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05/05/2016 12:00 AMAnna Schneider and skiing have been synonymous for many years and Anna’s steadfast dedication to her sport recently resulted in her attaining one of the highest honors in the state.
Anna, a senior who captained Westbrook’s girls’ soccer squad last fall and is reprising that role on the tennis court this spring, started skiing with her family when she was just three. She then got involved with a ski program at Mt. Southington and has been enjoying the sport ever since. In the recent winter season, Anna competed as a team-of-one for the Knights and reached the summit of the high school circuit when she won the Connecticut Interscholastic Ski League State Open championship with a combined time of 44.35 seconds for her two runs. This performance earned Anna the honor of racing for Team Connecticut as the No. 1 seed at the Eastern High School Championships in New Hampshire, along with All-State recognition for third-straight year.
“It was really exciting to accomplish that. When I was a freshman, I saw and looked up to the older kids and wanted to chase their times. I slowly worked up to building up to that,” says Anna. “I have a lot of friends within the sport, so I had fun with the day. It was a warm day with soft conditions. It was a very rewarding experience and it was great to have my parents be there as they’ve helped me so much with the sport. Being on Team Connecticut was also great because I got to meet people that really love and care about skiing.”
Anna, who’s ranked in the top three of her senior class at Westbrook, works just as hard as hitting the books as she does when she hits the slopes. Anna is a three-time Shoreline Conference Scholar Athlete and, on May 1, she was honored as a CAS-CIAC Scholar Athlete.
“I have to give credit to my parents as they drive me to all my sporting events. But for me, it’s all about time management,” Anna says. “It’s about just staying focused on what I am doing at that moment and sometimes I’ll even bring my homework to Mt. Southington. I couldn’t do it all without a supportive background.”
Westbrook Athletic Director Teg Cosgriff says that Anna features every characteristic you want to see in a high school athlete and he compliments her for always staying motivated, while displaying a kindhearted nature.
“Anna is personable, easy to talk to, and truly cares about her teammates and fellow students. She is very mature and soft-spoken, but also has a very competitive edge and mental toughness that allows her to push through tough times and lead her team, as well as through adversity,” says Cosgriff. “Anna embodies what a student-athlete at Westbrook High School needs to be in strong in the classroom, a multi-sport student-athlete, and active as a leader and giver in the community.”
Anna’s used her leadership skills to guide the Knights on both the soccer field and tennis court as a captain. She says she’ll always cherish being in a position that allows her to help her teams grow as a group.
“I really enjoy being a captain. Being a role model in that upperclassmen role is great. For the soccer team this fall, we became really close as a group,” Anna says. “It is fun to be there for everyone and get to know everyone.”
Westbrook’s girls’ tennis team has proved one of the more-dominant programs in both the Shoreline Conference and Class S through the past few seasons. This year appears to be no exception as the Knights have a squad that’s stopping at nothing to finish on top once again. So far this spring, Westbrook owns a record of 9-2 with Anna playing No. 2 singles.
“We lost a lot of seniors going into this year and I was a little nervous going in, but everyone is really focused and working hard,” says Anna, who thanks her parents, Mike and Christine, along with all of her Westbrook coaches, Cosgriff, and the entire Westbrook faculty and staff. “Our only loss this year was close and we definitely have to keep working hard, but we will have success.”