Name: Ella Spooner
Email: emspoons22@gmail.com
Phone (optional): (616)848-8028
Position: Midfield/Draw Specialist
When did you start playing? Freshman Year of High School
High School: West Ottawa High School
Awards/Captain? Years Varsity?
- 2022 MHSAA Scholar-Athlete
- 2021 Meijer State Games of Michigan Youth Female Athlete of the Year
- 2021 and 2022 Holland Sentinel Womens Lacrosse Player of the Year
- 1st Team All-Conference OK Red Womens Lacrosse 2021
- MLXA National Team Member 2020/2021
- West Ottawa Lacrosse Team MVP 2021 and 2022
- School Record (15 goals in one game) 2022
- 3rd in the State for Goals Scored in a Game 2022
- West Ottawa Varsity Lacrosse Captain 3 years
- 4-year Varsity Starter
Did you play West Side? How Long? I played for West Side Lacrosse all four years of high school and was a part of the first ever Westside Women's Team.
College: Kalamazoo College (DIII)
Awards/Captain?
2022-23 Freshman Season
- MIAA Defensive Player of the Week (2/20/23)
- Led team in free position goals and shots (17-27)
- Second on team in goals (55) and shots on goal (95)
- Third on team in assists (10), points (65), and draw controls (64)
Career Highs (through 2023):
Goals: 6 (multiple times)
Assists: 3 (at Illinois Tech 3/4/23)
What are you studying in College? Degree? I am double majoring in Biochemistry and Spanish on the premed track.
Coaching Experience: I have had various coaching experiences throughout high school through West Ottawa Public Schools. I had the opportunity to help at multiple camps and clinics as well as work with some of the younger teams. I look forward to continuing my coaching career with Westside Lacrosse and to giving back to the program that gave me so much.
Why do you love lacrosse?
Since the day I started playing, I have had a strong love and respect for the sport of lacrosse. I think that lacrosse is such a unique sport for women to play because it allows us to be more physical, but also pushes us to have fantastic sportsmanship despite this increase in physicality. I love lacrosse because it teaches important foundational values to lead a successful life. By learning sportsmanship, it allows young athletes who are still growing and developing to build their character. Each part of being an excellent sportsman relates directly to more than just a sports game, but to the game of life itself. Being a good teammate: Working well with others is a life skill everyone needs to have, especially in college and the workplace. Respecting your opponents: Undoubtedly, you will cross paths with people who might have opposing views, or you’re competing with, and how you treat that person is important. Respecting officials: No matter how old you get you always have someone who is controlling parts of your life that you can’t. There are going to be ‘bad calls’ in life and it’s important you are respectful to those people who might make those ‘bad calls.’ Respecting coaches: Throughout a person’s lifetime, we often have many different mentors who guide us. When we are young, it is often our parents. As we grow older, our mentors are typically a teacher or coach. As we grow up and move onto our career, we often look up to superiors or bosses as a mentor. Those people who mentor us in life are important and deserve our utmost respect. And finally, respecting the game itself and the privilege we have to be playing that sport: Life is a gift and not one that should be wasted. Lacrosse teaches us how to play the game of life hard and to the best of our ability.
Brief West Side Testimony.
I started playing Westside Lacrosse during my freshman summer of high school. I had the opportunity to play on Westside's first ever women's lacrosse team, and since I have only seen tremendous growth in the women's program, the coaching staff, and the level of play. Westside lacrosse truly built my love for the sport and helped me making tremendous growth as a player. My fondest memories from high school come from practices and tournaments that I played in with Westside, and I have also created lifelong friendships through Westside as well. I think that westside is such a unique program because of the people and opportunities it provides. The people at westside are fantastic people, but westside also helps players get recruited and become great lacrosse players. Westside's motto is “class and respect.” Before every tournament and game, our coaches remind us that we are privileged to be able to play lacrosse and instill in us the importance of sportsmanship. This emphasis on the sportsmanship behind the sport has helped to develop my character over the years and I have allowed me to be an example for others on how to display great sportsmanship on and off the field. I now play lacrosse in college, and I truly attribute much of my success and character to Westside.
