You should definitely keep an eye on Mount Vernon Jr. High
Schooler Ellen Foster. Ms Foster is an honor student, an excellent multi-sport
athlete and was one of a select number of young Americans chosen to represent
the United States in international basketball competition as a member of Team
USA. The 14-year-old will also be representing the US in Switzerland this
summer at the prestigious Swiss All Star Tournament. To find out more “behind
the numbers,” we chatted with Ellen recently.
GT:What’s the best
part of being on a team?
EF: Trusting and learning others’ strengths and weaknesses.
So once you really
trust your teammates, you can anticipate what they’ll do next?
Yeah.
How do you prepare
for a game?
I don’t have a fancy routine. I’m pretty pumped before I go
into any game. I think that whatever I do or however I do it, I’m going to be
the best I can be.
You play basketball,
volleyball and run track; which is the most challenging?
Probably basketball.
In the sense that it
doesn’t come as easily to you or that you try to do even better at it?
[That I] try to do better.
You’re also an honor
student – how do you balance academics and athletics?
Academics come before sports, so if I don’t have my homework
done, I’ll have to do it before I do my sports.
How do sports help
you out in everyday life?
It teaches me to be a better person; if I can be a good
teammate, I can be good in everyday life.
What are your future
plans, career- and sports-wise?
I want to play in the WNBA someday. I have big goals, I
guess.
How were you invited
to the 2010 Swiss All Star Tournament?
I didn’t know about it until I got a letter saying that I’d
been invited to an informational meeting [about the event]. Once we got to the
meeting, it was more clear; they told us what they wanted, where we could go
and everything. There were other places we could choose from; it didn’t have to
be the Swiss All Star Tournament. There’s one in the Bahamas… that one [Swiss
All Star Tournament] jumped out more than the others.
Ellen’s very proud to
be representing her town and her country, and she’s looking forward to further
developing her talents at both special events such as the Swiss All Star
Tournament and in high school, which she begins in the fall.
Ms. Foster is working
hard to find donors and sponsors to help with fees, accommodations and
transportation for her trip to Switzerland this summer. If you’d like to help
out, here’s how:
lori08@sit-co.net
812-483-9833
You may also make a
secure donation at https://secure.365sports.org/crm/team/sponsor/ryq1odjk/38401