SENIOR OLYMPICS Ells: From tank driver to volleyball player

Donald Ells' volleyball team placed third at the Senior Olympics.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- What does serving as a military tank instructor for cadets at West Point have to do with developing a life-long love of volleyball?
One led to the other for Donald Ells of Youngstown, a retired U.S. Post Office employee whose Buckeye Northeast volleyball team won the bronze medal in the men's 65-69 age group at the Senior Olympics.
While a tank driver in the U.S. Army in the summer of 1955, Ells was assigned to West Point to teach cadets how to drive the vehicle.
Enter volleyball.
"The volleyball net was stretched across the motor pool before we would go out to the field [for tank instruction], and [the cadets] played volleyball. And so I said to myself, 'Wow, this is a lot of fun,' " recalled Ells about his first experience with the sport that eventually became an important part of his life.
Highlight of career
Ells, 69, celebrated the highlight of his volleyball career recently when he teamed with Ted Crawford, 67, and Rod Johnson, 69, both of Wooster; Kingsley Perry, 66, of Yellow Springs; Keith Ruffner, 67, of Wadsworth; Kenneth Vander Veen, 69, of Akron; and Ernst Thoms, 66, of Anderson, S.C., to place third out of 28 teams in their age class at the 2003 Senior Olympics held May 26-June 9 in Hampton Roads, Va.
Ells' team had qualified by taking runner-up at last year's Ohio State meet.
When Ells left the U.S. Army, he carried with him his newly-discovered love for volleyball while also embarking on a career with the U.S. Postal Service in 1960.
When he bought his house on Warren Avenue with wife Julia in 1964, "I put a net in my backyard," he said, and then invited friends and co-workers to come over to play once a week on Thursdays.
Fun and camaraderie
"It may sound trite, but [volleyball] is fun, and the skill depends upon the individual," said Ells, who also likes the camaraderie created by the sport, and the quality and behavior of people playing the game.
"I never heard of a fight or saw a fight in volleyball. In football, basketball, hockey and soccer, they fight; but in volleyball, they don't clash. People come together, young and old, male and female, and there are no problems," said Ells, whose favorite move is the jump-and-block.
"To be able to jump up and block is one of the skills I like the best, especially if I block a younger guy's shot," and he is a good player. "That would make my day. I could fly without wings."
Ells began playing volleyball at the YMCA about 20 years ago, and later enrolled in a volleyball course at Youngstown State, where instructor Tony Whitney whetted his interested in the Senior Olympics.
Senior team formed
"I took Volleyball 101 at YSU at age 60. Dr. [Tony] Whitney was my instructor," Ells said. "He asked me about getting together [to compete] in the senior games." So, "We put together a team."
Ells' later teams, which were comprised of various members, competed in the 1999 and 2001 Senior Olympics in Orlando, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La., respectively, but failed to win any matches before finally jelling in this year's meet.
Ells said that playing volleyball regularly at the YMCA, plus the tournament experience, has improved his game greatly.
"Since I retired, I have got a chance to play more often," said Ells, who was a letter carrier before becoming a facilitator later in his postal career "to innovate new ideas to make the post office more efficient."
He is looking forward to the 2005 Senior Olympics in Pittsburgh.
kovach@vindy.com