Since joining the team as a Junior, Anna Bargman ’21 of Boxford, Mass. has used her quick thinking and her physicality to positively impact the team.
Co-Captain Kelly McCarthy ’19 wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “Anna is a really hard worker and a talented player. She does a great job of positioning her body around the puck to protect it. Anna is very smart and makes quick decisions which are critical since the game moves quickly.”
Bargman’s skillful plays, work ethic, and team sportsmanship have earned her the accolade of The Phillipian’s Athlete of the Week.
Why did you start playing hockey?
I started skating when I was about two. The story is that I saw my brother skating and I told my mom that I wanted to do that, so the next time they took him skating, they put me on the ice and I’ve just loved it ever since.
What’s your favorite moment from playing hockey?
There are so many great moments. There are a lot of moments of triumph and victory, like when my club team won Nationals in Minnesota which felt like an accomplishment. Also, being able to play in Italy with a team from here was a really cool experience just to play against people from different countries, and not just people within the U.S.
Do you have a favorite position to play?
I play forward. I’ve played center for my club team this year, which is fun, but I play wing at Andover. I try to be versatile so that I can be put in any situation. I’m not sure I have a favorite, but definitely not defense, just forward.
How has the season been going so far?
It’s been going very well. I think that we’re improving every practice, and every game and this past Saturday was a good tell of it. We improved every period, every minute of the game and we came in on top.
Do you have a specific goal for the rest of the season?
Definitely just to keep improving and I feel like the team, if we keep on working to play as a unit and as one team, I think we can do great things and definitely making playoffs is in the back of everyone’s mind, but we just need to take it one game at a time.
What’s your favorite part of being a member of this team?
It’s a family. It’s like having 24 sisters. Everyone in the fall plays different sports; some of us play together, some of us don’t, but then once the hockey season starts, we’re instantaneously together. You meet the new people and they become part of it from the very first moment. The love and support from the coaches, teammates, even everyone else’s parents after the game, it’s great, it’s indescribable.
Is there anything you hope to improve on this season?
As a team, working on our unity and playing cohesively; even though we are off the ice, it’s always tough to come into the season and play as one when we haven’t played together for a whole year. That’s definitely something to improve on, which I know we will and we already have been. Personally, I try to improve every day in practice. I push myself to help others improve, and I know they push me to help me improve too. We get feedback when we come off of a shift on a game and I try to immediately implicate it into my next shift. I’m always trying to improve.
What’s your favorite hockey team?
In the N.H.L., probably the Vegas Knights. I had a really fun time watching them last year during the playoffs, during the Stanley Cup because I felt like they were a very unselfish team from the games that I’ve watched and I really like that about them. They have a fun nature to them; there were a couple of times where they would just joke around and it brought a light-hearted feeling. Like how at Andover, how we’re family; they seemed like a family.