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12/13/2017 11:00 PMThe Branford field hockey team heavily relied upon senior captain Britney Bunbanlu throughout the last few seasons. Britney was asked to perform in a variety of roles for the Hornets, and she did so while displaying nothing but a can-do attitude.
“I never had a set position. [Head Coach Cathy McGuirk] just threw me everywhere, because I was a fit for everything,” says Britney. “I was pretty flexible, and I found it easy to adjust...I thought [versatility] was something good to have, because you could always rely on me.”
Coach McGuirk made the most of the wide range of assets that Britney brought to the field and knew that she’d make an impact wherever she put her. After contributing to a SCC Tournament championship last year, Britney helped McGuirk’s club win 17 games, take the SCC regular-season title, and then advance to the SCC Tournament final and Class M State Tournament semifinals in the recent season.
“If you ask her to do something a certain way, she does it. If you need her to demonstrate something, she does it. She helps the other kids on the field and has a lot of attention to detail,” McGuirk says. “I asked her to play this position or that position, and she always said she’d try. When I asked her be on offense for corners, she said she wasn’t sure if she’d be good at it, but she’d try. I knew I could trust her to do it, and she loves a challenge.”
Britney loves being involved in as many plays as possible and, according to Coach McGuirk, she showed that by bringing tremendous tenacity to the field. While she has the ability to play just about any position, Britney settled into a full-time defender’s role during her junior season.
“Going into the sport, I didn’t know if I was going to like it, but it came naturally. I enjoyed it from the beginning and still do,” Britney says. “For defense, it was easier for me to get balls away from people rather than controlling the ball on my own. So I stuck with that.”
Britney adds that she made a lot of progress this year by focusing on that the skills that are needed to succeed on defense.
“I definitely improved my skills the most this year. I made sure to work extra hard on that,” says Britney. “It made me a better playing knowing I had a set position, so I could practice the skills I need to excel. I focused the most on getting back on time, because I felt the team depended on me more for defense.”
Britney would typically patrol the right side of the field, but Coach McGuirk had no reservations about moving Britney to the other side if she felt that was the best thing for her team.
“They put me on the right side first, and I really liked it. I got used to it, and it became very predictable for me when balls were coming to my side,” says Britney. “When they’d move me to the left side, it was harder, but I had to adjust to it quickly.”
Britney was one of four senior captains for the Branford field hockey squad this fall. Britney wasn’t expecting to receive that title, but she thrived in her leadership role with the Hornets.
“I was surprised I was captain. I never thought my teammates thought of me as a leader, so it made me happy that my teammates voted for me,” she says. “It was a good experience for me to be a role model. I felt like I had a lot of weight on my shoulder since everyone looked up to me and the other captains, but it made me push harder this year, because I knew everyone was watching me.”
Britney is also a member of the Branford girls’ lacrosse team in the spring. That season provides a little bit of change for Britney, who plays on the attack for Head Coach Jackie Ceccolini’s squad.
“For lacrosse, I play attack, and that is my set position. Lacrosse, I feel like that sport, I always need the ball at all times,” says Britney. “Scoring goals is what I can do in lacrosse. For field hockey, I’m more about taking balls away from people and blocking.”
Britney was a role player who came off the bench when the girls’ lacrosse team won Class M state title earlier this year. Britney hopes to have a larger role as a senior, but either way, she’s happy that she’s found a home on two quality squads at Branford High School.
“As a kid, I never really played any sports. It wasn’t until I saw all my friends playing that I decided to join and these two were the most popular,” says Britney. “I’m just happy I joined these sports. I think I made the right choices.”