Averaging 16 points per game last season, Hope Nardone ’23 has been a consistent scoring threat for Andover Girls Basketball. She was named a first time NEPSAC Girls Basketball All-Star and an All NEPSAC Honorable Mention in the 2021-2022 season. After Andover, Nardone will continue her career in basketball next year at Tufts University.
Throughout the season, Nardone values maintaining an enthusiastic outlook during practices. With small gestures of encouragement, she hopes to consistently heighten the team’s energy.
“It’s definitely hard during the winter season, which is a really long season. It’s [also] cold and gloomy, so it can be hard to get our energy up. I think, as a captain, it’s always important to go into every practice and game with as much energy as you can and communication and high-fives and supporting each other,” said Nardone.
As a well-developed player, teammates can look up to Nardone as a role model, noted Co-Captain Kiley Buckley ’23. She uses her understanding of basketball to vocalize areas of improvement to her teammates.
“I think Hope does a really good job of leading by example and also helping everyone else through her own knowledge of basketball, because…she does have a very high basketball IQ. She’s also a very smart girl in general, so I think [she uses] her own knowledge to make us more aware of the game and just like helping everyone in general,” said Buckley.
According to Head Coach Liz Monroe, Nardone is a consistent player on the court. Her poised nature allows her to stand out during challenging games. Coach Monroe values Hope’s positive affirmations to help her teammates improve.
Coach Monroe said, “Hope is a very steady presence for us. She’s very calm, very cool, very collected. Very little rattles her, and she’s been really supportive of her teammates as they’re growing and developing this year.”
The success of a time, according to Nardone, is reliant on accountability. Nardone emphasized the importance of holding herself and her teammates accountable by balancing her roles as a strong leader and as a friend.
Nardone said, “I think accountability is a really big thing. A big value that’s important to me, I think, [is] holding yourself accountable and also holding your teammates accountable, which is kind of hard to do, because you have to strike the balance of being a captain but also a friend and a supporter.”
Buckley admires Nardone’s considerate qualities as a team leader. After sharing the court for three years, she believes the captains have built a community on the team, both as a whole and amongst themselves.
“Throughout the years, [I have seen] how thoughtful of a person she is… Last year, we were both captains here. [I saw how] she brings that thoughtfulness and care into the way she leads teams, and I think that’s really helpful to have as a team captain too, just knowing that you are like a team within a team, like the captains,” said Buckley.
Editor’s Note: Hope Nardone is a News Editor for The Phillipian.
