Molly Boyle ’25 began playing hockey at a young age, after being inspired by her dad and older brother. Boyle went on to become Girls Varsity Hockey co-captain last year as an Upper, and represented the United States at the U-18 World Championships in Switzerland, bringing home a gold medal. This year, Boyle returned to the U-18 national team for the World Championships in Finland, earning a silver medal in the process. Next year, she will play hockey at Yale University.
Boyle narrated her hockey beginnings, facilitated by a familial love of hockey and a backyard pond. The good times on the pond eventually transitioned to club hockey and Andover.
“I started playing when I was five or six. I have an older brother, and he started playing when he was young, too. My dad played hockey while growing up and in college. It was in my family. We had this pond in our backyard, and I liked to go out there with my family. I found it a lot of fun, and I just loved being out there with my brother, sister, and parents. As I got older, I started playing competitively on club teams and things like that until today,” said Boyle.
Maya Kou ’28 testified to Boyle’s leadership, which has been crucial to the team’s success. Alongside Peyton Kennedy ’25, Kou shares that the two co-captains have worked together to sustain morale on the rink.
Kou said, “Along with Peyton, they’re both the captains. They’re really important parts of our team. Yesterday at Deerfield [February 1], it was 0-0 at the end of the second. During the intermission, Molly said that we can’t give them air and feed their confidence and that we need to shut them down quickly. For that, we need everyone, so right when we’re starting to struggle, she tries to pick us all up.”
Boyle communicated that her leadership, rather than being loud or flashy, is rooted in her actions and hard work. She continued, describing her role as being the person that the team can rely on when push comes to shove.
“I would say that I’m someone who mostly leads by example. I’m not always the loudest person on the team, but every day at practice or in the game, I try and work my hardest and show my teammates and younger players that nothing is going to be handed to you. It’s important to work hard and persevere through tough times. When our team faces adversity, being the person who can bring everyone together so that we can work through that as a team rather than individually,” said Boyle.
With many returners on the team this year, Boyle expressed that team chemistry and culture were already strong. She stressed the importance of sustaining the team’s dynamic, especially for new players.
Boyle said, “We have a lot of returners this year; so many players have played for Girls Hockey before and know what that’s all about. We are trying to uphold our overall team chemistry and team culture throughout this year, obviously teaching the new players that and getting everyone for it.”
Kou also testified to Boyle’s fortitude and reliability on the ice. When faced with adversity, Kou shared that Boyle prioritizes including and supporting everyone on the team, rather than isolating herself.
“Molly’s strong in a resilient kind of way. When times are tough, she doesn’t put her head down and works by herself. She includes everybody. Mentally and physically, she stands up for her teammates on the ice. She’s a strong base for all of us to build on. She provides stability for everybody,” said Kou.
Reflecting on the previous three years, Boyle described how close Girls Hockey has come to a championship despite falling short each time. Although Boyle admits that it is tempting to focus on winning a championship, she emphasizes how the team holds each other accountable by prioritizing shorter-term goals.
Boyle said, “The last couple of years we’ve gotten super close, last year we lost in the semifinals, the year before that in the finals, and the year before that, also in the semifinals. We’ve been right there every year and putting it all together this year would be great. I think it’s easy to have that as your end goal, but actually it’s better if we focus on short-term goals so that we don’t get ahead of ourselves looking to the end. I think it’s important that we focus on the short-term goal, working hard every day at practice. Pushing each other is super important rather than having our eyes on the end goal, focusing on the short term.”
