Q&A with La Cueva HS volleyball player Ella Sanders
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Q&A with La Cueva High School volleyball player Ella Sanders.
Name: Ella D Sanders
Age: 16
Sport: Volleyball
Sports participated in: Basketball, Ballet, Swimming
Years in current sport: 7-8 years
Team: Varsity at La Cueva High school / club team: DCVA 17N1
School: La Cueva High School
Grade/Year: Junior
What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?
Ella D Sanders: Some of my goals are to definitely play D1 in college or a top D2 school. I would love to play professionally, if I could, but we’ll see how I feel about it after college and if I wish to pursue a different career.
What is your biggest challenge in your sport, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
Sanders: My biggest challenge would probably be having the right mindset. I think having a stable and confident mindset can really boost your skills and, for me, it’s a challenge to be in pressure situations especially since I make them way more complicated and overbearing than they need to be. I’m someone who is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to volleyball so I always find negative things about my playing style and what I need to do to fix them. I also have anxiety so it doesn’t really help with my thought process during tough situations but trying to write down my negative feelings and turn those thoughts into positive sentences or things to say about myself is something I’ve learned to do to help me. Working out is also another way I help manage or face this challenge and doing it with my team gives me so much more confidence and positivity in my mind. It also helps that when I look around at my teammates or coaches, they are all there with me facing the same situation and they’re handling things just fine so it rubs off on me.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
Sanders: One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given is that all of this is a privilege and you earned it, but others are on their way up so don’t stop competing. Playing at this level or any level is a privilege that you have earned and you should constantly be competing with other players to better yourself, or be competing with yourself so you can be the best version of yourself. You can earn a lot of stuff, but you have to fight to keep it.
Do you have a saying or motto that you like to live by?
Sanders: I do have a saying, it’s Me and You Always. What it basically means to me is that I’ll always do my best to carry the weight with you, (teammate) so trust in me because I’m always going to be there. It’s something I say to specific people who I see carry a lot of weight and I know what that feels like so it’s my way of trying to help them out and get them to trust in me. But, I do say it in my mind every time I feel the pressure just because it reminds me of my friend who came up with the saying with me, and that helps me relax a bit.
What do you love about your sport?
Sanders: I love that every point is on a different level and that’s built on skills the players have acquired through hard work. You truly see the results in your playing. When you play volleyball you can watch others play and know how hard those skills were to obtain and I think it’s amazing to see results or see where you could be or where you were. It’s a sport of progress and I love the idea of that.
Would you like to play in college?
Sanders: I would love to play in college.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Sanders: An apple before a game is so refreshing.
Where do/did you go to school/where do you work?
Sanders: I went to Albuquerque High School my freshman and sophomore years. I transferred to La Cueva this year, which is my junior year. I don’t have a job.
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
Sanders: I’m a pretty boring person outside my sport, but I like to read, write poetry, paint, and walk.
How would you describe your personality?
Sanders: If I could pick a color it would be Orange to describe my personality. I can be kind, aggressive, and passionate. I’m very stubborn with a strong personality but have a heart filled with good intentions.
What is your favorite snack food?
Sanders: I love lifesaver gummies and some good jerky.
What is your favorite song or music artist to get you ready for a game?
Sanders: I don’t usually listen to certain music to get ready for my games. I’m ok with whatever’s on the radio. I just play it by ear.
Do you have a pregame ritual you follow?
Sanders: Not really but my dad usually gives me a pep talk in the car for some motivation or to remind me of something I need to remember in the game. I always take a nap in the car while riding to games.
What has being a member of a team taught you?
Sanders: Not everyone has the same level of passion or dedication you have. If you love the sport you’ll always be playing for fun no matter the level. Not everyone can stay with you forever. It’s okay to be selfish sometimes and want to work on you. Everyone has to put an effort in for the game to run like you want it to. You win and lose as a team. Taking advice is crucial to playing volleyball. Bad attitudes make bad habits which will come back to haunt you. Make an effort to build friendships on the team. If everyone likes each other it makes the game run way more smoothly. Communication is key.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
Sanders: Writing down my negative thoughts and turning them into positive ones is something my old coach at my club told me to do and that was a really good piece of advice for me. And she had this whole saying where your mentality is way more important than your physical side when it comes down to challenges or gametime. And I love that she really took the time to give the team advice on how to grow your mind.
Can you describe a mistake you made while competing and how you overcame it?
Sanders: Around two years ago, I decided that I didn’t want to learn how to tool the block. And I remember my team and I were playing a team that had a huge rightside blocker who just kept on blocking me. My team was getting frustrated with me and I was shutting down and all I remember doing was starting over. So what I mean by starting over is that when I’m in a slump, I start from what I know how to do and slowly build my way up. So I know how to tip and roll shots and to do those two things you have to watch the set and the blockers’ hands. I know how to hit, that requires me to aim for certain spots on the court. So now I just softly start aiming for certain positions on the blockers’ hands and see where the ball ends up, and finally I got it. I started tooling the rest of that game and now I do it with ease because it became a habit.
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