By Matt LaBarre, Contributing Writer
Northborough/Southborough – Our Athlete of the Week is Emily Bourke, a senior at Algonquin Regional High School (ARHS), and co-captain of the field hockey team.
Coach Dan Welty had high praise for her.
“Emily plays with great enthusiasm and comes into the season with a lot of promise,” Welty said.
Bourke has been playing field hockey since seventh grade, and is a fixture at right wing.
“I like the team aspect of field hockey, and am really excited about getting back to school, having all the team together,” Bourke said. “This is such a great time of year to be playing an outdoor sport too.”
Bourke has been part of very successful teams at ARHS. Last year, the field hockey team won the Central Mass. Championship. She also played on last year's Central Mass. Champion girls basketball team, as well as the 2009 State Champion tennis team.
“Whichever season we'se in, I immerse myself in that sport,” she said.
Bourke plans to pursue field hockey in college, where she plans on studying environmental science or biology. But for the moment, she is very focused on this field hockey season.
“Coach Welty is very enthusiastic, and I's very thankful to have him as our coach,” she said. “He keeps us focused on developing as players, and being cohesive as a team, and when we are cohesive, we will do well.
“There will be a lot of pressure on us from all the other teams because we won the championship last year,” Bourke added. “But I's looking forward to the season.”