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Archive for the ‘A freakin’ American hero’ Category

Julia Myers, crackin' heads and takin' names.

Julia Myers, crackin’ heads and takin’ names.

OK, if you lean in real close and listen carefully, I’m going to tell you a secret.

You ready? Made peace with the universe and prepared to have your world rocked? Holding on tightly to the edge of the couch, in case the shock knocks you off the cushions?

Here we go…

Julia Myers is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Oh, I know, I know. Your brain just went poof and turned into liquid and ran out of your ear and is puddling down there on the carpet.

Your mom is gonna be so PISSED.

But now you’re saying to yourself, how can this be?

Cause you’ve seen Julia play basketball for Coupeville High School, elbows slicin’ and dicin’ like Ginsu as she hauled in boards, leaving people from King’s screaming and crying and blubbering.

And that’s just their whiny lil’ coach…

You’ve seen her drop epic stink eye on South Whidbey with just a glance. A glance that coated the court in ice and froze the Falcons in mid-stride.

Of course, if you were watching closely, you also saw Ms. Myers follow up those actions with a small, secret grin, content in the knowledge that she had just blown up the joint and thoroughly wrecked the concentration of any opponent hapless enough to cross her path.

Cause really, that’s the true Julia — one giant smile boppin’ through life to her own tune.

With her large, blended family at her back (OG cool cat and big sis Taylor Herreman taught her everything she needed to know about droppin’ the stink eye on morons), Myers is having fun when she plays, whether it’s soccer, basketball or tennis.

The fact she’s able to have fun is great, because she’s a tough lil’ bugger who refused to let a shredded knee slow her down. She had to sit out sports during her sophomore year, but she came roaring right back as a junior last year.

I hope her senior year is as awesome as she is, and plays out exactly to her hopes and dreams. Julia deserves that much.

Oh, and her birthday, which just happens to be today? May that be splendiferous as well.

Just don’t get between her and any birthday cake. Cause she’s not afraid to swing an elbow or two.

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Even while injured, the camera-friendly Bailey remains available for photo ops. (John Fisken photo)

Even while injured, the camera-friendly McKayla Bailey remains available for photo ops. (John Fisken photo)

The most valuable softball-hurlin’ arm in Coupeville has been pulled from the pitcher’s circle. For now, at least.

McKayla Bailey, who carried the Wolves all the way to the state tournament while throwing 99.7% of her team’s pitches as a junior, has had to step back a bit from her usual summer select ball schedule.

Bailey has been diagnosed with two slight tears in her pitching shoulder. One is in her rotator cuff, the other is a “SLAP tear” in her super labrum.

“They were caused by an impingement in the joint,” Bailey said. “We are trying physical therapy and hoping that will help it to heal itself.”

If PT doesn’t improve things, she’ll go in for surgery in late August, but even that would not be as bad as first thought.

“I would be back and fully functioning by mid-September, because the surgery is minor,” Bailey said. “At first we thought it would be a six plus month recovery time, but the MRI showed that it wasn’t that bad.”

Always a three-season athlete, she plans on playing a fall sport as a senior, regardless of where her shoulder may be.

“I’m hoping to play volleyball this fall, surgery or no surgery,” Bailey said. “I’m going to talk to the coach and see how she feels about the possibility. If I can’t play, I will be the manager, if possible.

“Or, if she doesn’t want me to play, then I’ll look at soccer again,” she added. “You don’t have to worry about using your arms in that sport!”

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Maddie Big Time celebrates an epic home run. (John Fisken photos)

Maddie Big Time celebrates an epic home run. (John Fisken photos)

Maia Sparkman sticks the landing.

Maia Sparkman sticks the landing.

Nick Streubel is happy to see you.

Nick Streubel is happy to see you.

is proud of her handiwork.

Granite Falls’ Emily FitzGerald is proud of her handiwork.

Even Amanda Fabrizi (left) knows to clear out when Julia "Elbows" Myers is in rebounding mode.

Even Amanda Fabrizi (left) knows to clear out when Julia “Elbows” Myers is in rebounding mode.

Kacie Kiel (left) and Madeline Strasburg get pumped up before their volleyball match.

   Kacie Kiel (left) and Madeline Strasburg get pumped up before their volleyball match.

CHS super fan Aimee Bishop is thrilled to be photographed.

CHS super fan Aimee Bishop is thrilled to be photographed.

Colin Belliveau gets rowdy.

Colin Belliveau gets rowdy.

John Fisken is the lifeblood of Coupeville Sports.

Along with Shelli Trumbull, Fisken, who celebrates his birthday today on Father’s Day, is one of the two photographers whose work appears the most often on this blog.

I could say a lot of words about how he’s very good at what he does and how much I appreciate that he does what he does and never charges me a dime.

Which would be all well and good.

I could gush on and on, and probably embarrass him, or I could just let his work speak for itself.

So, enjoy.

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Jae LeVine: Heart size doesn't come any bigger.

Jae LeVine: Heart size doesn’t come any bigger.

LeVine dances across home plate. (John Fisken photo)

LeVine dances across home plate. (John Fisken photo)

LeVine gets unzipped at Halloween. (Joline LeVine photo)

LeVine gets unzipped at Halloween. (Joline LeVine photo)

Today is a big day for a lil’ girl.

Coupeville High School sophomore-to-be Jae LeVine, who celebrates her birthday today, is the mightiest of mighty mites.

Bouncing madly around like a pinball at times, she grabs teammates twice her size and hugs the life out of them.

Chattering, fist-wavin’ and fist-bumpin’, her smile — which takes up nine-tenths of her body — makes everyone around her respond in kind.

Jae is that rarity — a young woman who has faced down great medical turmoil in her life after being born with a major heart issue, yet refuses to be bowed, refuses to do anything less than full tilt.

She may never win a league MVP award, but her best moments are the ones we will remember.

Jae hitting a three-point bucket from way out in the weeds as a middle schooler — her first basket — then dancing down the court, waving her arms in the air, “Rocky”-style, while her bench and the bleachers went bonkers.

Jae flying in and out of the gym at breakneck speed between sets of a volleyball match this season, changing her shirt each time depending on whether she was the libero or not.

Each time she giddily flung her discarded jersey at dad Sean’s head as she sprinted by the stands, giggling all the way.

Jae, the shortest volleyball player, sitting (well, bouncing in her seat) next to Allie Hanigan, the team’s tallest player, on the bench.

The look of pure adoration on Hanigan’s face for her younger teammate, who was poking the senior good-naturedly, was as beautiful a moment between teammates as I have ever witnessed.

What do I wish for Jae’s birthday?

I hope that she knows how much she means to this community, to Wolf Nation. What a joy she is to be around, what value she brings every day.

I hope when things are good for her, she gets back the love and good vibes she sends out.

And I hope, when things are bad, in the darker moments when things may seem too much and pile up on her, she gets it back even more.

Be brave, Jae. Be strong.

I use the word amazing often, maybe too often, but you, Jae LeVine, are truly amazing.

Never bowed. Always fighting. A blessing to both of your families, your blood relatives and the community that will always consider you its irrepressible adopted daughter.

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Megan Meyer, all grown up and super classy.

Megan Meyer, all grown up and super classy.

You know, it’s not always about sports.

Megan Meyer, who celebrates her 24th birthday today, was an athlete during her time at Coupeville High School. A cheerleader — during the time when the Wolves were a competition squad — and a tennis player.

So, there’s a sports connection there.

But Meggie Moo is more than that. Much more.

She is the little girl who I saw grow up into an amazing young woman. Sweet-natured, generous, a wonderful person in every way.

Her first day of preschool was my first day working for her mom, Miriam, at Videoville, back when it was still a little shack sitting in the parking lot of what is now an Oriental food store.

A year later, the little shack was torn down and replaced with what seemed to be a colossus of a store that combined Videoville with the newly-created Miriam’s Espresso.

I rented videos, haphazardly stood in as a backup barista on occasion and got paid to goof off there for nearly the entire length of Megan’s school career in Coupeville.

The little girl with the curly hair who we sometimes jammed into the rolling box we used under the video drop slot — so she could reach up and freak people out by grabbing their hands through the slot — was who I saw “George of the Jungle” with in theaters.

Then, one day, she was working behind the counter with me.

She stayed on video for awhile, until she overcame her fear of being burned by a splatter of hot milk on the espresso side of the business, before becoming a talented barista.

Now, she’s a college grad, off saving the small villages of the world and dispensing kindness wherever she goes.

At one point or another, I butted heads with every one of Miriam’s multiple children — because I can be an ass and they’re all feisty in nature … yeah, mainly the former — but never Meggie.

She is one of the most genuinely lovable people I have ever known. Her mere presence causes the heavens to open, the sun to shine and small animals to dance with little children.

You are incredibly special, Miss Meyer. I hope you know how much everyone thinks of you, how much joy you have brought into all of our lives.

I want nothing less than the absolute best for you, no matter where you go or what miracles you work in your life.

You will always be that little girl with the huge smile.

The package may have gotten bigger, but you were awesome from day one, Megster.

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