Coupeville Sports

Nick Etzell gets ready to mash a return. (John Fisken photos)

Etzell comes up gunning during summer ball.

In my defense, Nick Etzell is not on Facebook.

Without the social media monster alerting me every 13 seconds that it’s someone’s cake day, the birthday beat gets a lot harder to properly run.

But, having been relentlessly prodded by Wolf fans who noticed me “slipping,” let’s take a few moments (a day late) to commemorate another trip around the sun by the youngest Etzell.

The Coupeville High School junior is the kind of easy-breezy dude who probably couldn’t care less I missed his actual birthday.

Nick has never seemed all that preoccupied with tooting his own horn, letting his play on the courts and field speak for itself.

And the kid’s got talent, just like all of his older siblings.

The lanky one may not be as willing to rip chunks of flesh from his knees as older brother Ben, but he’s still a deadly racket-wielder on the tennis court.

The top returning singles player from a year ago, after the graduation of Sebastian Davis and Connor McCormick, Etzell has the kingdom lying at his feet as he enters his third campaign under Ken Stange.

Toss in basketball, where the Wolf fan base hopes he returns after taking a year off, and baseball, where he’s a strikeout-hurling mound ace, and Nick is a star on the rise.

And one who just happens to be relentlessly smart and a great guy who lights up every room he enters.

So, a day late, happy birthday, Mr. Etzell!

PS — If you want to pretend I wrote this all yesterday, that would be sweet.