Coupeville Sports

Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil with mom DeeAnna Smith (left) and sister Kayla Lawson (right).

Kassie and her progeny.

She is one of the best I never actually saw play.

Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil was a stellar hoops player for the Wolves during a time when I was bogged down with the grind of the real world and wrote very few words about high school sports for a few years.

I left the arena right before she hit the floor and came back right after the door swung shut on her exit.

But still, I heard tales of a scrappy player who ran the floor alongside my fake daughter, Courtney Boyd, terrorizing rival ball-handlers.

When I went back to writing, I got to talk about her days as a college basketball player, and then picked up a lot of page hits with photos of her young sons.

Kassie, who celebrates a birthday today, is one of the genuine greats, not only as an athlete but as a person.

Her family, which includes mom DeeAnna Smith, sisters Kayla Lawson and Katie Smith and lil’ bro Kurtis Smith, is deeply entrenched as part of the core of Coupeville.

Sherman blood flows through those veins, and, one after another, they have been unassuming superstars at whatever sports they picked up.

Kassie, like her siblings, is friendly, outgoing, deeply committed to her ever-expanding family.

She is, without a doubt, one of the best this town has produced.

With two precocious boys and a third child on the way, it’s probably not easy to have a moment to herself these days.

But, whatever she’s doing today, I hope the day is wonderful for you, Kassie.

Happy birthday, Mrs. O’Neil.