High school student and star soccer player Ella Sun has a game-day routine from which she never deviates. She FaceTime's her teammate so the two of them can get ready together. She wraps wrist tape around her hand for good luck, a common sports superstition among soccer players. She does her warm-ups while listening to her favorite “chill” songs to stay calm and avoid overthinking. “This routine helps me feel ready to compete,” she explains.  

Ella’s journey with soccer began in first grade, when she played on a team called the Mighty Dinosaurs. “During my very first game, I didn’t understand that I could only score in one of the goals,” recalls Ella, “so I scored an own goal!” Since then, her hard work and resilience have led her to become the defensive center midfielder for Seattle Reign Academy (the academy for the pro soccer team Seattle Reign). She also plays on the varsity team for Lakeside High School in Shoreline, where she is currently a junior. She lives with her parents, her older sister, and her dog, a miniature schnauzer named Dixie. “My parents have been my biggest supporters since day one,” says Ella. “They’ve been to every single one of my games since I started playing.”  

For Ella, soccer is about more than just wins and losses – it’s about being part of something bigger than herself. “I’ve met some of my best friends through soccer, and they push me to become a better player and person each day,” she says. Ella shares a close bond with her teammates, all of whom support each other through thick and thin. She values the teamwork which her sport encourages and finds it inspiring to know that every player is imperative to the success of the team. “The memories we’ve made along the way are what make soccer so meaningful to me,” she shares. 

Soccer has also taught Ella numerous life skills, such as how to cope with and bounce back from failure. “One of the biggest lessons soccer has taught me is you can’t change the past, but you can control how you respond,” Ella says. That’s why her team coined the acronym “IOMO,” which stands for “It’s Over, Move On.” They use the saying to remind each other that tough losses and bad will always happen, and it’s important to just “let it go and focus on the next play.”  

Ella hopes to spread her love for soccer to younger players who may just be starting out in their sports journey. On a practical note, her favorite tip to give soccer novices is to practice their non-dominant foot as much as their dominant one. “It's one of the best habits you can build early on and will make you a much more well-rounded player,” she explains. But her most important piece of advice for young players is to remind them to be unafraid of making mistakes. “Everyone starts somewhere,” she advises, “and the best way to improve is to take risks and enjoy the process, because that’s what soccer is all about.”