With brow furrowed and one eye closed, Zachary Lim (‘28) takes a breath and steadies his aim at the golden center of a distant target. Within seconds of releasing the arrow’s fletching, Lim hears the familiar whoosh of the projectile flying true to the bullseye.

Lim’s journey to becoming the 22nd best archer in the Under-18 (U-18) male recurve division, and fifth in the U-21 division of the 2026 California State Indoor Championships (CSIC), has been shaped by persistence, the support of his family, and a former Olympian.

Despite having explored other sports such as tennis, golf, and basketball during elementary school, when Lim was asked by his parents in the seventh grade to pick one sport to pursue, he chose, to the surprise of his family, archery. 

“I [had] learned how to shoot at a summer camp,” Lim said. “At the camp, I couldn’t shoot much, but when I did, the bow didn’t feel too heavy, so I thought I was naturally built for it.”

Lim also credits his interest in archery to watching sports broadcasts like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where South Korea’s archery team won four gold medals.

While undergoing multiple trial lessons, Lim was encouraged by coaches who noticed his talent to consider training at the next level – competitive archery rather than recreational – due to his calm composure, his sharp focus, and steady aim.

“The coaches said, ‘You have potential to actually compete,’” Lim said.

Lim ultimately settled on Coach Hyangsoon Seo, whom he refers to as his “archery idol.”

The self-taught Seo is the first South Korean archer and female athlete to earn a gold medal, which she accomplished as a 17-year-old at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

“Knowing that such a renowned athlete was training students nearby — and within a distance we could realistically travel — felt like a great privilege and opportunity,” Boyoung Lee, Lim’s mother, said.

Seo serves as head of Hyang Seon Soo (HSS) Sports Academy and approaches coaching by prioritizing an archer’s health over their outcomes.

“Victory or a gold medal should not be the foremost goal,” Seo said. “To be a happy sportsman should come first.”

Seo’s coaching philosophy has shaped Lim’s career, pushing him to pursue archery with an emphasis on attitude and perspective, not solely to win competitions.

Seo is proud of Lim’s progress over the past years. “I can see how much effort he puts in,” Seo said. “When I first met Zachary, he was very timid, but now he’s transformed into a strong archer.”

Despite training the then 13-year-old Lim for four months, Seo encouraged him to compete in the junior level state championships in California. At the 2023 CSIC competition, Lim placed 15th in the U-15 Men’s Recurve Division. (Recurve is an Olympic-style bow with limbs that curve away from an archer. Currently, the Olympics only feature recurve events, though mixed team compound archery will be added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.)

Archery competitions are year-round, age-specific, and showcase recurve, compound (a modernized bow with a pulley system), and barebow (a simpler bow that requires archers to use the arrow to aim) shooting. Indoor competitions take place in the winter, while outdoor competitions are during the spring and summer.

In 2024, Lim climbed three spots to 12th place in the CSIC.

In 2025, he placed sixth at CSIC and also placed ninth in the California State Outdoor Championships (CSOC) in the U-18 division.

These competitions determine an archer’s official state ranking.

“It’s not easy, but I keep going because I want to get ranked,” Lim said.

Behind the improved performance is extreme discipline and dedication to the sport, which Lim does while a straight-A student, and a member of the Health Occupation Student Association (HOSA) and varsity boys’ tennis.

“I train 12 hours a week,” Lim said. “During school, I also have to balance both tennis for the varsity team and archery practice, [so] usually, I get home at 7 p.m. and have to do my homework and everything [else].”

To make the most of his schedule, Lim has found a make-shift solution to achieve his training goals: “I set up a target at home in order to practice at home after tennis practice instead of driving all the way to Irvine,” Lim said.

Another factor in Lim’s success is family. Between drives to the Irvine-based HSS Sports Academy, traveling to national competitions together, and providing encouragement, his family’s support has allowed Lim to continue competing.

“Attending national competitions, often out of state, has been particularly challenging,” Lee said of the family’s travels throughout California, Nevada, and Florida. “As a parent, it is difficult to watch Zachary go through moments when things don’t go as planned.”

Like many athletes, Lim faces performance anxiety and self-doubt at competitions. Lee tries to reinforce a positive mindset in Lim through affirmations and cheering him on during periods of mental blocks.

“Though I am a mental health specialist, I can’t approach my son the same way I would a patient,” Lee said. “However, he never [gives] up, and continues to show up, stay focused, and give his best effort in every competition.”

Guided by Seo’s mentorship and coaching, Lee’s support, and his own love for the sport, Lim looks forward to his next competition, the 2026 Easton Foundations Gator Cup, one of four premier archery tournaments for archers looking to qualify for the United States Archery Team (USAT), to be held April 16 to 19 in Newberry, Fla.

“I’m thankful for both my parents and my coach for supporting me through every step of my career as an archer,” Lim said. “I hope that I can continue to succeed in competitions so that I can make their support feel worth it.”