Coupeville Sports

Haley Sherman

It’s safe to say Haley Sherman has a few fans in Coupeville.

The last name means she’s related to about 88.7% of the town, and family members can be seen at every volleyball match the Coupeville High School junior plays in. Start with her mom and dad and siblings, then start tossing in grandparents and by the time you get to the cousins, there are quite a few people screaming her name every time she pulls off a superb play, which happens a lot.

A key member of a Wolf spiker squad that is coming off of an emotional five-set home win over Sultan, Sherman returns the love to her fans.

“Being a Sherman, I see it as an advantage really. Having such a huge family just means more support,” she said. “It feels great to have the last name, knowing how wonderful everyone in my family is.

“If only I could claim relation to Richard Sherman from the Seahawks, now that would be something!”

Like most athletes, she has that one person who she looks for in the stands. That one person whose presence at her games lifts her soul. And for Haley Sherman, that person is her mom, Christa Canell.

“Honestly I could thank everyone I’ve ever met, but most importantly I would say my mom,” Sherman said. “My mom tries to be as supportive as she can all the time, and she always spends money on my sports every year and goes to every home game. It feels great to have such good support.”

Not that she doesn’t notice everyone else.

“My grandparents, every single one of them, I couldn’t thank enough for coming to my games. I LOVE THEM!,” she added. “And this year Mrs. Crebbin has made a huge impact on me too; she is such a wonderful person and I couldn’t ask for a better coach!”
 
A three-sport athlete (volleyball, softball and she’s returning to basketball for the first time since eighth grade) who has a deep love of photography, Sherman balances sports, school and a personal life, while always finding a bit of free time to spend with her favorite pet.

“Apart from school I spend a lot of time with my family, my friends and my animals,” Sherman said. “I love to just watch movies all day with my cat, too! Not the most exciting life, but I’m content!”

When she steps on the volleyball court, she brings a complete game with her and can generally be found in the middle of the action. Against Sultan, she sparked a crucial rally with several laser-like shots that sliced through the Turk defenders, leaving them wildly flailing as the ball found pay dirt.

The win, which gave Coupeville a season-sweep of Sultan, captured everything Sherman likes about her favorite sport.

“The thing I enjoy most about volleyball is the intensity of the game and how well it brings a group together, like our team,” Sherman said. “We are all so close and have become like a family since the season started.”

While she sees a fair amount of floor time, she is constantly working to improve her skills. With an eye set on the future (Coupeville will lose seniors Bessie Walstad, Katie Kiel and Lauren Escalle to graduation), she wants to be ready to be one of the faces front-and-center on next season’s squad.

“I believe my strengths in volleyball are passing and serving,” Sherman said. “I have been cautious in my serving lately, so I would like to improve that and I also want to up my consistency in hitting so I can play front row all the time!

“My goals for the rest of the season are to just keep passing consistently and keep my love for the game strong,” she added. “When it comes to my senior year, I hope to have improved enough to the point where I can play all-around rotation all the time.”

And don’t think hard work on the volleyball court worries her. She is a Sherman, after all, a family with a strong work ethic, and, for her, volleyball has never really been work.

“I could play volleyball any time of any given day! I love the game so much!”