This feature originally appeared in the Fall edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.



"She was wearing these blue shorts, mismatched tie-dyed socks, and hair in this crazy, little bun." Mia Corbin distinctly remembers the first time she met Abi Kim, when the two were 10 years old at a club soccer tryout in Seattle. Corbin made the A team, Kim – a relative latecomer to the game – landed on the B team.
 
"I was pretty bad," recalled Kim, now in her sophomore season on the Cal women's soccer team. "I wanted to quit, but my dad said I had to try it for a full year, so I stuck it out."
 
That persistence paid off, and it did not take long before Kim joined Corbin on the A team, the start of a soccer journey that has lasted over nine years.
 
"It's pretty amazing how far she's come," laughed Corbin, also a Golden Bear sophomore. "If you asked me when we showed up to that first tryout, I never could have guessed it would turn out like this."
 
In Corbin's defense, few could have predicted that Abi Kim would wind up here – a star striker at the top public university in the world and member of the Under-20 U.S. Women's National Team.
 
Kim was born in Liberia, almost 7,000 miles away from Berkeley, to a Liberian mother and Ghanaian father. At the age of three, she was adopted by Jin and Sue Kim and moved to Washington. Despite the distance, Kim has remained in contact with her biological mother and took a trip back to her home country in middle school.
 
"It was cool but definitely eye-opening," Kim said. "I never really thought about being adopted until then. I was just used to living on this small, little island."
 
That island is Vashon, located roughly 16 miles from Seattle in the middle of Puget Sound. With a population of less than 11,000 people, there are no bridges connecting Vashon to mainland Washington. Instead, Kim would take a ferry at 6 a.m. every morning to her high school in Seattle and return after 10 p.m., frantically trying to finish her homework on board after afternoons full of extracurriculars and athletics.
 
That brief stint on the B team aside, it has been nearly impossible to slow down Abi Kim.
 
"She was pretty raw, but she kept just blowing by people," Corbin remembered. "That's really how it all started; her speed and her willingness to just run at defenders."
 
With remarkable pace and persistence, Kim progressed through the club soccer ranks and began drawing the eye of college coaches.
 
"Chris Lemay, our former associate head coach, saw her play first and came back with a glowing report on Abi's athletic ability and potential," said Cal head coach Neil McGuire, now in his 11th season with the Golden Bears.  "After I saw her play, I felt the same way. I feel very blessed that she chose to come to Cal."
 
But Kim's arrival in Berkeley was not always a guarantee. The same speed that wreaked havoc on opposing defenses also translated to the track, where Kim was a state champion and competed in the Junior Olympics. When it came time to decide on a college, Kim was faced with a unique decision – run track at the University of Oregon or play soccer for Cal.
 
After much deliberation, Kim eventually settled on soccer, drawn to its team atmosphere. And with her focus narrowed on one sport, Kim committed to improving her skills and landed on the radar of the U.S. Soccer Federation during her senior year of high school.
 
"I wasn't great at checking my email," Kim admitted. "But my dad told me to check it, so I opened it up and saw, 'You have been invited to the United States Under-18 Women's Soccer Team.' I was shocked. When I scored my first goal [for the U.S.], I had to ask myself 'Am I really here?' I never thought I would be able to make it this far in soccer."
 
A few months after that first call-up, Kim arrived in Berkeley for her freshman season. The lightning-fast forward soon landed a spot in the starting lineup and earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors at the end of the year. Kim closed her rookie campaign with three goals and three assists, highlighted by scoring the game-winner in Cal's 1-0 upset over No. 7 USC, assisted by none other than Corbin, her longtime teammate and "Seattle sister."
 
Now in her second season at Cal and a regular on the U-20 U.S. team, both Kim and her head coach are looking forward to her continued improvement.
 
"Abi is growing in confidence, she's growing in strength, and her technical ability and tactical understanding of the game have really grown leaps and bounds through her national team experience and time here at Cal," said McGuire. "I'm excited for her success, proud of all the work she's done, and am looking forward to seeing what she can do this year."
 
Kim's sophomore campaign started in impressive fashion, scoring three goals in the Bears' first two matches of 2017, and drawing the penalty kick that led to Cal's game-winner in 89th minute against rival Santa Clara.
 
As gifted as she is at creating goals, Kim also has a tendency to set them as well. She wants to represent the United States at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and help the Bears to a Pac-12 championship. After that, win a World Cup and Olympic gold medal with the full U.S. Women's National Team, before eventually becoming a lawyer.
 
Lofty aspirations, but Kim is committed to seeing them through.
 
"They're big dreams, but I have to do it," Kim says with a smile. "My whole life, I've just wanted to make all of my parents proud, especially because I've been blessed to have so many more opportunities than most people. I just want to make the most of them and inspire others."
 
Those who know her well believe Kim's goals are within reach.
 
"When you're blessed with the type of athletic ability that Abi has, she can clearly compete internationally based simply on athletic ability," said McGuire, who has coached a pair of World Cup participants in Golden Bear alums Alex Morgan and Betsy Hassett. "We have to try and help her to continue to grow technically and tactically, but I think by the end of her four years, she'll be more than ready to go play professionally and compete internationally, just like a number of other players have gone on to do."
 
And for Corbin – who has watched Kim go from tie-dyed socks to donning the U.S. crest and the California blue and gold – nothing is impossible.
 
"When Abi decides to put her mind to something, she can definitely do it," said Corbin. "Sometimes it takes a little push, but I think Abi can do anything she wants. I absolutely believe that."
 
There's a long way to go, but Kim has already made it here and she's ready to keep going, full speed ahead.