Coupeville Sports

Hunter Smith, slicin’ ‘n dicin’ defenses on the gridiron. (John Fisken photos)

Flingin’ the high, hard cheese.

Evolution of a superstar. (Photos courtesy Charlotte Young)

Sometimes you get lucky.

Over the years Coupeville has lost a lot of pretty talented athletes, young men and women whose families have taken them away, for one reason or another, just as they were about to hit their prime.

But sometimes the scales get balanced, and that’s what happened when Chris and Charlotte Smith moved to town three years ago.

Somehow, against all odds, we got three superb young athletes (and better people) in one fell swoop, a boon to Wolf athletics for years.

Older brother CJ delivered 2.5 years of excellence across football, basketball and baseball before graduation and little sister Scout, just now a freshman at CHS, is already a supernova.

And then, in the middle, we have the young man who is carving out a legend which will loom large over the prairie for many years.

Hunter Smith, a Wolf junior who happens to be celebrating his birthday today, has been a slam-dunk since day one.

Pick the sport and he will go out and kick your fanny in it, small smile on his face as he lets his actions speak louder than words.

In football, he already holds (or is tied, there’s still some debate) the school’s single-season record for interceptions, having snagged seven of them as a sophomore.

A two-way warrior, he was the team’s leading pass catcher as well, and is primed for a major breakout season in his third tour of duty, which begins tonight against South Whidbey.

On the basketball court, Hunter is a dead-eye shooter, a hustler and a scrapper who hits buzzer beaters to electrify the crowd yet still is willing to do the dirty work.

Put him on the baseball diamond, and Smith is a strikeout-hucking pitcher, a rock-solid middle infielder prone to dazzling displays of defensive virtuosity and a lead-off hitter who rocks both power and speed in his trim frame.

If they were taking bets on it in Vegas, he would have to be the odds-on favorite for CHS Male Athlete of the Year in 2016-2017, primarily because he does everything and he does everything really, really well.

And yet, what makes Hunter truly rise above the crowd is the way he handles himself, on and off the field.

If there’s ego there, he hides it well.

Confidence? Yes. A belief in his own abilities? Without a doubt.

But like his siblings and his parents, Hunter is a cool cat who goes about his business with style and genuine class.

A mix of Honor Roll smart and big game tough, the middle Smith kid is a winner in every way, and we are lucky to have inherited him (and his family).

So happy birthday, Hunter.

I look forward to being there as you torch the record books for years to come.