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The Spectator
Kelly Whipple '10 Commands Attention on Court
by Cooper Creagan '13Sports Writer
November 06, 2009
Hamilton squash is no joke. And at the head of this year's team is captain Kelly Whipple '10. Recruited to Hamilton for her abilities in the sport, Whipple is entering her fourth year playing squash for the College and has already earned All-Liberty League and All-NESCAC honors.
This impressive resume is due in large part to Whipple's hard work and dedication over a lengthy career – her father introduced the sport to her in middle school, and she has been playing ever since. Indeed, squash seems to run in the family. Whipple is the third daughter to play collegiate squash, both of her sisters having played at Williams.
However, this remarkable athlete gives credit for her success not only to her family, but also to her Hamilton family – her teammates and Coach Jamie King, affectionately named "Kinger" by his athletes. King has created a notable record as a player as well, at one time ranking third in the nation at Williams College. Thus, it is only natural that he still plays with the athletes on the team, implementing a coaching style that is both "proactive and interactive," according to Whipple, the "ideal coach," and considers his warm and open attitude toward the athletes a very important factor to her success and that of the team as a whole.
Indeed, it is the team that is truly important to Whipple, and she believes that this year's squad will be the best Hamilton has ever seen. The team has a tremendous base from which to work, with four strong first-year players suiting up in addition to the experienced upperclassmen, a group which includes several veteran seniors. These seniors who have been playing since their freshman year. Though Whipple believes it would be "definitely nice" to repeat the accolades earned earlier in her college career, her goal this year as captain is to help her team do the best that they possibly can.
The achievement of the group is "obviously the most important thing," she said.
Though Whipple is alone facing an opponent each match, squash is a team sport. Hers is one of nine matches that are played during a competition; the team that wins five or more matches is the winner. Thus, Whipple sees her own improvement as a means to improve the team's performance as a whole.
Her commitment to her team is extraordinarily valuable, especially considering that there is no such thing as DIII or even DII squash – when the squad makes the trek to the Howe Cup at the end of February, the athletes will be in the midst of the best teams in the nation. Whipple's desire to help her teammates do their best will be far more important than any amount of talent when they face such goliaths as Dartmouth and Cornell.
In the more immediate future, however, Whipple and the team will be traveling to Harvard later in November to face Bowdoin, always a tough opponent, and Northeastern.
Whipple emphasizes the importance of focus once competition starts. "You have to focus on you, the opponent and the ball. No one else." It is with the help of her team that she can "get in the moment" and be ready to perform when it counts – not an easy task when you are enclosed in a squash court with an opponent you may have faced before. "It's a small sport," Whipple says, mentioning as an example a Colby athlete she plays two or three times a season every year. The one-on-one component of squash adds a mental element many athletes never experience in their sport, though Whipple seems to have mastered it.
While May still seems far away to Whipple, a communications major, she is looking to do something she loves after graduation; she will probably head to New York City for its proximity to her home and for the countless opportunities available, both in the job market and to play squash. "It's easy to play after college," Whipple asserted, indicating that her love of the sport will not stop after she leaves Hamilton. She is sure to find success in whatever she chooses to do, should she maintain the selflessness and care for others that she embodies as captain of the Hamilton squash team.