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In part one of the conversation with Hamiota volleyball star, now National Champion with the U of M Bisons Ella Gurr, she talked about how she became a member of the Bisons, what it has been like playing elite level athletics and developing bonds with teammates.
With part two, she delves more into how close this group is and always will be, the price paid to be a champion and what her future holds.
Coming off her first season where she didn't see the court, Gurr says it was perhaps the best thing for her development. "It was awesome, because even though I wasn't playing in games, there was obvious improvement. Sometimes you can feel like you've hit a plateau and you're not getting better, but I feel with this team, you're forced to get better. You don't get the option to just stand around and do nothing. You work and you work until you get better."
The Bisons program made some noise last year but going through this year, Gurr could tell there was magic right from the start. "After our bronze place finish last year, we were like, 'no, we're stetting it up'. We were determined to put in everything we possibly could to get first place. With a lot of our seniors leaving, they were also pretty passionate. Losing wasn't really an option for us. The whole time we believed we were going to win. Losing was simply not an option. We couldn't lose because we put in so much work. Thank goodness we didn't lose because, oh my gosh, that work was gruesome but it was also wonderful."
Gurr says the drills and the time on the court really pushed the entire team but it also really brought them closer together as teammates and friends "It was very comforting to know we were always behind each other. We did this thing called "psycho-circuit", and the name... the name means what it means," Gurr says with a chuckle. "It was very intense but we always did it as a team. We couldn't slack because we were always there cheering for each other. My partner was Alexandria Hait and she was amazing. Anytime I did "psycho-circuit" with her, I stepped it up. Everyone was amazing and we could watch everyone and it boosted us to keep pushing ourselves. It was wonderful."
The Bisons will be losing some key pieces but Gurr believes the core will come back stronger and she's ready to earn a bigger role. "We're losing five seniors and that includes Katrenna (Bentley), who is our starting setter. Which sucks because she's so amazing but that does open things for me. I know I need to prepare myself a ton for this upcoming season. We have Elia (Falcone) and she's the next setter to come in, so my role is to train and train, being ready for incase I do go in. If that does happen, that'll be amazing, of course."
With many key leaders leaving, Gurr believes what they instilled in the group will be carried over for not just this upcoming year, but years to come, defining Bisons volley ball. "As a second year this year, when we got our rookies, me and my friends made sure to be super nice and have everyone feel welcome. We're going to bring them in and teach them about what it takes to be a Bison. It'll be how our leaders treated us. We'll build a culture that is there for each other all of the time. When someone is stressed or doubting themselves, we'll all be there. Bisons are always there for each other."
Balancing school, sports and life in general can be hard for student-athletes at any level and in any sport. Gurr says she's learned something very important and her advice is simple. "It's very difficult but the main thing is managing your time wisely. In my first year, and I learned from my mistakes, but time management is huge. For me, practicing piano for hours through the night, I'd end up getting to sleep at 2:00 a.m. So, I actually learned how to manage my time better and it's like that for a lot of people. Doesn't matter what degree you're going for, you have to learn how to manage your time."
After winning the Championship, Gurr says she was overwhelmed by the support from people in Hamiota, and family across Maniotba. "It was so incredible. I cannot thank my family enough. Even if they lived three or four hours away, they came to game. Even my grandparents showed up. It was so wonderful. They were always cheering and being there. Even my Aunt who's in Jamaica right now, she took time to watch us play. It's so special and I'm so thankful."
Having a few days to let everything soak in, Gurr says it is now hitting her and the team that they will never be together on the floor as a group again, but that makes what they did mean even more. "There's been many moments where all of us realized that it was the last time with this group. It's been so hard. We've not let ourselves think about it because it's so hard to process. Even during the last game, I whispered to my friend that I couldn't believe it was the last time I was going to see Katreena set in a game. It's just so hard to process. I've looked up to them so much, so it's wonderful to go out on a high not but it does suck it was the last time."
Even though the team may not be together, Gurr says she'll carry the experiences from this year and the relationships with those her taught her going forward. "All I can do now is think back to when I was watching them and think 'what would Kateerna do? What would Light (Uchechukwu) do? What would Julia (Arnold) do?"
Something to look forward to will be for years, this group will be looked upon, admired and remembered. There will be reunions and get togethers in the future and Gurr says the best part of all of that is they won't have to do "psycho-circuit".
"Oh yeah, thank goodness," she says with her trademark laugh and smile.