Player profile: The collaborative work of Ellie Fox

By Madeline Dorobiala

A sophomore girls’ basketball captain from Niagara Wheatfield High School brings reliability to her team. Ellie Fox is a four-sport varsity athlete balancing basketball, lacrosse, swimming and soccer.

Ellie, a forward, is one of three captains on the Niagara Wheatfield basketball team – but her love for basketball started before she played for the team. Basketball has been Ellie’s main sport since playing for a recreational league in fourth grade. From there, she moved up from junior varsity to varsity during her time in seventh and eighth grades.

“Well, I pulled Ellie up early – earlier than I pulled most people up; I pulled her up from the eighth grade,” coach Gary Jackson said. “In the eighth grade, she was just a big who can get a couple rebounds, play a little bit of defense.”

The additional support Ellie receives extends off the court. Her family is what motivates her as an athlete. She credits the support and her love for basketball to her mother, who won a state championship in high school.

Ellie’s brother also played basketball for Niagara Wheatfield.

“He will film my games and make clips and make me watch it and be like, ‘This is what you need to do right, this is what you did wrong,’ ” Ellie said.

Ellie does not have additional time to work on her studies off the court. Her attentiveness and self-discipline allow her to use time in school to complete her work.

“She maxes out her whole day and she would go to swim for an hour and then walk over to soccer practice and do that for an hour,” her mother, Kara Fox, said.

On and off the court, Ellie is a reliable asset to the team, not just in statistics but in who she is as a person.

“She encourages the girls to do it (the plan) without beating them up, without hollering, without belittling,” Jackson said. “And when I get upset, there’s times where she can say the same thing I say with a calmer demeanor.”

Ellie takes the initiative on how their practice should run. She is aware of the gameplans Jackson makes, responsibly translating them to the team.

As of this writing, the sophomore leads her team with 40 steals, 48 assists and 164 rebounds.

She makes fluid passes and keeps a tight defense on the court. Ellie also ensures that she is available when it comes to tough passes. She assists with play development, communicating with her team.

“Wherever we have a hole, we can’t do something good, I can place her in it and she fits right in,” Jackson said. “So, she’s pretty much our Swiss Army Knife.”

Niagara Wheatfield High School sophomore basketball player Ellie Fox.

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Ellie is attentive with scheduling, keeping the team informed, and is willing to help the coaching staff and team. As much as she takes basketball seriously, Ellie knows the right time for a good laugh or a food run.

“Making sure people are comfortable to talk to me and ask questions and know that I’m always here,” Ellie said. “And to just know that I’m helping leading them, and they’re comfortable to come talk to me.”

The team is described as close – and Ellie’s assets contribute.

“She lifts us up a lot,” teammate Gia Watson said. “And if we do something wrong, she makes sure it’s OK and we can move on.”

Ellie can be described as very social, and that comes out in her leadership position as captain.

“But I know, when I’ve talked to the other basketball moms, they’re like, ‘She’s the glue that holds us together,’ like it’s the social part of it,” Kara Fox said.

Ellie socializes off the court and has brought more of her peers and fans to her team’s basketball games.

As of this writing, the girls’ varsity basketball team is ranked second in the Niagara Frontier League and striving for first.

Ellie’s dependability actually spreads beyond her team. She recently served as Jackson’s assistant coach for a modified game.