MUSCATINE, Iowa–Often, high school athletes dedicate most of their time and energy to a single sport. Not so for Muscatine High School senior Ella Schroeder. She competed in five sports at different points in high school, including basketball, softball, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. A dedicated athlete who gives it her all and strives to learn more, Ella’s peers voted her this year’s Muscatine Community Y Senior Female Athlete of the Year.
Since childhood, Ella has tried many different sports. She credits her parents’ encouragement with getting her excited about doing multiple sports and enjoying all of them. To this day, she does not prefer one sport to any others. “I don’t have a favorite,” she said. “My favorite is whatever sport I’m in at the moment.”
Over the years, Ella has had numerous outstanding experiences, often related to the teams she played with. “I love my teammates,” she shared. “Without them, I wouldn’t be playing.”
Ella recalls having positive experiences with the junior varsity basketball team she played with her junior year. “We just build really good chemistry, and we had a major winning streak my junior year,” she recalled.
Ella also valued wrestling for Muscatine High School her senior year. “I wanted to try it because this is the first year it was sanctioned,” she shared. Unlike anything she did in the past, Ella appreciated the psychology behind successful wrestling and the boost in speed it gave her in track.
Ella Schroeder receiving her Muscatine Community Y Senior Female Athlete of the Year award from Mel Steckel. Photo by Margaret Hurlbert.
With numerous senior female athletes for her peers to choose from, Ella felt surprised and humbled to receive this year’s Muscatine Community Y Senior Female Athlete of the Year Award and believes it will help her inspire other female athletes to branch out and try new sports. “I’m very honored,” she shared. “I hope it brings more attention to encouraging students to do more than one sport.”
After graduating from Muscatine High School, Ella plans to study at Muscatine Community College for a year before transferring to Iowa State University or the University of Iowa to earn a bachelor’s degree in business or teaching. Though she does not plan to play sports at the college level, she intends to stay active and get a coaching endorsement to work with local youth teams. “I still plan on being athletic and still being involved with my younger siblings as they go through the school district,” she explained.
Friday, May 12, Muscatine Community Y Health Promotions Service Director Mel Steckel honored Ella by presenting her with a plaque and flowers and reading a letter to her from Sophia Thomas, last year’s honoree, now a first-year student studying at Iowa State University. As someone who played football, she appreciated Ella’s willingness to try wrestling, a sport still dominated by boys.
Steckel felt this year’s senior class wisely honored Ella, as her broad experience has taught her valuable interpersonal skills. “Anytime somebody is involved in so many sports, she’s been in contact with a lot of people and built a lot of team skills.” She also observed, “it couldn’t go to a nicer kid.”
