Captain Feature Girls Water Polo Sports Spring Sports

Captain Feature: Frankel Upholds Positive Attitude on Andover Water Polo

Eastlyn Frankel ’18 managed Boys Water Polo this fall.

After starting water polo in the ninth grade at Greenwich Academy, Eastlyn Frankel ’18 joined Andover Girls Water Polo as a new Lower. Since then, she has improved her skills and continues to help guide her teammates. This season, Frankel serves as Co-Captain alongside Emma Chatson ’18.

According to Eliza Sandell ’20, Frankel has helped create a welcoming community for each player on the team.

Sandell said, “Both Emma and Eastlyn have been incredibly welcoming. I’m new on the team this year, and they’re just so great. They say hi to you on the paths and give you a hug when you’re having a bad day. They really try to make it so that there’s no divide between the new players and the returners, which is wonderful. They’re fabulous to everybody and are very good role models for the [Juniors] and new Lowers.”

Frankel and Chatson’s leadership styles complement each other very well, according to Sandell.

“[Eastlyn’s] kind of like your really cool aunt in the best way, and Emma’s kind of like your mom. Eastlyn’s so funny and is always playing music and laughing. She creates a really wonderful culture on the team of inclusion and kindness. She just really seems to care about everyone and the sport and creates a really wonderful environment,” continued Sandell.

During their practices and games, Frankel does her best to keep everybody on the team energized and pumped up for whatever it is they are doing, whether it be dry land or swim sets by motivating and cheering everyone on and playing music on her speakers.

Gwen Empie ’21 said, “Eastlyn is really big with the speakers and the music, so on Monday which is our cardio day, we’ll usually do dryland and then get in the pool and do swim sets. So on those days, Eastlyn brings the speaker and pumps us up.”

Frankel not only keeps the whole team energized and excited but she also makes sure to help out her teammates whenever they seem to be struggling with any sort of problem.

Bianca Rodriguez ’21 said, “She’s also super caring, like she really cares about our well-being and making sure we are confident. One time during tryouts my cap kept falling off and she swam over to me and helped me put it back on and re-tie it. She’s a great captain, but in that moment, she seemed almost like an older sister — someone you could look up to and think, ‘I really really wish I could be like her.’ She cares about the team as if we are family, and the feeling is mutual. I’m so glad she’s at the head of our team, constantly there for us whenever we need it, even if it’s not [water polo] related.”

According to her teammates, Frankel inspires all the girls on the team to consistently work harder and do their best because she does so herself, especially when it comes to the toughness of pure repetition and cardio or working on skills and plays to remember during the game.

Sandell said, “Eastlyn’s completely amazing, I love her. She’s a wonderful leader in the fact that she leads by example. She works really hard in all our swim sets and she’s really cheerful.”

Frankel hopes to lead Andover Girls Water Polo to victory this upcoming Saturday in an away game against Deerfield Academy.