Ella Choi – February 2023 Athlete of the Month

Ella Choi, 15, hails from Lakeville and is a sophomore at Thayer Academy, a member of the Thayer Girls Varsity soccer team, and a member of the Scorpions FC club team. Ella first arrived at Elite in March, 2022, after sustaining a serious knee injury while playing soccer. Her injury required reconstructive surgery and she was referred to Ben Godin, PT, DPT, SCS, at Elite’s Foxboro location due to Ben’s extensive experience treating and rehabilitating athletes following ACLR surgery. Since then, Ella has worked with Ben for the past 10+ months restoring her range of motion, strength, power, speed and agility so she could safely return to the sport she loves. We’re happy to report that after many months of grueling rehab, Ella passed her most recent return-to-sport testing protocol with flying colors and was cleared to return to soccer last month!

Prior to arriving at Elite, Ella was busy making a name for herself in the competitive local soccer club community. She tells us that making the ECNL’s National team and being selected team captain is one of her proudest accomplishments to date. She also made the Thayer Academy varsity squad as a freshman and was selected as a member of the Massachusetts Olympic Development Program team. In addition, she was nominated for the New England Top 100 College Showcase prior to her injury. Needless to say, Ella’s accomplishments on the pitch speak for themselves and she’s excited to be back on the field with her teammates. As she tells us, “Soccer has taught me many important life lessons, and some of my teammates are now some of my closest friends. Soccer is definitely part of my identity and I love it a lot.”

During the past 10+ months, Ella’s faced more than her fair share of adversity during her rehab journey. But through it all, she’s consistently demonstrated a level of resiliency, grit and maturity that is well beyond her years. When asked what defines a true athlete, Ella describes “someone who is resilient and not afraid to fail, hard-working, a good teammate, competitive, and someone who tries to learn from their mistakes.” When asked about the best advice she’s received, she tells us, “If you’re going to do something, do it well. I think that advice has changed my mindset into trying to put my best effort into everything, whether it’s school, sports, or something else.” (like your knee rehab program!)

Ella has certainly put that advice into practice during the long and challenging rehab process. She’s one of the hardest-working, most dedicated athletes we’ve had the pleasure of working with, and she brings her A-game and maximum effort to each and every session at Elite. Many of her PT sessions have lasted up to 90 minutes and she’s never one to shy away from a new challenge or as Ben often asks, “just one more exercise” to finish up a session. When asked about her experience at Elite, Ella says, “My favorite parts of Elite are the atmosphere, the people, and the opportunities it gives me to strengthen my knee and learn new exercises. Everyone is really positive and supportive, and I love how everyone is just as excited as you are when you achieve your goals…I look forward to every session I have.”

We know the feeling, and it’s safe to say that the team here  at Elite looks forward to every time Ella walks into the gym. With her strong work ethic, unwavering commitment to her goals, and positive attitude, Ella is the epitome of an Elite Athlete and serves as such a positive role model for other athletes. She tells us that her goal is to play Division 1 college soccer and based on what we’ve seen from Ella during her time at Elite, we have no doubt she will achieve this goal and be successful in whatever she puts her mind to in the future. Congratulations, Ella, for being selected as our Elite Athlete of the Month! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you!

Elite Sports Performance & Physical Therapy offers Sports Performance programs and Sports Physical Therapy  at both our Foxboro and Stoughton locations. To learn more about our programs and services for athletes of all ages and sports and how YOU or an athlete in your family can become our NEXT Athlete of the Month, click HERE or email us at EliteSPC@EliteFitCenter.com!