School: Upper Dublin
Football
Favorite athlete: Brian Dawkins
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Beating Cheltenham in double overtime.
Most embarrassing/funnies thing that has happened while competing in sport: I thought my teammate had scored a touchdown, and I jumped up and down celebrating and then I ran off the field, but he was actually down at the one-yard line, and I had to sprint back onto the field. I looked like an idiot!
Music on iPod: Everything
Future plans: Go to college and major in engineering, maybe pick up crew
Words to live by: “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” –Vince Lombardi
One goal before turning 30: Hopefully become a millionaire!
One thing people don’t know about me: I am a black belt in taekwondo.
Bill Kim is everything that is good about young people today.
The Upper Dublin senior excels on the football field. A first team offensive lineman and middle linebacker, he was captain of a Flying Cardinal squad that captured a share of the SOL American Conference title and advanced to the district playoffs.
And that’s just the beginning.
In the classroom, he carries a 4.7 GPA and scored over 2200 on the SAT, breaking 700 on all three sections. He has taken over 20 honors and AP courses and is being recruited by Ivy League schools and Carnegie-Mellon.
For good measure, Kim is involved in numerous school organizations, and he also has been active in community service.
Still, he would prefer to remain in the background.
But it’s hard to stay in the background when – with television cameras rolling – you’re named the recipient of the prestigious 2010 Jim Henry Award. That’s exactly the spot Kim found himself in recently when he was named the winner of the Maxwell Club’s highest honor given to a high school student.
The award, which was presented by former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, is given to the student-athlete that represents the unique balance of football prowess, academic excellence and dedicated community service.
“It was incredible,” Kim said of being chosen from among the area’s 60 Mini Maxwell recipients. “I am so thankful to everyone.
“It’s really a tribute to my coaches and my teammates for pushing me to achieve on the field and off.”
Kim, according to his coach, is uncomfortable with the attention that has been coming his way as a result of his most recent honor.
“He doesn’t try to stand out, he doesn’t like to be noticed,” coach Bret Stover said. “All of this attention is really driving him nuts. He’s really not about this.”
When word of Kim’s selection as the Jim Henry Award winner spread around the Upper Dublin School District, the e-mails began pouring in to Stover.
“I probably got 30-40 e-mails about what a great kid Bill Kim is from our teachers and middle school teachers as well,” Stover said. “All of his teachers totally speak highly of him.”
Stover remembers Kim as quiet and determined when he came out for football as a ninth grader.
“As a freshman, they’re always trying to find their way, and he was no different than any other freshmen we’ve had,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “One of the things we got from our freshman coaching staff was that this kid was going to be a player for us.”
Kim didn’t disappoint. He earned a varsity letter as a sophomore, catching the eye of his coaches as a special teams player and a backup at offensive guard and linebacker.
By the time he was a junior, Kim was a fixture in the starting lineup and played all 10 games. This year – despite rolling his ankle in camp - it was the same story.
“He played a little banged up and never really got healthy until we hit our league, so the first three games he was kind of on one leg against (Central Bucks) West, Truman and Upper Perk,” Stover said. “He’s the kind of kid that didn’t want to come out of games, didn’t want to come out of practice.
“We actually had to sit him out of practice a couple of days because with the two-a-days – his ankle wasn’t getting any better. He was angry that we sat him out. That’s the kind of kid he was.”
Although he dabbled with other sports on the side, Kim actually grew up playing tennis, and he took the sport seriously.
“I would get up early in the summer and go out and play and take lessons,” Kim said.
When he entered middle school, football entered the picture.
“That’s when I started watching football and started playing Madden a lot,” said Kim, who gave up tennis after his freshman year. “I went out for it, and I liked it.”
Kim never was interested in setting individual goals but had high expectations for his team.
“The thing I wanted most was my senior class to win our league and get into the playoffs,” he said. “That was my biggest goal ever since I started playing football.
“I had no idea I would be able to achieve first team all league both ways and (win) the Maxwell Award. The main thing I wanted was my team to do well.”
As a senior, Kim was the lone returning veteran on the offensive line.
“He was responsible for getting these guys together to be at our summer and offseason workouts, which is really where you learn our basics and our calls,” Stover said. “He was responsible for making all the calls on the line.
“Even if a kid was playing on the other side, they would look around the center and say, ‘Hey, Bill, is this right?’ He wanted to make sure everybody was doing it right and they were functioning as a team. It wasn’t all about him. It was all about the team.”
Behind their offensive line, the Flying Cardinals averaged almost 300 yards of total offense per game and five yards per carry as a team. Kim’s leadership was a key.
“Whenever somebody had a question, I tried to help them out, give them tips on how to handle bigger guys, how to know when the linebacker is coming, recognition of plays and stuff,” he said.
Kim also excelled on defense where he recorded 91 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and two pass break ups.
“We had other experienced players,” he said. “Zach Borgman, our other middle linebacker , and Ryan Hopkins, who played defensive end – the three of us tried to take it on together and tried to lead the team.”
Kim also called the defensive signals.
“He was responsible for making the calls and getting us into our schemes,” Stover said. “If people were lined up wrong, he had to kick them in the butt and move them over.
“He was our mic linebacker – we give them a lot of responsibility, and you have to earn it. It’s not just given to you. Billy being in that mix for two-and-a-half to three years – it was an easy progression for us.
“Obviously, he’s a smart kid, so it was easy giving him more. We felt comfortable with the load we gave him, and he responded.”
Kim was not the least bit surprised to see the Flying Cardinals – despite their inexperience – go on to have a successful season.
“We had the majority of our skill players back,” he said. “I felt as long as we could come up with an offensive line that could jell together and become a cohesive unit – I thought we would have a good shot of accomplishing that.
“We worked hard every day, and we all worked hard together.”
Winning a share of the conference title was the culmination of a goal for Kim and his teammates.
“It was awesome,” he said. “To lose to Wissahickon 35-34 last year and lose the league championship by one point to our rival – even as a junior that was the worst feeling. My grade just really set a goal for our season not to end like that.
“We had outstanding numbers in the weight room, and we had outstanding numbers conditioning. It was really a tribute to the work our senior class did and led the underclassmen.”
It comes as no surprise to Stover that Kim is much more eager to talk about the team’s accomplishments than his own.
“One of Bill’s great traits was that he was always concerned about the team,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “He wanted the team to be successful. It was like having another coach on the field.”
Kim, who also ran spring track to get in shape for football, is involved in countless school activities off the gridiron. He is the treasurer of his student government, and he is president of Upper Dublin’s Asian Student Association. He is involved in the Chess Club and the model United Nations Club.
In addition, Kim is active in community service. He has volunteered at the Upper Dublin Public Library with his church youth group and also has given time with a school group at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
“I enjoy spending time with little kids,” Kim said. “I always enjoy giving back to the community.”
How does he manage to excel in so many areas?
“There’s no secret to doing it,” he said. “There are no shortcuts. You have to put in the work, you have to stay up late nights, and you have to suck it up and deal with it.”
Kim – who will major in engineering and lists Columbia as his top college choice - didn’t need anyone prodding him along the way to get good grades. He got those on his own.
“I just always wanted to do well in school for my parents,” he said. “They just let me be, and I didn’t want to let them down.
“It’s my kind of thank you to them for not pushing me so hard, not putting pressure on me. I just worked hard for them.”
The results speak for themselves.
