Co-Captains Hugo Appen ’27 (left) and Victor Hillier ’28 (right) pose for a photo.
Co-Captain Hugo Appen ’27 leads Boys Water Polo, taking an unconventional approach based around fun and lightheartedness. Appen was first introduced to water polo at a summer camp in middle school, and he immediately took a liking to the sport. This eventually led to Appen’s choice to specifically apply to boarding schools with water polo programs. In his first two years playing for Andover, Appen has made massive leaps as both a player and a leader, resulting in him being chosen as Co-Captain for his Senior season.
Playing on Junior Varsity (JV) in his Junior year, a major turning point for Appen’s water polo journey came over the summer before his Lower year. Appen signed up for offseason camps, where he quickly improved. This offseason work made him realize that water polo was something that he ultimately wanted to commit to and work at. Appen explained his journey and motivators in improving his water polo skills.
“I just realized I had to take it more seriously. If I wanted the team to do well and to be the best player possible, then I needed to be more committed. At this point, I really stepped up my effort, and I put in the effort to become the best player I could and help my team,” said Appen.
Andrew Cai ’27 watched Appen’s growth firsthand. Cai commented on the growth he’s seen in Appen’s leadership and the example he sets for the team.
“As he’s matured, Hugo now cares a lot about the small things, like even warming up before practice and being on time. The most unique aspect of Hugo’s leadership is that he’s had such an incredible transformation from being one of the most distracted players to holding this level of leadership and being able to influence other players to not act the way he did in the past,” said Cai.
Part of this transformation has been Appen’s ability to shift this lack of focus into lighthearted jokes that improve team morale. Appen and Cai bought backpacks printed with the face of former Co-Captain Zach Godsey ’25, a former leader that Appen credits as an important influence during his early years on the team. Their creations, which they call “Zach packs,” are a fun tribute that creates conversation and brings the team together through humor.
“It’s just helpful for team culture. It’s just a funny thing, you know. We’ve had a joke where we call him ‘King Zach.’ It’s just a little homage to him because he had a big influence on all of us,” said Appen.
Making more serious leadership decisions, Appen has worked to institute policies that make conversations between Co-Captains and players more accessible. With fellow Co-Captain Victor Hillier ’28, the two have made one-on-one meetings a core part of their captainship, hoping to make the team more cohesive by allowing the team to actively share thoughts. Jacob Shin ’29, a player new to the team who recently met with both Co-Captains, shared his thoughts on the policy.
“When Hugo and Victor were on a call with me, they were able to provide some really constructive criticism as well as words of encouragement. Personally, I think it is really great at both bringing the team closer and improving individual confidence and raising our performance,” said Shin.
Appen has led Andover to a 3–1 start and hopes to continue this success into the late season. After Andover, Appen hopes to continue playing water polo in college, either on a club team or potentially by walking onto a varsity team.
