Rock Bridge standout chases big aspirations
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Rock Bridge volleyball team set the stage to make history in 2021, as the group has steam rolled through its competition over the course of the regular season.
One of the most important roles on any team comes at the setting position and for the Bruins that position belongs to junior Ella Swindle.
“She’s a very, very tall setter. She has extremely good location," head coach Trevor Koelling said.
Swindle is garnering a lot of attention nationally for her height and ability. In fact, the setter already committed to the top volleyball program in the country, the University of Texas.
Interestingly enough, volleyball was not Swindle's first love. The Columbia-native played competitive tennis for a few years before committing to the hardwood in sixth grade.
"It wasn't until seventh grade that I really realized that I wanted to do something special with the sport," she said. "Eighth grade I got really serious about volleyball. I started travelling to Kansas City for club practice, I played for KC Power. Then, everything just kind of took off from there."
"Took off," is an understatement in Swindle's case. The junior had a natural talent for volleyball. So much so that, following her sophomore year, she got invited to train with the U18 girls national training team.
"That was an incredible expereince," she said. "I ended up getting cut from the team of 12 that went to Mexico this past week, actually. That was really tough, but it kind of ignited a fire in me and, honestly, it's just pushed me to be even better."
However, Swindle's ultimate goal is to win Olympic gold.
"I was able to talk to a few Olympic players this past summer, Jordan Poulter being one of them, and it was just great to kind of be in their shoes and see what it takes to get there," she said.
Before Koelling took over as head coach at Rock Bridge, he worked as an assistant with the Mizzou volleyball team. He said he believes Swindle has what it takes to achieve whatever she wants.
"Being a volleyball fan my entire life and seeing some of the people who have accomplished it, working for one of the people that accomplished the Olympic dream, I think Ella has everything, physically, that she needs," he said. "She is continuing to develop skills that would definitely put her there. Part of her college decision, obviously you have to be thinking about that. What college can I go to that sets me up for that? Texas has put girls in the Olympics before."
Achieving as much as Swindle has at such a young age takes a lot of sacrifice.
“If you want to live like no one else later and accomplish things that few people have accomplished, then you may need to live like no one else today," Ella's father Jason Swindle said.
But before Swindle moves on to the national stage, she will finish up her career with the Bruins. In 2020, Rock Bridge captured it's first-ever district championship. This season Swindle said she and her team are focused on taking it one step further - winning the program's first state championship.
