Scholar Stories: Wood Finds Leadership Role in Soccer, Business School and Beyond
10/2/2024 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Danielle Hersh
University of Michigan men's soccer graduate-student goalkeeper Ethan Wood remembers kicking a soccer ball since he could walk.
"I never really wanted to stop playing," Wood said.
This motivation, in combination with a strong academic background, led Wood to Michigan. While at U-M, Wood has faced adversity, including an injury in his senior year.
"A few days before our first game, I tore my popliteus (a muscle that lies behind the knee), which was devastating," Wood said. "You don't know what the future holds in that season, in the year after and it's scary."
He found that after grounding himself, he could still make an impact on his team -- just in a different way than he initially expected.
"Everyone has a role, whether that be within a certain game, preparing for a game or whatever needs to be done," Wood said.
Wood reflected on his role and the culmination of his senior season in the team's 2023 Big Ten Quarterfinal win.
"I think being a senior, and going through all that I did in that season with them, going to Northwestern and winning that game was a really cool full-circle moment where no matter what happened throughout the season, getting there as a team was an awesome moment," said Wood. "Being able to celebrate with everyone was really cool."
Wood's commitment to seeing those around him succeed as a team and be the best version of themselves, even when he could not be, are leadership skills that he will take with him into the business world.
"I think, no matter what you're doing, whether it's sports, professional world, even in classes, you can build relationships with people around you," Wood said. "Have reasons to fight for each other. It makes it all the better."
Now in his final year at Michigan, Wood looks to combine his entrepreneurial interests with what he has learned on the field as he looks to the future.
"I'd love to be in the entrepreneurial finance type of role," Wood said. "The Masters in Business Analytics is really just like the icing on the cake of the Ross undergraduate degree. I thought it was a great opportunity to sharpen those skills but also learn a bit more about the analytics side of it -- the numbers-driven decisions."
Wood was drawn to entrepreneurship specifically after growing up watching his father succeed in starting businesses.
"I think it started with my dad. He started his own company right out of college, and he's been doing that pretty much since, so I was always surrounded by it growing up," Wood said. "I was really attracted to that, just knowing that there's always going to be something to do, something to work on and if I really enjoy what I'm doing, nothing's going to stop me from doing that."
In tribute to his determination, Wood co-founded Align Golf, a company that prints custom putting markings onto golf balls. Wood's company was born out of a love for golf and an inspiration to join his dad in entrepreneurial ventures.
"I think I finally got to a point at an age where I could do it [entrepreneurial ventures] with him, and that was something I really wanted to do," Wood said. "I always admired what he did with his work and now being able to be a part of it was awesome. Especially an interest of both of us, was probably the best way to do it."
Before he enters the business world fully after graduating this year, Wood will complete his final season at Michigan. Although he has maintained a busy schedule with school, soccer and his business while at Michigan, he looks back fondly on the memories he has made on and off the field.
"Best advice I would give myself is don't do anything different, but do it better. I think there's always going to be a piece of regret when things don't go perfectly your way," Wood said. "I might have done more and even then I might still be saying the same thing that I could do more on top of that. But, don't let myself have any regrets at that point because I wouldn't change a thing. I've been more than happy with my experience here."
