Despite cerebral palsy on his right side, Rickens’ perseverance has made him a lacrosse star
COLUMBUS, Ohio (BVM) — There is nothing that will slow down Mason Rickens, whether it is team adversity, injuries, or the trace cerebral palsy he suffers from on the right side of his body. He has proved that during his lacrosse career at St. Francis DeSales High School, and will continue to do so at Rutgers University.
Rickens began playing lacrosse while in second grade, deciding to join both his friend and his friend’s brother in the sport. From there, the 18-year-old was hooked.
Playing several sports growing up, Rickens primarily competed in baseball, basketball, and football – the latter of which he played through junior year of high school. But lacrosse always garnered the most attention from the St. Francis DeSales grad, as the speed of the game and the elements of other sports which are in it drew Rickens to play it.
Rickens played the sport with his elementary school through his youth career, and also played for a club team called Resolute Lacrosse. In sixth grade, his school team finished runner-up at the Ohio Cup, where Rickens earned tournament MVP honors. By eighth grade, Rickens helped lead his team to the state tournament semifinals.
However, Rickens has always faced adversity within the sport. In seventh grade, the lacrosse star broke his big toe and had to sit out for the majority of the season. Just as he was returning from that injury, Rickens broke his wrist and forearm in his first game of the season with Resolute, causing him to sit out the remainder of the summer as well.
While he was sitting out with injury, Rickens did not feel as if he was part of the team’s culture, and at times felt left out. But that lit a fire under the 18-year-old, and is a moment he credits for bringing about his motivation and determination in the sport of lacrosse.
The injuries are not the only difficulty Rickens has faced over his career. As an infant, it was discovered that he had trace cerebral palsy on the right side of his body. It is not a severe case of the condition, but it tightened the muscles on that side and has taken away the dexterity of his right hand. However, the condition has never hindered Rickens, and he believes it has actually helped him as a lacrosse player.
“It has not at all impeded my ability athletically,” Rickens said. “Having it has made me work harder in order to be successful and it has helped me to have a very strong work ethic. I really count my cerebral palsy as a blessing.”
Having to use his left hand, Rickens has become more creative on the lacrosse field, finding different ways to play left-hand dominant. He believes this has helped him become an even better player as well.
Rickens moved on to high school determined to have a star-studded career at St. Francis DeSales. But before he even played a game for the Stallions, Rickens had committed to play college lacrosse at Rutgers University. Lacrosse recruiting typically begins earlier than most sports, and after a fall tournament in his freshman year, the Scarlet Knights took notice of the lacrosse star.
“I was so excited when they first reached out,” Rickens said. “As I built a relationship with them over the next few months they made me feel very important and wanted which was very cool. When I went to visit there were four coaches walking me around and they did a great job helping me get a good idea of the university. There was a gut feeling that I got from being there and I followed it.”
Although there was also mutual interest between Rickens and Ohio State, the 18-year-old could not pass up going to play out east. But first, he had an entire high school career ahead of him.
Going into his freshman season at St. Francis DeSales, Rickens was nervous to play. His team’s offensive coordinator in his first year was known as a true motivator, who would yell and push kids to be their best at all times. Although now he could not be more grateful for what his offensive coordinator did then to make him mentally tougher, it rattled Rickens’ mindset early on, leading to an inconsistent year personally.
However, Rickens was still named a second team all-region player, and his Stallions team would make a nice run all the way to the regional semifinals. Although they would lose to a team they had defeated handily at the beginning of the year, that loss became the motivation for a special 2018 season.
With a very talented team, St. Francis DeSales had a dominant season that would lead them all the way to the state championship game — but it almost didn’t happen. With about a minute left in their state semifinal game, the Stallions were down but ended up rallying and winning the game by two points.
The momentum would carry the school to their first OHSAA Division II lacrosse state championship since 2012. Rickens — who was honored as a second team all-state player as a sophomore — believes it is the team chemistry that ultimately helped them pull off the comeback in the semifinals, and eventually win a championship.
“That was a very special year and will always be a fond memory in my life,” Rickens said. “The team culture was absolutely outstanding and it was the biggest difference between freshman and sophomore year. We would not have won the state championship that year without our team culture and it really helped us to become a great lacrosse team. Being a part of that state champion team is the accolade I’m most proud of in my career.”
Rickens’ junior season would be a tough one for not only his team but himself personally as well. While playing in a holiday tournament at the end of December with Resolute, Rickens broke his ankle. Even so, he thought he might be able to make it back healthy for the start of the high school lacrosse season in the spring.
However, that was not the case. Rickens struggled to get back physically and mentally, missing the first five games of the season and continually being plagued by the injury throughout the rest of the year. The Stallions would make it back to the state semis, but this time would fall short.
“That was a really rough year for me and it affected my confidence a little bit,” Rickens said. “The biggest part of my game is being able to run fast and it wasn’t until the state semifinal game where I could actually run again without pain. It was a very frustrating season for me and it was a frustrating season for the team as well.”
The Stallions had four team captains that year including Rickens, and three of the four spent the majority of the season hindered by injuries. Had they been healthy, the lacrosse star believes his team had a chance at back-to-back state titles.
Ready to take on an even greater leadership role as a senior, Rickens again had state championship visions on his mind this spring until the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
“I had learned a lot of lessons from my junior year as a leader and as a returning captain I was ready to take those lessons and apply them,” the 18-year-old said. “When we started practicing in February things were going great. But when we eventually found out the season was canceled it was heartbreaking. I was finally healthy and was just pumped and ready to go so it was rough not to be able to play my final season.”
The Stallions continued to bond together through Zoom meetings despite not getting to on the field this spring. In the face of adversity, strong leadership is a must. And Rickens credits his coach, Matt Triplet, for keeping the team together and in positive spirits throughout the adversity of his high school lacrosse career.
“I love Coach Trip with all my heart, he’s the best coach I’ve ever had in my life,” Rickens said. “As I became an upperclassman and a leader I grew closer to him. After a rough junior year, he challenged me this year to turn the team around and I took that to heart. He taught me so many lessons throughout my career about being a leader and being a man. I’m so grateful for him.”
Despite the tough ending to his high school lacrosse career, Rickens has a bright future ahead at Rutgers. The St. Francis DeSales grad hopes to contribute on the field for his new team right away. But ultimately he and his team have goals of winning a Big Ten championship during his time with the program.
Rickens will study finance at Rutgers and hopes to become an investment banker on Wall Street in the future. He has left the door open on playing professional lacrosse someday as well if the opportunity presents itself. But for now, he is focused on his immediate goals in New Jersey.
Although he has faced adversity throughout his lacrosse career, Rickens’ mindset and perseverance is truly special. He does not let his trace cerebral palsy affect him in the slightest, and as he notes, there is nothing he can’t achieve.
“My dad once told me, ‘you’re not allowed to say you can’t do something.’ Throughout my life, I’ve pretty much lived by that.”
