ERIE — Ella Jimenez stands out on the soccer pitch because of her stellar play. And, yes, because of the thick goggles she wears while doing it.
In a game at Poudre High School last week, it was likely both her pesky defense and signature look that led to chants of “four eyes” from a home base foiled in an eventual 2-1 win for the Tigers.
Coach Jeff Vigil was mad in defense of his senior and made it known then. When Ella and her parents found out about it later, they were more just amused.
“If I would’ve known, I would have let them know the joke’s on them,” Ella’s father Rick smirked. “She only has one.”
In defense of the hecklers — though an unoriginal bunch — it’s difficult to tell that the multi-sport letterman committed to Clark University in Massachusetts for soccer and biochemistry has a prosthetic for a right eye.
She lost it at the age of 2 after being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eye. But, even for those close to her, they’re often unaware of it until she tells them.
With a shrug and a smile, she said she isn’t even sure if her future college coaches are aware yet.
“I have to be honest with you, before I really knew what was going on, I didn’t notice,” said Brandon Havard, her coach in track and field at Erie, and who used to be her coach in cross country and basketball.
Havard and Ella have been close since her freshman year. “Once I found out what was going on, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s why she’s always wearing sunglasses at races,’” he said.
Ella, who dons eyewear for protection, makes sure it’s not seen as a bigger deal than that.
Havard, like others, just continue to marvel.
He said it’s not only her willingness to take on any challenge despite what could be seen as a major limitation — especially in athletics. Even more, it’s how much she works and excels at nearly everything she does.
“She can do anything she wants,” he said, “really.”
Ella is a driving force on the backline for Class 4A No. 18 Erie soccer (8-4-1), which took another step closer at nabbing a home playoff game in next week’s first round with a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against 5A No. 22 Fairview (5-4-3) on Tuesday night.
Vigil beams over his four-year starter.
“She’s not the fastest kid, not the biggest kid, not the strongest kid and is playing with one eye,” Vigil said. “And you’d never know it. She has to work extremely hard to get there and she does.”
Ella is also a star distance runner on the Tigers’ cross country and track and field teams. A student with a 4.4 GPA with aspirations to help the fight against cancer.
She even helps coach fifth-graders in her dad’s basketball club, the Colorado Titans.
“For me, I don’t want to go into something and not give my best at it,” Ella said. “That’s with school, with sports, and even when I’m coaching, I want to give 100% of my time and ability. A lot of teams are relying on me.”
It’s been a pretty impressive story arc since the “worst day” of her parents’ lives.
“She just wants to earn things and do things on her own merit,” her mom, Gretchen said.
“Everything she’s gotten,” Rick added, “she’s earned.”
