Coupeville Sports

Jacki Ginnings (John Fisken photos)

Ginnings unleashes “The Crippler.”

Jacki Ginnings is a superstar.

Whether wielding a racket on the tennis court or booting a soccer ball on the pitch, the Coupeville High School senior is electrifying, enthralling, exciting and a lot of other words that don’t necessarily start with an E.

Though she can be as intense as needed, the first thing you always notice about Miss Ginnings is the joy that radiates off of her.

She genuinely seems to enjoy her sports, especially soccer, which is enough of a passion that she plays virtually year-round with high school and select squads.

Huge smile on her face, she dives into the fray and reminds everyone in the stands that, no matter how seriously people take sports, it’s still just a game.

Jacki gets it.

She’s talented, she excels, but she always has fun along the way.

Even when the weather is brutally cold and no reasonably sane person should be playing soccer under the conditions — a fate that often befalls her Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad when they play deep into the fall.

Ginnings makes it look effortless. And she makes it look fun.

She may not scream and holler and try to get a lot of attention, but she doesn’t need to. We notice what she’s doing and we respect her for the way she plays.

As she celebrates her birthday today, we wish Jacki the best. Cause she is the best.