Professional golfing has been a huge part of communications sophomore Bennett Ragan’s family, tracing all the way back to his great-grandfather. Ragan’s mother and father are both professional golf players, which influenced his love for the sport.

“[Ragan] was exposed to golf as soon as I took him home from the hospital. He would come to work with me for a few hours every day,” said Ragan’s mother Valerie LaPapa, a teaching pro at Emerald Dunes Golf Club.

As he got older, Ragan played in tournaments and gained experience. This allowed him to improve as a player.

“I started playing a lot more, and now I play tournaments sporadically,” Ragan said.

Ragan’s history with golf makes him an important player on the boys golf team.

“[Ragan] leads by example,” boys golf coach and communications teacher Stephen Moore said. “He likes to help out the younger players, and he leads by knowing how to conduct himself on the golf course.”

Ragan is not just a leader by example, however.  It is also his ability that makes him one of the key players on the team.

“[Ragan] shoots really well, around the low 40’s and even the high 30’s,” visual senior James Nelms said. “He always places along the top leader boards of the team.”

Ragan attributes his natural ability to his parents, who practiced with him ever since he could hold a golf club.

“If not for them, especially my mom, I would never be where I am today,” Ragan said.

While this may be true, the reason Ragan is on Dreyfoos’ team is due to Mr. Moore. One day Mr. Moore asked his freshmen unified arts class if anyone golfed, and Ragan raised his hand. He then met with the team and became part of their family.

A goal for Ragan is not just to improve the team, but to make a name for Dreyfoos athletically.

“Other than just our arts, we are an extremely versatile school with some amazing athletes,” Ragan said.

While Ragan is utilizing his skills to help the golf team now, he also plans on using those skills to help him get into college in the future.

“New York University is my dream school and I really hope to be on their golf team, I have looked at their scores and feel that if I keep it up, I will be able to do that,” Ragan said.

Good scores are becoming harder for Ragan to achieve as homework and studying cut heavily into his practice time.

“Golf takes up a lot of time. Especially in high school, time is a precious thing,” Ragan said. “Unfortunately golf can’t be my number one priority as I have a huge workload with arts and academics.”

Ragan still tries to fit in as much time as possible to pursue his dream, and gains more and more of his teammates’ respect every day. All of his teammates and coaches believe that he has serious potential.

“He knows the game,” Mr. Moore said. “His knowledge is very high.”