Like her father Mike, 13-year-old Ella Cwiertnewski is used to people responding with a head-scratching ‘huh?’ when she says her last name.
Also like her Dad, she has become an important volunteer with the Niagara-on-the-Lake Wolves Minor Hockey Association.
Mike is a coach as well as the local league coordinator for the Wolves. Ella also volunteers her free time with the Wolves, whose club secretary Carrie Plaskett says Ella was “absolutely crucial” in maintaining the flow of the hockey office during the recent March Break Local League Tournament held over three days at Virgil’s two arenas.
“She makes sure all the timekeepers are where they are supposed to be and that all the coaches are signing in, everything that is essential to running the tournament,” Plaskett says.
Ella, a bright smile on her face, is friendly and jovial. But at the same time, she is all business. Never afraid to put a late-arriving out-of-town coach in his or her place, she stays focused on the job at hand.
“If they give me a hard time I just show them who is boss,” Ella says with a laugh. “I’m not scared to.”
When handling the timekeepers, some of whom are parents of players, and others who are just slightly older than Ella, she takes the same approach.
“A lot of our timekeepers are high school students,” says Plaskett, “and they get paid to do it. It’s really important that they’re on time and they know their role. Ella makes sure they know the tournament rules and what their expectations are.”
What happens if one of those young timekeepers shows up late?
“I tell them they can’t be here anymore,” says Ella. “Hit the road, pal. I expect them to be here in the office to pick up their iPads 10 to 15 minutes before game time. I’m strict on that.”
Ella is a former NOTL Wolves player herself. She recently moved to the Brock Badgers Junior Women’s organization, where she plays both for the U15 house league and for a select team that competes at a tournament in Guelph this weekend.
She loves hockey, otherwise she wouldn’t have spent so much of her free time at the arena last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But it’s not her first sport.
“My main sport is soccer,” Ella explains. “I love hockey but, I play for fun and I don’t see myself going anywhere in the sport. I play soccer at a very competitive level with Niagara United. I’m a centre-back, I’m an aggressive player.”
The future athletic therapist says helping the Wolves with their tournaments has taught her much about leadership, teamwork and organization. She graciously thanks Plaskett and tournament convenor James Cadeau for their guidance and help, and for giving her the “privilege to be a part of it and to meet all these new people and to talk to coaches about their teams.”
As she speaks to The Local one of those coaches walks into the office, having just arrived from Elmvale, Ontario. Ella greets him with a smile, glances down at the schedule, grabs an iPad and checks him into the system. No guidance from Plaskett is necessary.
Her independence is a good thing, too, as both Plaskett, whose twin sons played in the tournament, and Cadeau, who coached his U18 team to the championship game, frequently had to step away from the office and into the arena for long periods.
Ella brings that same self-starter determination into her role as a Grade 8 student at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School, where she is the social media rep on the student council.
“She and her partner capture photos of school events and create a ‘Month in Review’ using pictures from teachers and events,” says her teacher Lisa Mayer. “She also helps with handing out hot lunches and with our Toonie Tuesday grad fundraiser, and actively shares her ideas during meetings.”
In addition to student council, Ella volunteered as an intermediate helper for the junior girls' soccer team in September and steps in as a lunch helper in the kindergarten rooms when needed.
For Plaskett, having a young woman with both a friendly nature and a serious down-to-business side like Ella is important when you are hosting a tournament.
“We have teams coming from all over Ontario,” says Plaskett. “It’s so nice having someone with a personality like Ella’s in the office. This is the face of Niagara-on-the-Lake. It’s great to have someone who is friendly in welcoming them to the arena; it shows them who we are as a community.”
Just don’t expect any of those coaches to remember that last name, though. For both Ella and Mike, it’s easier to use the abbreviation ‘CW’. Much, much easier.
