A different person from Charlotte Latin Athletics is featured on the first Tuesday of each month with twenty questions to help the CLS community get to know some of our athletes, coaches, and supporters a bit better.
 
Our May featured athlete is junior Ellé Collier, who plays goalie for both the varsity field hockey and varsity girls' lacrosse teams and is the daughter of Dawn Collier, the woman behind all the deliciousness found in Founders' Hall. Or, more specifically, the Director of Dining Services. As we prepare to start state tournament play next week, Ellé shares her goals for girls' lacrosse this season – both for herself and for the team.
 
1. Here's an easy question to start with: Do you have any pets?
Yes, we have three. Sage is my favorite. She's a 3-year-old Pitbull and she's so cute. We have a dog named Hershey and a cat named Tamale. They all have food names.
 
2. Speaking of food, your mom runs dining services in Founders' Hall. Do you enjoy having her work at your school?
It's nice to have her here when I'm having a bad day and I can just go talk to her. I like that I can go see her or get stuff from her whenever I want to. I dislike that everyone in the school seems to know my mom because she's so outgoing.
 
3. What about the rest of your family?
My brother Lax is in tenth grade at Providence High School. My dad, Michael, died when I was in fourth grade from esophageal cancer.
 
4. I'm so sorry, Ellé. What can you tell us about him?
I was really close with my dad. We had a lot in common. We're both really driven people and we were one another's biggest fans. Both of my parents were chefs but Dad cooked the most and he was really good. I asked for his mac and cheese every year for my birthday, and he made me this chocolate cake with more cake sort of sprinkled on the outside. It was so good!
 
5. When did you start school at Latin and what do you remember about your first days here?  
I came to Latin in sixth grade. I knew a few girls through lacrosse, and Cora Wickham was my buddy when I visited, but I was kind of nervous. At my old school, you could wear whatever you want, so I was anxious about having a dress code and then on the first day of classes a lot of people wore dresses, which was a surprise. I was worried about meeting a lot of new people, but also wondering how it would be having such a small class. Also, about a week before starting here, I had to have emergency surgery because my appendix was about to burst. I was able to start school on time, but I was definitely feeling it.
 
6. How was the transition academically? Do any teachers stand out as helping you become comfortable?
I really struggled with grammar. It took a lot of motivation just to learn basic sentence structure. And I'd never had a foreign language before. I took Spanish and Mrs. Urbain was great. There were only four people in my class because we were the only ones that hadn't taken it before. Then I had her the rest of Middle School Spanish too and now she tutors me.
 
7. What's been your favorite class so far?
Right now it's APUSH with Mr. Bibby. It kind of stinks that I have it first thing in the morning, but he's a really engaging teacher and he's so excited about the lesson and the people. It's great to have a teacher that's so passionate teaching a subject he's really cares about.
 
8. What's the first organized sport you remember doing?
I played for Nikki's (Coach Williams) travel lacrosse team in fifth grade. That was my first time being on a team and my first time playing lacrosse. My dad was a really big lacrosse player and I kind of did it because of him and because I wanted to make friends and have an activity other than school work. Mom was working at Latin then, so she told Nikki I wanted to play lacrosse. When we talked, I said I wanted to play midfield or attack, but Nikki said, "My team really needs a goalie." So then, here we are.
 
9. You played goalie right away? How did that go?  
I was really scared of the ball initially. I was only 4'10 and the goal seemed so much taller than me. I was the shortest on the team and it was really scary when the girls were running down the field, charging toward me. That first year was just learning the basics and trying to get over being scared of getting hit with the ball.
 
10. When did field hockey enter the picture?
That started in seventh grade and was really just because I wanted to meet people. In sixth grade, we switched classes but I was with the same group of kids in every class. Then seventh grade came and I felt like I didn't know anyone again. Mom suggested I join a fall sport, but cross country looks miserable, running on the trails after school. A lot of the girls in my grade had Ambush gear. I had to look it up to see what sport that was for and it was field hockey, so that's why I joined. Then when Coach Olson found out I was a lacrosse goalie she just said I would be a field hockey goalie too. I actually thought being a field hockey goalie was easier.
 
11. What are the differences between the two, now that you have more experience?  
In field hockey, I don't have the technical training that other people have. I just try to save the ball no matter what. I know that's not the case for hockey goalies who really train for the position, but I do feel like it comes pretty naturally for me. In lacrosse, I'm more disciplined. You really have to watch the ball and I love to be more involved in the game. Natalie (Massardo) and I always pass it to one another and I can throw it far down the field to Evie (McMahan) to make a play.
 
12. What are your least favorite parts about the two sports?
My least favorite thing in field hockey is that I can't really do much other than stand in the goal and the pace of the game is a lot slower than lacrosse. My least favorite part of lacrosse is the mental piece of it. In field hockey, I don't really get in my head that much, but in lacrosse, it's harder. Probably because I have more skills in lacrosse, but it's tough to move past a mistake and knowing that you could've made a save if you'd done something slightly different.
 
13. The lacrosse season is winding down. Has it lived up to the team's expectations?   
I think there's a lot of pride when you're at the level of our team. No matter what team is on the other side of the field, our biggest opponent is ourselves. Our goal has been to play to the best of our abilities. We've played a lot of out of state teams that are ranked higher than us nationally, which is really intimidating. They haven't all gone our way, but when they have, they're really good team wins.
 
14. What about personally? Did you have any goals coming into this season?
This is my first year of playing fully (of being the starting goalie) and after getting the opportunity, my goal is to make it count. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.
 
15. You also play club lacrosse. What's different about club versus school?  
Club lacrosse is more focused on showcasing individual skill and it's a lot of working with your coaches to try and get recruited. There's a lot of travel and trying to show how well you can do against people that are highly ranked. There's no real end goal for the team. In Latin lacrosse, there's a definite end goal: to win the state championship. And it can only be accomplished if everyone's on board with it, if everyone's focused on preparing for each game.
 
16. Alright, let's finish up with some fun questions. If you could have one super power, what would it be?
To read minds.
 
17.  What's your splurge food?
Local Scoop in the Promenade. I've spent so much money there. My go-to is the birthday cake flavor with sprinkles on the bottom and the top.
 
18. What do you want to be when you grow up?  
I want to be a journalist. Writing is something I like to do. Maybe sports journalism or something like that.
 
19. Who is a sports figure you admire?
Delaney Sweitzer. She's the goalie for Syracuse.
 
20. On the Latin lacrosse team, who is the biggest hype person, the best singer, and the funniest?
Reese Morgan, Kate Livingston, and probably Lea Troutman.