Coupeville Sports

   Twice the birthday fun with Willow (16/27) and Raven (19) Vick. (John Fisken, Maria Reyes and Pat Kelley photos)

Class.

That’s the first word which comes to mind when we discuss Willow and Raven Vick.

Then we can start checking off words like smart, friendly, easy-going, self-contained, kind, loyal, hard-working … and, if we keep on going, we’ll be here for days.

Suffice it to say that the Vicks, who celebrate a joint birthday today, have already made a strong impact  and they’re only freshmen at Coupeville High School.

They first popped on the radar as middle school athletes, running track, playing volleyball, and in Willow’s case, making a solid debut as a softball player for a Venom squad which throttled opponents.

Then the duo made the jump to high school this season and immediately made names for themselves as spikers.

Both brought considerable skill to the floor — whether it was Raven lashing service winners or Willow lunging to save balls and keep plays alive — and were key parts of a Wolf JV squad which went undefeated in league play.

What I know of both young women largely comes from watching them play sports, and it has been nothing less than positive.

If they are serial killers or drug runners in their day-to-day lives, they hide it well.

On the court, and before and after games, they come across as hyper-intelligent, well-spoken young women on the fast track to great future success.

They obviously have an unspoken connection with each other, being sisters and twins at that, but they also are quick to support others, in good times and bad, and seem, from the view in the bleachers, to be ideal teammates.

As they hit the big 1-5, I just want to take a moment to wish Raven and Willow all the best on their cake day.

I look forward to seeing where the two of you go in the years to come, as athletes and as brilliant young women.