Glenbard West Field Hockey has recently come off of their impressive finish in their 2016 season, finishing 3rd in state overall, and many seniors at West are now saying goodbye to the sport of field hockey. However, for Anna Enright, her journey with the sport has extended itself to the collegiate level: In July of 2016, Anna committed to playing field hockey at Saint Louis University.

Anna started field hockey in 6th grade because at that time, that was the earliest that they offered the sport to girls, and as a kid, she would always pass Spalding Park and see all of the older players out on the fields, and this was where her interest in the sport began. She joined through the park district to start with the sport, and she later moved on to playing field hockey at Glenbard West.

Anna joined the varsity field hockey team at West in her sophomore year, and that year the team finished in the top 8 at state. In her junior year, the team ended up earning 2nd in state, a position that not many of the members of the team had expected, and Anna said, “I think that year we were just happy to be at the state tournament, and to get to the final state game.”

In her senior year, Glenbard West placed 3rd in the state tournament, another incredible finish to their season, and Anna said, “I’m really proud of my team, we worked really hard.” In addition to her success with the team, Anna was chosen to play in the All-Star Game, hosted by Northwestern University. Anna said, “It was really fun, we drove up to Northwestern and we got to play on their water turf,” something that Division 1 field hockey also presents its players with.

Anna said, “When I visited SLU’s campus for the first time last spring, I just fell in love with it and I could picture myself there.” Anna has always had the dream of playing field hockey in college, and was ecstatic when SLU offered her a scholarship. Anna says, “I really admire the coach, she’s very positive and encouraging, and I love the way she interacts with all of the players. In addition, all the players are extremely friendly and welcomed me to the team with enthusiasm.” To really familiarize herself with the school and the team, Anna went on a third official visit in October of 2016, and this was when she stayed with the team over the weekend, expressing “the visit solidified that I made the right decision.”

Anna plays field hockey year round, so she plays Glenbard West field hockey in the fall, and that consists of daily practices after school as well as a typical game schedule, and she starts indoor field hockey in the winter which is played on courts as opposed to fields, and it also has boards similar to ice hockey. Also, six players are on the court at a time instead of outdoor field hockey which has 11. In the spring, Anna plays for the USA Field Hockey’s Futures program which takes place on weekends, and she plays lacrosse for Glenbard West on weekdays.

Anna said, “ Illinois is not a big state for field hockey, field hockey is very popular on the east coast, so what tends to happen is midwest schools will typically go internationally to look for players, or to the east coast before they go to the midwest” so she is very grateful for the opportunity she has been given to play field hockey at the highest level that she can.

At SLU, Anna plans to study biomedical engineering, and her interest in this stems from the fact that “instead of helping one person at a time, you make products to help millions at a time,” but she is also interested in physical therapy.

As a final note, Anna also wanted to give a huge thanks to all of the fans, specifically a group known as “The Amigos,” that came out to support the Glenbard West team as they traveled through the regular season and playoffs to the outstanding third place finish in state that they earned. Anna said, “A lot of times, we don’t get a lot of support because people really don’t know what field hockey is, so thank you so much to all of our fans and our friends who brought their vuvuzelas, and their cowbells, and their spirit, and their themes.”

Everyone here at West wishes Anna the best in her future at SLU field hockey!