven to be him. He was that person I had my eye set on to try to take his position, but I never got it. My junior year I came out and qualified for the No. 1 spot. I enjoy that a little bit more. I think it helps me because I push myself to get better to stay there — but I know I can get better still. Coach [Steve] Paquin started working with me in eighth grade. He realized that I was decent and had me working with the high school team. He and I have gotten really close the past four years. He’s my favorite coach and one of my favorite people. He’s always available for us, and he’s always willing to do anything for us. He’s bought us food before and surprised us with shirts for conference. I have enjoyed all my classes and teachers. My favorite class was Algebra II with Mr. Rector my junior year.”
BG: What have been your favorite trips?
JB: “I really liked Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. You walk through it, and you go down these steps and the temperature drops like 20 degrees. It was the middle of summer and you had to wear a sweatshirt even though it was really hot outside. Horace Cave is nearby and we went ziplining there. It’s more of a tunnel. Probably my favorite trip was to Panama City Beach, Fla., last year with one of my friends’ families. We went deep sea fishing, and that was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. We accidentally caught a dolphin a couple of times, and we let them go. I remember we caught a huge red snapper. I was already sick on the way down to Florida, and I got sick on the boat and threw up over the side until I felt better. I like going fishing in the pond at Windy Hill, too.”
BG: Do you have pets?
JB: “Two dogs, both Boston Terriers. One is Princess. We got her and she was already named. Willie, our other dog, is my dog and sleeps with me every night. We got him on the day of Prince WIlliam and Princess Kate’s royal wedding, so we called him Willie. Princess is pretty old and sleeps all the time. Willie goes 100 miles an hour all the time. He’s super hyper.”