By Angelina Prum and Sara Zakaria
Junior Queenie Dang is one of the three captains this season of Malden High’s Field Hockey team. Dang discovered her love for Field Hockey when she was in the 8th grade, which lead her to enroll in the sport as a freshman. She quickly rose above the ranks, and landed a spot on Varsity, taking the honor of being captain her junior year. Teammate Senior Audrey Goon stated that Dang continues each game as a leader who “pushes [the team] to keep improving [themselves]”. Goon stated that when Dang does not perform her best she uses that as a “drive” to her next games. As a friend Goon stated that she is “very dependable” and she can “always rely on [Dang] to tell the truth”. As a captain, teammate freshman Kenny Nguyen illustrated Dang to be a “good influence” and “helpful” in the plays.
Dang is positioned as a defensive player and occasionally plays frontline. To keep herself motivated, her strategy is to set goals for herself each game. Her main goals are scoring at least once at every game and making sure her team follows. When it came down to how she leads her team, Dang described herself as hardworking and determined. She is persistent at doing her best at each of her games. Dang sets goals for herself at her games to keep her motivated. Her main goals are scoring at least once at every game and making sure her team follows. Dang is modest, she will accept her mistakes but not let them defeat her.
Dang believes that the team is communicating well and she believes the quality time they spend together leads to better plays. The relationship between all the members of the team is close knit, and they are not afraid to help each other out when needed. Nguyen says that “every game, [Dang] points out what we might do wrong and makes sure that we fix it and do our best on the field. [Dang] makes sure that [the team does not] doubt [themselves] from [their] mistakes”. On the relationship between all of the captains, Dang said “all the captains are best friends” so it is easier for them to work together. On the relationship with her coach, Dang said that she has known her coach since middle school, due to the fact that she was her music teacher, so “[she] always had close relations with [her coach]”.
Although Dang is still a junior, she is already thinking about her future. To ensure that she stays on track with academics, she plans it all out, and she makes sure all her homework is done before bed. Dang hopes to play Field Hockey in college if the college she attends has a team. Dang also hopes to continue being a leader and to come back to Malden High to help others play the sport.
