Migyu Kim ’25, captain of Girls Squash, has been in the role since her lower year, with her senior year being her third year captaincy. She leads through determination and example while fostering a strong community within the team, making her a role model for all.
Introduced to the sport at a young age at her local athletic club, squash began as a hobby for Kim, and she frequently played in her free time. As Kim grew to commit herself to the sport, so did both of her sisters, who Kim looks forward to supporting in their careers.
“I have been playing squash since I was eight years old. It was just an after school activity at my local athletic club to fill time, so my parents didn’t have to worry about me. That’s how I started, and I’ve been playing since then. Both my younger sisters play squash, too, so I want to continue supporting them and maybe help them train and possibly coach them. I’ll be close by for the next couple years, so I see [myself] coming to support the Andover squash team for a couple more years.” said Kim.
New to the team as a Junior, Robin Lukens ’28 highlighted Kim’s efforts to include her and other new members and strengthen the tight-knit bond between returning team members.
“There are three Juniors on the team this year, and [Migyu] always includes us. It makes us feel like we’re not just coming into an already-built team. She helps us to fit in more with the team because many of the girls have already known each other for a while. So, she makes it so that we don’t feel like outsiders.” said Lukens.
Evelyn Kung ’26 testified to Kim’s supportive nature, guiding younger players and showing up for them during their matches or team psychs. She noted that Kim’s selflessness comes naturally, and helps foster an uplifting environment on the team.
“Migyu is really supportive when coaching. She’ll take all the time she can to come and watch the younger players’ matches. She also keeps them on track, reminding them about team psychs or helping them if they don’t have the clothes for a psych. She’s always great with that, and she just makes the team a welcoming environment.” said Kung.
Although a very individual sport, Kim described how squash has helped her develop as an athlete. Additionally, the sports’ small community has allowed her to strengthen and form multiple bonds with others all across the country.
“My favorite aspect about squash is it’s very individual, so you can see how far you can go and grow as an individual player. Even though it’s an individual sport, the community is so strong because it’s such a small sport that I’ve been able to make really close relationships with people from around the country. Even with the squash team, it is a little family that I’ve really cherished.” said Kim.
Lukens added that Kim is always ready to compete and has an optimistic outlook on games and practices, making her a reliable source of support. She highlighted Kim’s ability to buoy the team through a setback or challenge and keep players driven.
“She always comes in with a positive mindset for our games. She always knows what to say if we ever have a bad game. If we lose a match that we maybe should have won or something else happens, even if there’s a setback, [she] keeps us motivated and tells us how we should do better next time.” said Lukens.
Kung underscored Kim’s active leadership, highlighting the creative activities that Kim and her co-captain, Ellie Israelov ’25, have organized for the team alongside the boys’ team, such as team dinners and white elephants.
“Migyu is a super active and hands-on leader. She is usually the one who leads the warm-ups. She is the one who communicates with us through our team group chat. She organizes a lot of the team dinners, and she’s also really close with the boys’ team captains, so we do a lot of team bonding events with them. For instance, she and Ellie organized a white elephant for the Boys and Girls Squash, so that was a lot of fun,” said Kung
Although Kim is not currently focused on a collegiate squash career, she will be involved in the sport in the future through her sisters and the Andover Girls Squash Team.
“I was considering [collegiate squash] for a while, and I ultimately decided that I want to just focus on my academics in college and if I want to, I might consider walking on, or playing club squash,” said Kim.
