Ella Connelly sees tennis not only as a sport, but a leadership experience. As the only senior on the Western girl’s varsity team, she has dutifully stepped up into the role of the team captain and role model for her teammates. With only one loss this season so far, the team is currently prepping for states. Connelly has been a key player and teammate for these accomplishments.
Connelly took up tennis three years ago, and has loved it ever since. The experience of playing for Western has added a lot to her sporting and life skills.
“Genuine friendships and skills on the tennis court but also outside the tennis court,” are things Connelly feels she is getting out of the team. “I feel like tennis is such a great sport because it teaches you patience and learning how to adapt and learn other people’s styles of play. And I think that feeds into other aspects of life with the fact that it’s such an individual game but you win and lose as a team. So I think taking that mindset and using it to help you in your future is so great.”
Coach Gretchen Rush, who has been coaching for almost 30 years and has played for 50, holds Connelly in high regard. “She’s very team oriented. And she definitely is a natural leader. She’s very ethical and honest. She’s kind and she loves Western morals, so she’s very supportive of the lady warriors.”
Rush tries to include Connelly in team decisions, as Connelly is both a team captain and a natural leader.
“She’s definitely my go to get the temperature of the team and I involve her in as many decisions as I can so she can practice her decision making and leadership skills. Because some of the decisions we make are hard ones, like who is going to play or get a spot on a bus. So I tried to include her in as many decisions as I can. She’s been a great leader,” said Rush.
Connelly is appreciative of the leadership experience as well. As the only senior on the team, she describes the experience as being the sort of “mom” of the team, but also really enjoyable.
“It’s definitely really fun, but it’s also a lot of responsibility. Gretchen puts a lot of trust into my decision making and really involves me and all of the big team decisions, like the lineup. So it’s definitely been a good experience. And I think it’ll serve me well in college with leadership roles. It’s definitely made me more comfortable with taking on those kinds of roles,” said Connelly.
Connelly is majoring in nursing at James Madison University next year. While she will not be playing tennis for them, Rush still hopes she will continue playing.
“It’s a sport you can play until you’re old, and it’s very social, and you can make a lot of great friends,” Rush said.
Connelly will certainly be missed by both her coach and teammates. However, she has some parting advice for her teammates.
“Don’t look at it as like a competition. I feel like sometimes with the lineup being only six players it can be really easy to feel like you’re competing against your own teammates. But if you look at it as like you’re helping each other get better, it’s a lot healthier. So just keep that fun mentality with it and know that your relationships with the people on a team are more important than your place on the lineup.”
