Ben Ramsey is a standout midfielder on the heralded ADVNC SF’ 21 squad. He’s loved lacrosse as far back as he can remember, and has always dreamed of playing lacrosse in college. 

The entire Ramsey family loves lacrosse. Ben’s dad, Adam, grew up in Westchester, NY playing the game and went onto play at the club level at the University of Maryland. His mom, Racheal played both field hockey and lacrosse at St Michael’s College in Vermont. His sister, Abby is currently playing on the University of Denver’s club team. 

The family has been attending the men’s DI Final Four every Memorial Day Weekend, since Ben was a toddler. “I’ve been playing 3x in the Final Four parking lots for hours, every year,” Ben said. “That’s been some of the most fun I’ve ever had in lacrosse.”

Ben’s favorite Final Four memory is when Maryland’s Colin Heacock scored a OT game winner to beat Brown in the semifinals in 2016.  

“I love lacrosse so much because it’s a sport I can practice for the rest of my life and never get bored,” Ben said. “The game is not repetitive. It’s a combination of a lot of good qualities from other sports. It requires athleticism. It is physical like football. And you need the high IQ and techniques like you need in basketball. It’s that combo that makes me love lacrosse so much.”

Racheal Ramsey added, “lacrosse has become a year-round way for us to enjoy our kids and our friends. It’s a really great way to enjoy being active as a family and as a community.”

Ben joined the ADVNC program in 5th grade after Tom Barnds, who Adam had been coaching with in the Firehawks program, told him about ADVNC. At that time, ADVNC was just getting started. Adam recalled, “Tom is such an amazing force in local lacrosse. He’s the reason we made the decision to join ADVNC, and we don’t have a single regret. It’s been an amazing experience.”

“The love from the coaches at ADVNC couldn’t be more apparent,” Adam added. “The genuine caring for the boys and the coaches always wanting to spend time together with their team, because they want to help mentor them. That same love carries through to the players on the team. It’s engaging and a ton of fun.”

“All the families we’ve met with ADVNC are just delightful and fun,” Racheal said. “So that’s been a really added bonus.”

Ben’s childhood dream of playing college lacrosse ramped up the first time his ADVNC SF ‘21 squad played in the prestigious Crab Feast tourney in Maryland in 2014. “I had this misconception in my head that West Coast competition was super easy, and our team wouldn’t do well on the East Coast,” Ben said.  “I thought every East Coast team was going to be really good. But that first time we played at Crab Feast, we went out there and we were smacking these Maryland teams who we expected to be the most insane teams we had ever played. We soon realized that our ADVNC team could compete and even win a bunch and succeed.” 

The next summer was the summer after Ben’s freshman season. He was named to the Under Armour All-American Lacrosse Classic. “That’s when I got my first real interest from a big-time college program (Ohio State),” Ben said. “And that’s when I realized: ‘I think this is actually gonna happen.’ I played really well while playing against some of the best players in the world. Our West team won, and I was named ‘player of the game’ in the championship game. That’s when I realized I could play college lacrosse, and that’s when things got serious.”

But at the time, Ben didn’t fully understand just how serious things were about to get. But on September 1, 2019, at exactly midnight on the East Coast, Ben found out just how serious things were. “It was a crazy day,” Ben said. “It was an insane day,” his mom, Racheal said.

The Ramsey’s had just landed at the Denver airport at 10pm Mountain time, and Ben’s phone started blowing up with text messages from a bunch of college coaches. “Getting the first 3 or 4 texts, it was just like, wow, this is starting,” Ben said. “And then I woke up the next morning and started calling college coaches. It was super surreal, but also a little underwhelming because I quickly realized they’re all just normal guys.”  

The Ramsey’s credit ADVNC Founder/CEO and also Ben’s head coach at Sacred Heart Prep, Chris Rotelli, for preparing them for the recruiting process. “Chris was super helpful,” Adam said. “The depth of deep relationships he has with high level college coaches is amazing. He had direct lines to all the coaches Ben was dealing with. He did an amazing job of supporting Ben.”

The Ramsey’s also credit Ben’s ADVNC coaches Jack Huber and Max Feely as well as former ADVNC & SHP coach Mo Ryan for helping Ben. They also give credit to Firehawks founder Doug Appleton for helping prepare Ben for the recruiting process, and helping guide him throughout his lacrosse career.

Ben visited Cornell, North Carolina and Notre Dame before eventually committing to play for the Fighting Irish in South Bend, IN. “Notre Dame had the best combo of academics, athletics and fun,” Ben said. “They have the academic rigor that I wanted. Being around their players, I could see they focused on school and that’s one of my priorities. I go to SHP, and I really enjoy the Catholic community there, and I saw the same type of thing at Notre Dame, and I believe I will enjoy it in the same way.”  

“Coach Rotelli always said that Ben needed to focus on grades even before lacrosse,” Adam said. “Ben’s ability to get good grades and test scores made this whole process for Ben way more relaxed.”

When Ben looked back at what got him to this point, he quickly said that doing the ‘little things’ matters. “One thing Coach Rotelli has told me countless times.. It’s about putting in the work when no one is watching,” Ben said. “And also, it’s just loving lacrosse. I have played in the back yard so many times cause I love it and it’s fun.  I just love to shoot. Just having a bucket of balls and running around shooting and trying new things. Dedication and challenging yourself, both personally and as a team. Always pushing yourself to play the best competition you can find and surround yourself with the best guys you can find.”