Living the Dream: Ella Swindle
Caitlin Kurtz
11/21/2024
"I’m going to be there one day.”
Growing up, Ella Swindle would watch the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball National Championship games and fantasize about being there herself. Last season, she turned those dreams into reality and led Texas to its second consecutive National Championship as a freshman setter.
Ella, now a sophomore, hails from Columbia, Missouri. She played many sports growing up but eventually settled on volleyball. "I wanted to be part of a team sport where I could share my love for the game with others while being pushed by teammates, as well as pushing teammates,” said Swindle when recalling her decision to commit to volleyball as her primary sport.
This decision led to her commuting two hours to Kansas City for club practice, something that allowed her to be more competitive and grow as a player. Swindle says that she would not be where she is today without her mom and the rest of her family making the sacrifice of driving back and forth from Columbia to Kansas City for her to pursue her dreams.
Her time spent playing with the Kansas City club team attracted coaches from across the nation, including Texas’ own Jerritt Elliott. She considered a number of schools, but her visit to Texas solidified her decision to commit to the burnt orange and white in her junior year of high school. “The coaches are amazing. The fans are amazing. Austin, as a city, is the best you’ll find. [Texas’] campus is exactly what I was looking for,” Swindle said. “Once I committed, it was the most relieving feeling ever. I was just so excited to be a Longhorn.”
Stepping onto the Forty Acres for her first season as a freshman, Ella was thrust into an environment with big expectations. Texas Volleyball had just won the National Championship the year before, and there was pressure to continue the momentum into the new season. When discussing how she felt about transitioning onto the team with the girls from last year’s team, Swindle said that her goal was, “To help them succeed and be the best player for them.”
That’s exactly what she did. Throughout the season, Swindle faced some personal hardships that made her season challenging, but she was able to overcome those obstacles and come out on top as a National Champion. “I’ve just been super grateful for those hardships because they made me who I was at the end of the season,” Ella said. “They’ve helped me become a better leader, and going into my second season at Texas, I’m prepared for whatever comes my way.”
Swindle also attributes her personal growth last season to her mentor and head coach, Jerritt Elliott. She says that Coach Elliott cares deeply about each of the girls on the team and consistently reminds them of how valued they are by those around them, setting the tone for the culture across the program that led to their recent successes.
Ella’s biggest takeaway from Coach Elliott is his signature phrase “Good people love people,” and that phrase has dictated the way that she and her team show up for each other. “The biggest lesson that I’ve learned so far at Texas is to just love people really well—that is going to take you far in life.” Another thing that Ella has learned while at Texas is the balance between school and sport, especially when volleyball season is at the beginning of the school year. Thanks to Longhorn Foundation donors, Texas Athletics has provided Ella and her teammates with resources to succeed in school and life outside of the gym.
The biggest lesson that I’ve learned so far at Texas is to just love people really well—that is going to take you far in life.Ella Swindle
“If it weren’t for all of the generous donors that we have, we wouldn’t be the program that we are,” said Swindle. “Every donation adds up. They impact us as student-athletes, but also as people just trying to succeed in life. We’re so grateful for all of the support.”
Ella has big goals for the remainder of her time here on the Forty Acres. She hopes to win more National Championships and play professionally, with the possibility of playing in the Olympics, upon graduation. At the end of the day, she says, “I’m just going to have fun with it and keep working hard.”
