January | 2013 | Coupeville Sports

Archive for January, 2013

Come for the smell of pizza! Stay for the volleyball info!!

Posted in Community Sports, Volleyball on January 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Volleyball players like these, the members of this year's Coupeville Middle School 8th grade team, would be ideal candidates. (Amy King photo)

Volleyball players like these, members of this year’s Coupeville Middle School 8th grade team, would be ideal candidates. (Amy King photo)

Do you love volleyball?

Do you want to play it year-round? To spike and set and dig to your heart’s content? And then do it some more?

If all of that fits you, AND you’re age 15 and under and a girl in grades 6-9, the place to be is the Coupeville Pizza Factory 7 PM Monday, Jan. 14.

Local parents are putting together an AAU girls’ volleyball squad and will be hosting an informational meeting that night for prospective players and their parents.

For more information contact Amy Briscoe at 929-7829.

Read Full Post »

“I just smile because of how much fun I’m having!!”

Posted in Cheer on January 7, 2013| 1 Comment »

Kylie Marie, never without her smile.

Kylie Marie has always wanted to be like her mom.

The irrepressible Coupeville High School cheerleader is the daughter of a cheer vet, and it’s a sport which has a proud tradition in her family.

“My mom was a cheerleader when she was in high school, so I guess it started there,” Kylie Marie said. “When we came to Whidbey and I started kindergarten, she signed me up for junior cheer. Ever since then I have aspired to be a high school varsity cheerleader.”

One of the dedicated Wolves who stay with the cheer squad through both fall and winter seasons, she can currently be seen on the sidelines during home basketball games. Simply look for the young woman with the biggest grin on her face.

“My favorite parts about cheer are stunting — it’s fun for me because there is always a new challenge and that moment when I feel pure joy as we are all dancing together as a team and having a great time!,” Kylie Marie said. “I just smile because of how much fun I am having!”

Making it seem effortless requires a lot of hard work behind the scenes, a commitment she takes seriously.

“Like other athletes in other sports, we put a lot of mental and physical energy as well as time into our activity, but in the end it’s all about the pride we have in supporting the athletes of our school,” Kylie Marie said.

Apart from her cheer duties, she is a well-rounded student/athlete, participating in ASB as well as being the co-organizer of the Constitutionalists Club. She’s also planning to start rec soccer with her little sister in the spring.

In the classroom, she excels in multiple fields, as well.

“One class that I would say is my favorite is music productions with Mr. Jenkins because of my love of music,” Kyle Marie said. “I also enjoy Pre-Calculus with Mr. Nelson. Call me crazy but I have always kind of enjoyed math.”

A large part of her enjoyment of life stems from a close family and their deep belief in their Mormon faith, she said.

“My parents and family teachers, like my grandparents and siblings, along with the teachings and standards of my church, have had the most influence in shaping who I am today,” Kylie Marie said. “I am very blessed to have such a great church family. They are like a big extended family, watching out for me and setting an example for me.

“I love my music, spending time with my family, my church and just being happy,” she added. “I love to sing and dance for fun. My family is the best in the whole world!”

Read Full Post »

Believe!!

Posted in Ranting and Raving on January 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Look what happens when you believe.

In 2010, Coupeville was on top of the sports world. It can get there again.

That summer, a group of young men (guys like Brian Norris, Korbin Korzan, Ben Etzell and Jake Tumblin) went toe-to-toe with the best in Washington state in their sport and flat-out kicked ass.

The Central Whidbey Little League Junior All-Stars won a state title and it’s remarkable what they did.

They never backed down.

They never made excuses that they were from an area much smaller than many of the teams they faced.

They never apologized for being very, very talented.

They never quit.

They never stopped believing.

And, in the end, they now have memories they will never, ever forget.

It’s a lesson with deep meaning for all current and future Coupeville athletes. You can be the best and you don’t have to feel bad about being the best.

We live in a very different time than when I started covering high school sports on Whidbey Island back in 1989.

You can make a lot of excuses for why Wolf athletics is not what it once was. And, in the end, that’s what they all are — excuses.

It’s true that CHS plays in an unfair league, where it is the smallest school by far. So what? Smaller schools beat big schools every day in every sport, in every state.

It’s true that kids have so many entertainment options now that few simply go out and play ball year-round like they did in the ’70s and ’80s. I say take their damn phones away and lock ’em outside again.

It’s also true we have coddled a generation by telling them they are all equal, they all deserve a pat on the head for simply trying (even if they just hit the bottom of the rim and had the ball bounce off their head), that none of them should aspire to be too much better than the kid next to them.

Bull crap! That’s not what they teach ’em at ATM and King’s.

There are a lot of nice kids in Coupeville, but, you can be nice and still play like a beast.

Be proud of your talent. Believe in yourself. Kick ATM in the over-priced nads.

Off the basketball court, Jodi Christensen and Jennie Cross were, and still are, two of the nicest people you will ever meet. On the court, they came at the opposition like rabid dogs. When they went for a rebound, they flat-out committed, dropping teammates with their Elbows O’ Death.

Or look at Kyle and Tyler King, as driven and focused a pair of athletes as this town has ever seen. They ran relentlessly, in the snow, in the rain, in the wind. They had talent, they developed it, they firmly believed they were going to win … and now they’re on full-ride scholarships at major Division 1 schools and their parents say a giant “thank you” every time they check their bank balance.

Maybe we can’t go back to the ’70s and ’80s, get high school guys to grow ‘staches, get refs to let folks brawl again and play Darrington and Concrete and La Conner on a regular basis. But Coupeville can be just as good as it once was.

We can be the King brothers. We can be Jennie Cross. We can be a state champion baseball squad.

We are Coupeville and we can make that mean something.

If we believe.

Read Full Post »

“I blame the holiday ham and potatoes!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, GU17 Whidbey Islanders on January 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Girls Under 17 Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad. (Scott Rosenkranz photo)

A strong second half couldn’t save the day after a slow start.

Despite sparking to life after halftime, the GU17 Whidbey Islanders soccer squad had its best efforts blunted by a top goaltender and fell 1-0 to the NorthShore Ultimatum at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell Sunday afternoon.

It was the first game in three weeks for the select soccer team (now 0-1-1), and the layoff seemed to bother his players, said coach Sean LeVine.

“Our first half was atrocious, with inaccurate passing and “feet stuck in mud” type of play,” LeVine said. “I blame the holiday ham and potatoes.”

NorthShore broke a scoreless tie in the first half, when they found a wide open player strolling through the left side of the box in front of Whidbey’s net.

After that miscue, the Islanders tightened up their defense, led by strong play from center backs Jen Spark and Jacki Ginnings.

Forcing the action in the second half, Whidbey had several runs at the goal, with the best one coming on a one-on-one attack from Kendra Warwick. Slipping free from a defender, Warwick stared down the goalie, but the NorthShore net-minder refused to blink and made a nice save to seal the victory.

While the layoff hurt, his team’s inexperience with playing on turf was also a factor, LeVine said.

“Some practices on turf fields may have helped, as it is a much faster game on turf,” he said. “Pop Keeney is a fantastic sports venue with covered home and visitor seating and new turf.

“Wish we had one of those on the Island … oh wait we do, it’s Wildcat Stadium, but they charge $250 per use,” he added. “That’s way too steep for our select soccer teams!”

The high point of the match was the return to action of Ginnings, who had missed five months with an ankle/foot injury. That cost her the high school season, but she immediately paid dividends in her first game back.

“She is a huge asset to our team,” LeVine said. “She will fill in nicely for the CHS team next fall for the great senior departing center back, Anna Bailey.”

Read Full Post »

Bundy leaves soccer fans thunderstruck!!

Posted in Uncategorized on January 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Zane Bundy receives his letter for boys’ tennis in the fall. (Janine Bundy photos)

Bundy directs action in a recent select soccer game.

Zane Bundy has good taste.

Sure, the Coupeville High School freshman is a talented soccer and tennis player, but he really shines when he talks about his favorites in movies and music.

“My favorite movie is probably “Zombieland!” This is a movie that you can watch a million times and it would still seem funny!,” Bundy said. “I am always listening to music wherever I am, be it in class (when I am allowed to, of course!) or at home.

“I listen to Macklemore a lot. I love all his music, whether it be the funny stuff or the serious ones,” he added. “I also love the classic hip hop like the Beastie Boys and Sir Mix A Lot. And you can’t go wrong with some AC/DC either!”

Sir Mix A Lot, AC/DC and “Zombieland?” At this point, Bundy could be a total klutz with the soccer ball, and he would still be OK in my eyes.

Of course he’s not a klutz. Far from it.

He has dance moves for days (as he proved when he brought down the stadium with his footwork during this year’s Homecoming parade) and is a super-dedicated soccer player, taking to the pitch 11 months a year (he rests in December).

Currently playing state cup games with a team that includes fellow Wolf frosh Dawson d’Almeida, Bundy is part of a fresh wave of talented younger players ready to join an already-strong CHS boys’ soccer program.

Somewhere, low-key Wolf coach Paul Mendes may be permitting himself a smile. A small one, but a smile nonetheless.

Bundy, who has played soccer for half his life (he’s 14) has an enthusiasm for life on the soccer pitch that fairly bubbles over.

“The thing I love about soccer is the cohesiveness that you have to have with your teammates,” Bundy said. “That you have to have teamwork to win and one person cannot win a game, you have to work together to get it done.”

After listening to way too many local athletes try to downplay their own abilities, Bundy is refreshing, reeling off his strengths like a showman, while never coming off as egotistical. Just confident and full of a go-get-’em attitude.

“My strengths … where to start!!!,” Bundy said. “I have a really nice touch on the ball for technical skills — like dribbling and first touches; I have a really nice shot too, whether it be a strong driven kick or a quick little flick around the keeper.

“I also read the game very well, like where to be in positioning in reference to my teammates,” he added. “I am working on my quick bursts of speed during the game and am improving. Just keep kicking the ball around and working on some new moves.”

His goals are simple and direct.

“To play my heart out every game, no matter what team it be and to make varsity Freshman year.”

He’s already made an impact in CHS sports, playing a key role for the Wolf boys’ tennis squad in the fall. Teaming with doubles partner Connor McCormick, they made for a formidable team, with a particular highlight when they thrashed a duo from South Whidbey.

But it’s not all sports for Bundy, who excels in History Day competitions (he placed 7th at state) and blowing up zombies in “Black Ops 2” with friends Loren and Connor and dreams of one day being an Air Force fighter pilot (“I like to go watch the planes do their touch and gos at the air strip by our house”).

He credits his parents, Mark and Janine Bundy, with having a huge impact on his life and also appreciates the time and effort put into his development, both as an athlete and a person, by two of his coaches.

“One person that has had a huge impact on my life and my soccer career is my coach and friend Jose,” Bundy said. “He has helped me on and off the field.”

“Another person would be my teacher (and tennis coach) Ken Stange,” he added. “Stange has helped me in school with my writing skills. But he has helped me as a friend a lot more. He helps me with any problems that I have and will always listen to me jabber on about stuff.”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »