Coupeville Sports

Monica Vidoni

Bessie Walstad may not know this, but she is a huge role model.

A four-year star in three sports (volleyball, basketball, softball), the Coupeville High School senior is inspiring the players coming up behind her, young women who hope to one day take her place both on the court and as a mentor.

One of those players, sophomore three-sport threat Monica Vidoni, is very clear in her admiration for Walstad.

“It’s sad that she will be leaving high school this year. Bessie is a big role model to me,” Vidoni said. “I always watch her in sports because there is a lot to learn from her. I still have a lot more to learn from her. She’s always the one to support me, after a bad game, or if I’m having a bad day.

“If you ever need help in volleyball, basketball, or softball, Bessie is the person to ask!”

Vidoni, whose younger brother James (“A wonderful brother!”) suits up for the Coupeville Middle School football squad, plays middle front in volleyball, patrols the post in basketball and bounces around between first, second and the outfield in softball. She was also a standout discus thrower during her middle school days, but had to let that go at the high school level when she chose softball as her spring sport.

While she enjoys all of her sports, and shows great promise as a potential rising star, it’s basketball which lays claim to her heart.

“Basketball is my favorite sport. I’ve been playing since kindergarten, maybe first grade,” Vidoni said. “I fell in love with the sport when my dad brought home the small basketball and hoop.“

Along with Walstad, she credits her father, who has officiated football, basketball and baseball games for three-plus decades, and her eighth grade basketball coach, as having the biggest impact on her sporting career.

“My dad is a big part of my life,” Vidoni said. “He is a big athletic supporter and he is a great help to me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today with out him!”

While her dad gave Vidoni her fighting spirit and natural talent, her coach helped to bring that talent out, while retaining the fun of the game.

“My eighth grade basketball coach, Coach O’Keefe, made a humongous impact in my basketball career,” Vidoni said. “He always put a smile on my face when I was feeling down, or having a bad day. He taught me new basketball tricks, and post moves that I still do today. He was always there for me, and my team.

“He taught me so much. It was a pain to leave middle school basketball,” she added. “I wouldn’t be the basketball player I am now with out him. He will always be my favorite basketball coach!“

Vidoni’s interests away from the sports arena are diverse. A fan of techno and dubstep music, she enjoys biology and weight training and has hopes of learning the French and Japanese languages. She’s interested in becoming a computer programmer and would like to one day play college basketball, as well.

First, though, she has plenty of time to become a star at the high school level, and then, like her mentor, become a role model for another generation. Be Like Bessie is a mantra that helps drive her. Be Like Vidoni may be the mantra for the next wave of Wolf athletes.