Coupeville Sports

Former Wolf star Marlene Grasser and husband Jim.

CHS hoops ’87. Back, l to r: Tina Barker, Sarah Powell, Terri Perkins, Marlene Grasser, Carol Estes, Phyllis Textor. Front: Aimee Messner, Trudy Eaton, Cheryl Pangburn, Sally Biskovich, Sherry Bonacci.

Grasser and Bonacci — not to be trifled with.

I want every athlete at Coupeville High School to listen and really hear Marlene Grasser’s words.

This is coming from one of the best athletes to ever wear a Wolf uniform. A four-sport (volleyball, basketball, softball, track) star. A two-time Female Athlete of the Year. A woman who played college volleyball after she graduated from CHS in 1987.

She did everything you want to. She was the star you want to be. So listen to what she says and learn.

“I don’t remember awards, but do remember the fantastic experiences with my teammates,” Grasser said. “My best memories are all involving team sports. I looked forward to practices every day and the games were a blast.

“I loved my teammates and our mutual competitiveness and cohesiveness,” she added. “It is probably what I miss the most and was the hardest to let go of when I graduated.”

It was a feeling she carried through her final days of high school life, as a trip to the state track meet cost her and her teammates the senior class trip to Disneyland. Instead of being upset, the track squad found a different way to mark the end of their run in Coupeville.

“We went white water rafting together and had a great time!,” Grasser said.

The camaraderie that she enjoyed during her playing days is something she hopes the current generation of Wolf athletes will find for themselves.

“Enjoy this time with your teammates. This may be the most competitive time of your life, so give it your all,” Grasser said. “At the same time, recognize as important as sports are, they are not going to be your life, so it is critical that you do well in school and keep the goal of college at the forefront.”

Volleyball and a scholarship to study in the medical arena carried Grasser to Central Washington University, but it wasn’t long before she ended up taking a U-turn.

“I went there and played a lot while studying very little,” Grasser said. “I quickly realized that I was in over my head academically and shifted my priorities from sports to life.”

She became a triage nurse, eventually ended up at a healthcare software company and has two children (Lance, 12 and Erika, 16) with her husband, Jim.

Through it all, her times in the red and black remain cherished memories.

“Volleyball was my favorite sport, but I have the best memories of playing basketball,” Grasser said. “Our team was so intense; we played our guts out every single game, especially our senior year when we went to tri-districts with a record of 14-6.

“Working hard as an individual in order to support my team as effectively as possible (no excuses) was a huge lesson,” she added. “Also, being coachable has been incredibly important in helping me get jobs and move up the ladder quickly. At the same time, Georgie Smith taught me not to take sports seriously. If not for her humor and influence I may have missed that lesson and I needed that my second year at Central when the new coach and I didn’t click.”

She did click with her high school coaches, and fondly remembers many of them, from Phyllis Textor (“Ms. Textor was one of the biggest influences on me and I feel incredibly lucky to have had her in my life. I still impart her lesson, “excuses don’t mean anything” on my kids, but she really taught me so much more about life”) to Ron Bagby (“My awesome track coach who always made practice fun — even though, to this day, I hate running”) and many more.

“Our assistant coach in basketball and track was Larrie Ford (David and Tony’s dad), who was great as an encourager to all of us. He never let me get down if I was struggling and always knew what to say to make me feel better,” Grasser said. “Also, two coaches who had huge influences on me in elementary school were Mr. Libby (Tricia’s dad) and Mr. Messner (Barbi/Aimee’s dad). In hindsight I just can’t believe their patience with us girls year after year on the Lee’s Lions softball team! Those were good years and I loved those two guys.”

And then there were the girls she played with day in and day out.

“My teammates who I would do anything for were Sarah Powell, Terri Perkins, Tina Barker, Sherry Bonacci, Georgie, Aimee Messner, Sally Biskovich, Carol Estes, Cheryl Pangburn and Trudy Eaton,” Grasser said. “We had some great times together with the guy athletes on the bus and ferry rides.

“When certain songs come on the radio like AC/DC’s “Back in Black” or Def Leppard’s “Photograph,” I go right back to 1986-7!,” she added. “My hurdles buddy in track was Chad Gale and I remain in awe of Tina Barker’s 400. She barfed after every race … ew!”

Bonacci, who would go on to marry fellow Wolf athletic star Jon Roberts, said this about Grasser:

“Marlene was my athletic role model. She was such an amazing and gifted athlete and one of the nicest people ever. She always helped me and encouraged me to strive for excellence and become the best I could be.”

Grasser remembers it often being the other way around.

“I love Sherry,” she said. “I was looking through stuff to try to find an old photo and came across about a dozen letters of encouragement and advice from her.”

Here is an excerpt (dated Feb 12, 1986):

“Smile!  You didn’t look too happy last night when I saw you. You’re always smiling.

I’m really sorry about you guys losing. I know I’m not much comfort but you guys tried and you lost by just a few mistakes that you know you won’t make again, right?

So always look to the bright side! Marlene, like I always say, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s not good!

I was really sad we lost too. It’s so frustrating, especially when you are sitting on the bench from fouling out, you haven’t made any baskets and you turned the ball over a couple times (that’s what I did!)”

“I’m the one who thought of Sherry as my role model. She was always so bright and cheery and made the best of any situation. I admired that and strove to be that way too!”