When Jordan Ritter, seated middle, signed to play soccer at Anderson University, he was joined by his mother, Laurie Ritter, and father, Josh Ritter, and in back, Seymour head coach Matt Dennis, brother Jalen Ritter and Seymour assistant coach Ryan Chandler.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
Jordan Ritter said he played several sports when he was young, but it didn’t take long for him to put soccer at the top of his list.
“Soccer is my favorite,” he said.
When he came to Seymour High School, he played center-back.
“Then I moved to outside back, and that became my main spot,” Ritter said. “I mainly tried to get the ball up to the strikers. I’d get it wide and send it up even further.”
Ritter said he did not have any goals but had some assists last fall.
He said since early in his high school career, he wanted to play soccer at the next level, and on Monday, he signed to play at Anderson University beginning this fall.
“I chose Anderson because I thought it was the spot for me,” he said. “When I went there, it felt comforting. I’m looking to improve. I want to improve and play at the next level. Wherever they put me, I’ll play.”
He said hard work has gotten him this far.
“You’ve got to be able to put in the work and the effort and the time to do what you love,” Ritter said. “I love marking up the opponent. I love having a little competition. You’ve got to be able to move wherever it takes you. If you mess up, you’ve got to get back up and keep going.”
Owls coach Matt Dennis said he feels like Anderson is a good fit for Ritter.
“I think they’re going to find that he’s a hard worker, and that’s what we saw in him. He was competitive every day,” Dennis said. “He fought back from injury for us at the beginning of the year and fought back into a starting role at the end, so he’ll take that work ethic up to Anderson, and they’ll see that. He was a strong defender for us, and I trust with his work ethic, he’ll be able to work his way into some minutes up there doing the same thing he did here.”
Ritter said he really enjoyed his career with the Owls.
“I think what I enjoyed most is just playing the sport I love,” he said. “I loved our home matches. I loved the turf.”
He said getting that first goal in a match is really important.
“It’s very good for you mentally,” he said. “It puts the other team down, and you’ve got to keep going and get them down more so that the game is all yours.”
Dennis said he is proud that two more of his soccer players are going on to play in college, as Martin Sebastian also signed Monday to play at IUPUC.
“We were trying to make a list of players from here that have gone on to play at that next level, and it’s nine or 10 that we’ve come up with,” Dennis said. “I think Jordan is our third Seymour soccer player to go to Anderson and play. All these kids enjoy playing the game, and it’s quite an honor to get to do so.”