Jennifer (Wasserman) Badger
For the years that Cathy (1994 Inductee) and John (2011 Inductee) McGuirk coached Branford Field Hockey, no other state team won as many games as Branford. For the majority of those years they had no feeder program in the middle school or town. They did have a short clinic during the winter and a clinic of one week in the summer. It was there that Jenn Wasserman (2001 BHS Graduate) began to develop the skills and love of field hockey that she would carry through high school and college.
Jenn was a very good athlete with speed and agility. She also had a great work ethic along with very supportive parents and her older sister Lindsay, who was Branford’s Varsity goalie for four years.
For four years Jenn was a starting wing for the Branford Varsity team. She was good enough as a freshman to be chosen Rookie of the Year and, most impressively, as best offensive player as a freshman.
As a sophomore she was not only the best offensive player but she was also chosen as second team All SCC. Jenn was a skilled and very effective dribbler who could dribble by multiple players; she was great at both blocking and stealing balls as well. As a sophomore she also rushed on defensive corners, a task that only a fast and brave player can handle.
Jenn was a team captain during both her junior and senior seasons and was, by that point, widely recognized for her field hockey abilities. One week she was the single athlete of the week chosen by the New Haven Register. After her junior season Jenn received awards as Best Offensive Player, Desire and Dedication, and Team MVP. She was also chosen for the New Haven All Area Team, First Team All SCC, and First Team All-State.
During Jenn’s first two years as starting wing the team record was a very strong 19-9-4. During her last two years the Branford Field Hockey team had an excellent 30-4-3 record, unfortunately each year ended with a loss in the state final four–her final game senior year ended in double overtime. In that game Jenn actually scored the winning goal in regulation as clearly shown in the game footage, but it was called back by an official who mistakenly said it had hit Jenn’s foot.
In her senior season Jenn led the Southern Connecticut Conference in scoring. That year she was again chosen All Area, First team SCC, and First Team All-State. The Branford Field Hockey Team that year was undefeated SCC Champions for the third year in a row with a superb three-year league record of 23-0-1. Jenn was not only captain again that season, but was also nominated for All-American. When Jenn graduated, she was second on the all-time Branford career goal scoring list with 52 goals.
During her “off seasons” at BHS Jenn ran indoor track and played softball each for four years. She was also a captain of both of those teams in her senior year.
Jenn Wasserman was an excellent student at BHS and graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in History. At Wesleyan she played both softball and field hockey but ultimately concentrated on field hockey. On her team at Wesleyan she was co-captain in both her junior and senior seasons, team MVP as a senior, first team All-NESCAC, All-region, and All-American.
Jenn worked at the Frederick Gunn School from 2005 – 2021 and in that time served as the Dean of Faculty, the History Department Chair, a History teacher, and a field hockey coach–helping to lead their 2012 varsity field hockey team to a New England Championship. She now teaches history at New Fairfield High School.
Jenn Wasserman Badger and her husband Craig Badger have three daughters, twins Avery and Maggie, and Brooklyn.
