Whiz Kid: Anne Pankowski, Ice Hockey Player

Whiz Kid: Anne Pankowski

School / Grade: Santa Margarita Catholic High School / Senior

Whiz Kid Achievement: Anne is the only female player on an otherwise all-boys varsity ice hockey team at SMCHS and was also selected to be a part of the U18 women’s ice hockey team at the World Championship in the Czech Republic in 2012.

Key to Awesomeness: One of Anne Pankowski’s favorite mottos is, “Life is a competition; get in it!”  She says it with a smile, but this athlete is serious when it comes to the sport of ice hockey. She is a standout as the only female player on an all-boys varsity ice hockey team at SMCHS. Assistant coach Mitch O’Brien says, “I coached Annie in Mites and Squirts back in 2002-2004. Even then she competed well on boys’ teams. In 2004, the Junior Ducks won a state championship with Annie leading in scoring. She has always been a superior athlete and exceptional student. It is awesome to see her back with some of the kids she played with when she was 10. She is a standout on our varsity roster and we are proud of her accomplishments.”

Adds Amanda Coronado of SMCHS, “Anne is an incredible role model for any young lady who is playing or wants to play ice hockey, typically a male-dominated sport. She loves sharing her love for hockey with other young players.”

Anne has been a part of the Anaheim Lady Ducks since she was 7 years old. She helped the Lady Ducks team win a National Championship Gold Medal. In addition to playing for school and the Ducks, Anne is one of the 22 players on the 2011 U.S. Women’s U18 National Team. A forward, she was the only Californian at a competition in August in Canada. In the three-match exhibition series, Anne scored a goal in the first game of a 3-2 vicotry. Anne will take her game a step further as part of the U18 team at the World Championship in the Czech Republic in January, 2012. She hopes for a spot on the Olympic team someday as well.

This year will be a bit different for Anne. After attending classes at SMCHS for a month, she will then leave for the North American Hockey Academy in Jay, VT, for the next five months and return to school in late March. While in Vermont, she will play in excess of 80 games against the best competition in the U.S. and Canada. NAHA will afford Anne the ability to train and maintain her 4.0-plus grade-point average by structuring her school work around training and games.

Currently, Anne—or Annie as those who know her well call her—is narrowing her college choices down to Boston College, the University of Wisconsin, Northeastern and Boston University. Her long term goal includes working with the youngest babies as a neonatologist. In the meantime, Annie gets plenty of practice caring for young kids as her neighbor’s favorite babysitter. She also has a great eye for photography and enjoys taking pictures in her spare time.

For her outstanding athletic determination and dedication to the male-dominated sport of ice hockey, Anne Pankowski makes a stellar  Whiz Kid.