Anna Park is a Stanford Women's Rugby Collegiate All-American alumna. During her time at Stanford she was a strong competitor, powerful leader and a valuable member of the Stanford Women's Rugby team. Her dedication to rugby has landed her a scholarship to play for Cambridge University's Women's Rugby Club, where she will compete throughout the United Kingdom. This is her story.

Anna Park was born and raised in Davis, California. Since a young age, Park was interested in playing sports, staying active and simply being outdoors. These interests were just a few reasons why Park decided to attend Stanford, “I liked the active culture” Park explains. “People are outside all the time and it seemed like everyone played some sort of sport. I love being outside and exercising, so Stanford naturally felt like a perfect fit.” After Park visited Stanford's campus, she knew she had to attend the University, “it is hard to say no to Stanford.” Once at Stanford, Park declared a major in Philosophy and began her journey of becoming a valuable student, teammate, player and friend to both the Stanford Women’s Rugby team and the Stanford community. 

Anna Park began to play rugby her freshman year because rugby was different and “it was like no other sport I had ever played.” Her first step on the rugby pitch ignited her excitement and love for the game, a feeling Park couldn’t turn away from. The game of rugby is very physical and those who have never watched or played may think of the sport as just that. Rugby is much more than pure physicality, it requires teamwork, strategy, trust, and mental strength. "Rugby pushes me to be stronger both physically and mentally. In the 75th minute of a game when I think there is no way I can run another step, I get off the ground and make another tackle, or pass the ball to a teammate. I learn that I am stronger than I think and that I can push myself more. That translates into confidence and strength off of the field as well.” Assistant Coach Richard Ashfield describes Anna as a very determined and driven individual, "these attributes are evident on the rugby pitch where she never takes a backward step. She has not had the best of luck with injuries but always worked hard to recover." Park broke her arm in a game late in her collegiate career and as a result, the devastating injury required surgery. Coach Ashfield continues to describe Anna's personality off the rugby field, "while not on the pitch, (due to injury) she found other ways to support her teammates." 

Park affirms that rugby requires great teamwork, unlike any other sport she has played. She explains that a single player on the field cannot be a threat without the support of their fourteen teammates. A term the Stanford Rugby teams uses is the saying "hard yards", which represents the hard work each player puts in that doesn’t include scoring tries (points scored by grounding the ball) or making line breaks. Head Coach Josh Sutcliffe awards hard yards to the players that make supporting runs, pass to set up the try, or tackle someone that turns over the ball. “Anna is one of the most dedicated and hardest working players. She has a broad skill set that allows her to make an impact in many different areas of the game. Her ability to attack and win the gain line battle (a gain in territory) has helped her team gain the upper hand. This is coupled with her ability to defend and create turnovers," says Coach Sutcliffe. Anna is known around the Stanford Rugby community as being an extremely hard worker who always puts in the extra hours to improve her game. Park explains her own interpretation of  hard yards, “it's a great example of what the game of rugby teaches us: integrity, discipline, and teamwork; skills essential to being successful and to being a good person.”

Teammate Nicole Edsall, says Anna is the epitome of hard yards both on and off the field. “As her friend I got a behind-the-scenes look at her role as Women's Rugby Club President and I was constantly blown away by the amount of work she put into the club without expecting any rewards or recognition.” Nicole continues to explain that Anna is the best teammate you could possibly have because she is supportive, dependable, knowledgeable and a talented player. “Anna is the one you want supporting you on the field because you know she will get the job done. As a player, her dedication to the sport was unmatched. I would always see her at the field practicing, watching videos, or talking to the coaches in order to improve her game.” Anna Park and Nicole Edsall were both graduating seniors this year and remained friends throughout their time at Stanford. Nicole knows how Anna acts on and off the rugby field. “As a friend, Anna is down to earth, supportive, and understanding. She is the kind of person that builds up the people around her. It is hard to put her in a box because she is so dynamic and willing to try anything, and she is typically really good at wherever she tries.”

Park shares that she plays rugby because of her passion for the sport, but she chose to play Stanford Rugby because of the people that you are surrounded by. “When I think about my four years at Stanford, much of it is defined by the people, my teammates and coaches, who have been there for all of it.” The Stanford Women’s Rugby team is a close knit community and shares endless memories together on and off the field. Park's senior class came together for their annual Winter Break Camp competition and sang their "rugby version of Bohemian Rhapsody" which ended up winning. The teammates have also spent hours traveling together, studying together for various classes and would occasionally take a break at 2am to do a run through the quad. “My teammates have been there through it all; the good, the bad and everything in between.”

As Anna reflects back on her time with Stanford Club Sports, she wishes that the Club Sports Program had more inter-club activities. The Stanford Club Sports Program is home to 33 teams, who bring home national titles, produce Olympic athletes and everything in between. Park expresses the need to bring these 33 teams together as one unit, where each athlete supports one another no matter what sport they play. “It would have been fun to meet more athletes from the other club teams and watch them complete.”

In 2019, Park made the Collegiate All-American Women’s Rugby team and got to travel to Colorado for All-Star week. “We played All-Star teams from the Women's Premier League. It was exciting to get a taste of what playing at the next level looks like. I even got to see one of my former Stanford teammates who plays in Boston.” For the next academic year Park received a scholarship to play Club Rugby at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. Park describes her rugby goals after leaving Stanford, “I hope to play for many years into the future. I am so grateful to Stanford Rugby for introducing me to the sport, providing opportunities for me to play beyond college, and continuing to be my home and community.” Anna Park graduated in the class of 2020 with a degree in Philosophy and says her goodbyes to the Stanford Women's Rugby program. Coach Ashfield has confidence in Park's abilities as she heads to Cambridge University, "I do not think we have seen the end of Anna as a rugby player and I think she will be be a great asset to her future teams."