Coupeville Sports

Amanda Streubel flies through the water.

Her second family.

Streubel (fifth from left, back row) and the Bellingham Bulldog cheer squad.

This is a story that starts in happiness, takes a dark turn, then comes out in an unexpected, and very satisfying place.

Amanda Streubel was a born swimmer, a young girl who lived in the water from age seven on.

She was good — very, very good — swimming the 100 backstroke at the highest level of Washington state high school competition, the 4A state meet.

And that was just the start.

At the peak of her career in the pool, she competed in the Western Zones Championships, which brings together the cream of the crop from 11 states.

“Swimming took me really far in my life,” Streubel said. “I enjoyed learning the skills and being in the water. It was such a big part of my life. I couldn’t live without swimming.”

Until the day she had to.

After years of built-up verbal abuse became too much and begin to strip away the joy she found in the pool, Streubel walked away.

“I was tired of the nastiness of the girls on the team,” she said. “Name-calling, ganging-up on. That’s what girls did.”

Instead of running away for good, however, Streubel took a sudden left-turn that caught many around her by surprise.

Having dropped swimming, she joined the Coupeville High School cheer squad, where every stereotype she might have had going in was promptly blown up.

She had found a second family.

“Everybody kept telling me ‘you’re jumping from the frying pan into the deep-fryer.’ Little did I know, cheerleaders are nicer than swimmers,” Streubel said. “There are nice swimmers and nice cheerleaders. But the ratio of the “nice girls” is astounding.

“From then on, I felt like I was part of something,” she added. “The girls really changed my life, and my outlook on all sports. Not everybody is mean. ”

Welcomed in by CHS cheer coach Sylvia Arnold and her team, Streubel blossomed, becoming a team leader and someone who has continued in the sport after her high school graduation in 2011.

“Cheer filled that part of me that felt empty,” Streubel said. “I love feeling like I belong.”

While attending Skagit Valley Community College and working toward a degree in the Practical Nursing program (after getting her LPN, she plans to become an RN and then go after her BSN), Streubel has been part of the cheer squad for the Bellingham Bulldogs, a semi-pro team that plays in the Pacific Football League.

While increased classwork kept her off the field this season, she doesn’t rule out returning to the sideline in the future.

“I really love the Bulldog ladies, and the friendships I have made,” Streubel said. “Mostly, I love stunting – the adrenaline rush of throwing and catching a person is just unbelievable.”

While her memories of her days as a swimmer are mixed, she has nothing but fondness for the man who helped her excel in the water.

“My swim coach, Neil Romney, is one of the biggest influences of my life,” Streubel said. “Taught me so much about hard work and dedication, perseverance, and being honest with myself.”

She also credits four teachers, three at CHS and one with the Cedar School homeschooling program, as having had a huge impact on her development as a student, and as a person.

“Mrs. Patsi Waller was always there when I felt stuck, and supported me through everything I tried,” Streubel said. “Ms. Barbara Ballard  taught me a lot of lessons in class that I’ve been able to use in my nursing classes as well as in life.

“Mr. Ryan Grenz  taught me to believe in myself,” she added. “The first thing I said to him when I met him was “I can’t do history.” His response was “we’ll see about that.” For the first time in my life, I liked history.”

And Streubel holds a special place in her heart for Kelly Beech.

“She worked with me when I got myself into a hole so deep,” Streubel said. “I’m convinced I wouldn’t have passed those classes if it wouldn’t have been for her.”

Now well on her way in a nursing career — she works at Summerhill Assisted Living in Oak Harbor while attending college — Streubel is a great example to current Wolf student/athletes. Keep persevering and you can find your place.

“Don’t let your GPA fall and don’t give up on your dreams,” Streubel said. “Just because you are the underdog, doesn’t mean there isn’t something there that shines.”