Timmy Ginter wasn’t exactly sold on the idea.
When Ginter was heading into second grade, his dad Tim went from teaching at his alma mater Father Judge High School to Germantown Academy.
The older Ginter is one of the proudest Judge guys you’d ever meet, and he would always talk about his love for the school where he served stints as the athletic director and baseball coach, and his son had the same love for the school.
But when dad joined the Inter-Ac school, the son came along. It wasn’t a huge deal in grades two through eight, but when it was time for high school, GA wasn’t exactly where Ginter wanted to go.
That was until he got there.
“As a kid, all I wanted to do was go to Judge,” said Ginter, now a senior at GA. “All of my family went there, my cousins went there, all my friends were going there, throughout middle school, I really wanted to go to Judge.”
But he went to Germantown Academy, and while he would’ve been proud to represent Crusaders, he has made a pretty darn good Patriot.
“Now, Germantown Academy, I love it, I really enjoy being there,” Ginter said. “We went there with my dad, and to be honest, I didn’t love it until high school. I liked it, there were things I liked, but I was playing CYO sports and I still hung out with all the kids I grew up with in the neighborhood.
“When I got to high school it was completely different. Once you get to high school, you start to make friends and play sports and you start to bond with teammates. Once I got to high school, I loved being here.”
That’s not the only change of heart he’s had.
With a dad who played football and baseball in high school, Ginter came into Germantown Academy and did the same.
He’s still a football star, but his spring sport has changed to lacrosse, and that has actually become his main sport.
“At Germantown Academy, you have to play two sports for activity credits, and I played baseball pretty much my whole life, but freshman year, I wasn’t really interested in playing,” Ginter said. “I picked up a lacrosse stick and now it’s my favorite sport. I love it. It’s what I’m doing in college.
“I love how high tempo, it reminds me of basketball, which I love. I can use my physicality and it’s a mixture of two sports I really love. My dad was good with it. I know he wasn’t too excited about me not playing baseball, but my family always wants me to do what’s best for me and when I said I wanted to try lacrosse, everyone was happy for me.”
While lacrosse might be a new sport to the Ginter family, football certainly isn’t and the younger Ginter is once again going to be a huge part of the Patriots team.
In fact this year, he’s one of the main pieces of a very good defense. He’ll be playing the sport he loves while learning something new in the process.
“The past three seasons, I have been playing outside linebacker, but our middle linebacker graduated so they moved me over,” Ginter said. “They thought I’d be the best fit, and it’s been working.
“I’m enjoying it. It’s different. I didn’t think it would be that different, but it is. You have to be smarter, a lot more going on definitely. I’m responsible for a lot more. Last year I played offense but they want me to specialize. I was told my job is to make sure it’s going well and I’m a captain. They want me to be a voice of the team, to be more vocal and be a leader on the defense. I also want to make most of the tackles.”
The schedule works out perfectly.
The Patriots have games against Abraham Lincoln and Northeast, and even cooler, they’ll have a game Sept. 5 at Ramp against Father Judge.
That is a game that has been circled on the schedule since it was announced.
“It’s great week three we play Northeast. So it’s Lincoln, Judge and Northeast. It’s great because it’s all Northeast teams. I don’t know a lot of guys at Lincoln and Northeast. Judge game, that’s definitely the game I have circled. It’s at Judge, I’ve wanted to play there as a kid. My cousin played there, John Westfield.
“Going to those games, it’s something I wanted to do, to play there. I always wanted to be on the field, but I went to GA. This is a chance to play against all guys I know. It means a lot to me.”
This will likely be Ginter’s final year playing football.
Next year, he’s bound for St. Joe’s, where he’ll continue to play lacrosse.
“It was a great fit because I wanted to stay in the area,” said Ginter, who plays defensive midfield. “I would say I’m the type of player who wants to win, set the tone and see the team do well.”
Since he’s staying close to home, that means there will be a lot of fans in the stands cheering Ginter on. Just like there will be at Ramp.
“I am very close with my family, they’re a huge part of my life,” said Ginter, a proud brother to Meredith, 13, Gwen, 10, and Teddy, 6, all multisport athletes, and a poodle. “My mom is a huge influence, too, she supports me in everything I do. She grew up as a basketball player and she went to Ryan and played basketball there. And obviously my dad.
“My mom comes from a big family, she has a lot of siblings, so I have a lot of cousins. Growing up, I was outside every day playing with my cousins. Summer, all day, every day with them. I would say they’re a big part of my life. Best athlete? There’s a lot of good ones, but Frankie Westfield plays for the MLS, so it’s hard to beat that. We all support each other, grew up together, all have fun together.”
