Oswego East Student Athlete of the Week-Ella Vacek

Sophomore Ella Vacek has always carried herself with a quiet sense of confidence. As a cheerleader and member of the track team, Ella's motivation for improvement in any task she takes on, athletically, personally, or academically, has been intrinsic. As only a sophomore, Ella carries herself with the maturity of an upperclassman, and will no doubt be expected to provide leadership to the cheerleading team over the next two seasons, which is why she is this week's Oswego East student-athlete of the week.

Ella joined the cheerleading team in 8th grade based on recommendations from friends and has not looked back since. "I love being on a team and enjoying the comradery," says Ella. Head coach Tiffany Scholle believes comradery was a core strength of this year's team. "The whole team has been a close-knit family this year," says Tiffany. She goes on to add, "Ella strikes a good balance of joking around with her teammates and also being in the thick of pushing the team to work hard in preparation for an event."

As a flyer, trust and confidence in her teammates are paramount to success, as there is a risk from both a safety and technical standpoint. Through the development of those relationships, Ella has emerged as a leader. Despite being only a sophomore, Ella has served as a leader for the younger flyers on the team. "[Ella] has a quiet approach but has taken some of the younger flyers under her wing to encourage them in their season and getting used to the rigors of the position as a varsity level," says Tiffany.

Leaders are only impactful when they hold themselves to a high standard for their teammates. One of Ella's best traits is her dedication to her craft and the amount of time she puts into getting the details correct. Her mother and father, Ian and Tracey Vacek, believe her resiliency is what makes Ella so unique. "[Ella] is kind of a perfectionist, which we think drives her grit and determination," says Ian and Tracey. They go on to add, "[Ella] holds herself to very high standards. She wants to make sure she is at her best because she wants to make sure she doesn't let her teammates down."

Coach Scholle understands the attention to detail is what helps Ella stand out as a cheerleader. "[Ella] is persistent in her pursuit of kills and perfecting those skills," says Tiffany. She goes on to add, "I really appreciate that Ella pays close attention to the expectations and standards we have on the team and quietly works to achieve them without reminders or external pressure. She is very intrinsically motivated, which allows for her to lead by example as her teammates see her striving forward and follow suit to match her drive."

Individual accolades and statistics are difficult to come up with in cheer, but for Ella's part, she maintained a clean record during all competitions, meaning she got no deductions for her stunting or tumbling skills across the 7 competitions. The team was able to outscore last year's average by 3 points, place in the top 4 in 5 competitions, top half in two more, and a 3rd place finish at ICCA State. Although the Wolves fell just short of moving on from sectionals in the IHSA state tournament, their improvement this season means big things are on the horizon for both next season and beyond.

Coach Scholle will no doubt lean on Ella to provide leadership during the next two years, Ella is still very much undetermined on where she would like to attend school or what her particular major will be, although she enjoys math and science most. Her Honors Algebra 2 teacher, Brian Chandler, sees the same qualities in Ella in the classroom as her peers, coaches, and parents do on the mat. "Ella works hard and takes extra time out of her schedule to seek out additional help, and her grades reflect the extra work and her attention to detail," says Brian. He goes on to add, "I really appreciate the fact that she never seems satisfied until she feels like she's truly mastered the material."

Although the competitive cheerleading season has ended for the Wolves, Ella will be pulling double duty as a track athlete and cheering until the end of basketball season. A tall task for some, Ella manages to take it all in stride, adhering to her own advice for future Wolves, and saying, "Don't overwhelm yourself. Take a deep breath if you feel like it's too much." For this bright sophomore, the future is full of opportunities to leave her legacy and help the Wolves reach their goal of making it to IHSA state.