Many people have one or multiple people in their lives that have helped shape them into who they are today. In the case of first-year setter Ella Foti, she has had many people in her life that have helped shape her, including her parents and a close friend.
Foti was first introduced to volleyball through her parents. Her mom and dad both played sports at North Dakota State University, with her mother playing volleyball and her father playing basketball.
From a very young age, Foti played sports with them.
“Growing up, we always played volleyball and basketball, and ever since I could hold a ball we would be playing outside,” Foti said.
Foti’s mom ended up coaching her in grade school and continued to help Foti later on in life.
“She was always giving me stuff to do, but sometimes I wouldn’t always listen because it’s (my) mom,” Foti said. “But she really created the foundation of my skills and helped me develop them at a young age.”
Beyond just growing up playing sports, Foti said the reason she continues to play is based off of her love of competing.
“I just feel in love with the aspect of competing and getting better and seeing results and progress and the gritty aspect of each sport,” Foti said. “It just drew me in.”
Foti played at Edgewood High School in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, where she was a three-year varsity captain and earned team All-State, All-Area and All-Conference her junior and senior years. Once her high school career was finished, Foti decided to come to Marquette.
Beyond academics and volleyball, part of the reason that Foti chose Marquette was because her father grew up in the area.
“My dad actually grew up in Milwaukee and so this was his team growing up, so that was one part, and then another part is when I actually came here (Marquette) I just fell in love with the campus and the atmosphere of the city and how there is so much to do in Milwaukee, and it’s such a beautiful place,” Foti said.
Foti graduated early and came to Marquette to begin her training. Head coach Ryan Theis said that coming early helped her development.
“Ella gets to come and train now 20 hours a week until the end of March or early April,” Theis said. “She is going to get a ton of extra training that she wouldn’t have gotten before.”
Beyond the court, Foti is majoring in educational studies and psychology and wants to work with children who have long-term illnesses.
Foti chose to help kids with long-term illnesses because a friend of hers was diagnosed with leukemia at a young age.
“The reason I first heard about it was because a friend of mine growing up had leukemia. She got it when we were in kindergarten and then she relapsed and got it again in fourth grade and so by the time we were in eighth grade she fought through. She’s in remission, she’s doing great now (and) I still keep in touch with her,” Foti said. “She told me about how there was this person in the hospital that always helped her cope with things that children shouldn’t go through and have to be coping with at that age. She really inspired me and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do.'”
With Foti being on the outside and not having much control over what happened to her friend, she decided to adopt a positive attitude.
“The biggest thing for me was always being positive and never talking about it (leukemia) but more talking about things she wants to talk about, because everyone always asks, ‘how are you doing?’ so I would always talk to her about volleyball or talking about school, … just being a supportive friend,” Foti said.
This story was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGross6.
