Nothing dims Genna Wright’s smile. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Genna Wright is a prodigy.
Springing from a family of athletes, the youngest one in the bunch might be the most talented one.
Which is saying a lot when all of your siblings, and your parents, have a heapin’ helpin’ of natural talent mixed with a burning desire to excel.
Owner of one of the sunniest personalties in Coupeville, Genna has rare star quality.
She looks the part. She acts the part.
Whether you’ve known her for years or merely walk past her for the first time, one glance and you know there’s something special about Wright.
She’s got that whole Matthew McConaughey, laid-back surfer personality going on, but there’s never been a doubt she is driven to be the best at everything she attempts.
Even as a young athlete, her love of competition was obvious.
Over the past six years, as she played numerous sports as a middle school, then high school athlete, I’ve witnessed more than one Genna Wright.
I’ve seen her in happier moments — mobbed by teammates after scoring, or lounging with prairie buddy Mollie Bailey, two very-personable young women delighting in friendship and inside jokes.
And I’ve seen Genna in some of her lowest public moments — dealing with the rawness of a season-ending loss, or trying to come to terms with a brutal injury.
Through it all, her spirit, her love of life and those closest to her, her uncanny ability to light up the world around her, have never lagged.
That injury, which cost her an entire season of soccer and a chance to claim the school’s career scoring title on the pitch, was as unfair as they come.
Blown up from behind as she charged after a ball headed for the sideline, at a moment when it wasn’t necessary, Wright shredded virtually everything important in one of her highly-talented legs.
It was a devastating injury, one which required major surgery and a long, torturous rehab.
Which she endured with great grace and admirable grit.
In public, Wright never betrayed her anger or sadness over the lost opportunities, instead choosing to become her teammate’s loudest and proudest cheerleader during her absence from the pitch.
She could have hidden away, but she embraced positivity — something which she has done every step of the way as I have documented her prep sports career.
And what a career it has been — even with the dual daggers of injury and then a pandemic.
Now a bionic woman, yet still fighting for every point.
Wright was the #1 singles player for the Coupeville High School tennis team her entire career — something not accomplished even by Wolf net legends such as Amanda d’Almeida or Valen Trujillo.
CHS coach Ken Stange looked at his irrepressible freshman, dared her to accept the mantle of greatness from day one, and then, like all of us, was wowed when Genna embraced her destiny with a grin (and a nasty forehand).
Whether playing against ritzy Seattle-based private schools, or leading the Wolves to conference crowns, Wright was money in the bank.
All around her, the fortunes of other CHS players rose and fell, through tough matches and easy walk-overs.
But then there was Wright, camped out on her own private patch of court, ripping winners, mixing in graceful parries with booming winners, and, occasionally, arching one eyebrow at dad Ron when he got particularly enthuiastic over her play.
Put her on the soccer pitch, and Genna was maybe even more amazing.
I’m not the most-knowledgable soccer aficionado, but even I could tell she’s something special with a ball on her foot, and a scared goaltender awaiting her impending arrival.
Wright could score from any angle, and, even with all the time lost to injury, still finished as the #3 scorer in CHS girls soccer history.
But she was also a great set-up artist, flicking passes through feet, leaving the ball in just the right spot for one of her teammates to benefit.
And Wright was as tough as any young woman to pull on a Wolf jersey.
Foes flung elbows at her, lashed out at her with wayward legs, did everything legal (and some things maybe not so much legal) to keep her away from the net, but Genna wasn’t here for their shenanigans.
She could bash with the best of them, and, while playing with a remarkably-clean style, was more than able to unleash a bit of the ol’ skull cracker when necessary.
“They call me the Grave Digger, Gramps, cause I bury fools.”
An accomplished student off the field, Genna — like siblings KeriAnne, Aaron, and Sarah before her — is the complete package.
Smart, tough when it matters, talented, funny, genuinely kind at all times — high-achievers who carry themselves with a quiet confidence while declining to thump on their chests while screaming about their superiority — they reflect well on parents Ron and Christine.
Falling back on one of the oldest puns in the book, they do things the … Wright way.
Today we welcome Genna into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, where she joins Sarah in hanging out up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the first or last honor the youngest Wright will receive, but it is a testament to how highly thought of she is by those who have watched her from the stands these past six years.
With some athletes, you never know what you will get from game to game.
With Genna Wright, there has never been a doubt — you will get her best each and every time out.
Buy your ticket, or go in for free, and you will see a young woman whose mere presence is a guarantee of something special.
She’s like a freakin’ ray of (very-talented) sunshine, she is.
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