Coupeville Sports

Coupeville spikers shine brightly at a summer camp. (Photo courtesy Cory Whitmore)

Compete today, build for tomorrow.

Coupeville High School volleyball coach Cory Whitmore took a group of 11 spikers to summer camp at Western Washington University recently and came away thrilled with the results.

“As usual, Western puts on a great camp, full of opportunities to grow and learn in a short amount of time,” he said. “I’m really proud of this team taking advantage of those opportunities.”

The Wolf roster was headlined by a group of varsity veterans, with Katie Marti, Mia Farris, Jada Heaton, Madison McMillan, Taylor Brotemarkle, Teagan Calkins, and Lyla Stuurmans on hand.

Joining them were players hoping to make the jump from JV to varsity (Carly Burt, Dakota Strong, Lexis Drake) and incoming freshmen (Adeline Maynes, Tenley Stuurmans).

“It was really rewarding to see the veterans elevate their game and leadership, and it was exciting to see the players without previous varsity experience elevate their play as well,” Whitmore said.

“In addition to both groups accelerating their rate of growth, it was fun to watch them blend as a single unit.”

With WWU players and coaches running things, Whitmore had a chance to largely step back, allowing his athletes the chance to claim leadership roles.

“I was so proud to see them problem-solve together,” he said. “More than in years past, this group was able to recognize what needed to be done and make quick changes.

“I’m hoping they can recognize that that kind of ownership and self-sufficiency is going to pay dividends in the upcoming season.”

Skills picked up and refined at camp will be second nature once the high school season begins this fall, or at least that’s the plan.

“In addition to the experience they gained, I think an additional lesson learned early and carried out through the rest of camp would be to treat everything — every rep, every scrimmage, every interpersonal interaction, etc. — as a chance to get better, and a chance to train how it will be done with a game,” Whitmore said.

“They learned that if they can do that throughout camp (and practices) that it won’t be something that needs to be “turned on” when it comes time to play,” he added.

Every Wolf player at the camp made an impact, with Whitmore praising the group.

“I really could point out some really strong moments by each of the players that attended camp,” he said.

“Each one went into camp with a role for the team and a personal focus on how to improve their own game and I can confidently say each one of them took big strides toward those goals.”

A couple of the Wolves got an extra shout-out, however.

“Both Madison and Katie have never played better than what I saw at team camp – I can’t describe it better than they were just fun to watch,” Whitmore said.

“Adeline learned rotations and made adjustments faster than I have ever seen an incoming freshmen make,” he added.

“Tenley did whatever we asked of her, whenever the team needed it – I think she willingly played four different positions throughout camp.

“And poor Mia and Lyla – those two took the vast majority of swings, a huge amount of passes and digs, and that is because they never left the court.

They carried so much for the team, and I was so impressed with their endurance and leadership throughout.”

Coupeville was one of just two “B” schools at the camp, along with state powerhouse Manson, and the Wolves held their own when facing off with squads from bigger towns.

CHS finished second in pool play, earning its way into the top-half bracket.

Once there, the Wolves beat 1A Nooksack Valley, while dropping close matches to 4A Lake Stevens and 1A Meridian.

“All this points to a very exciting upcoming season this fall,” Whitmore said. “Go Wolves!”