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Flashback to your grandpa’s field of dreams!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged 1930, baseball, Coupeville, Joe Libbey, Mickey Clark on September 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The Coupeville starting nine (and support crew) from 1930. (Photos courtesy Dale Libbey)

Mickey Clark (center), whose name you hear every time you attend a football game at the CHS field.

Someone recently said — Coupeville is so small, you write about a team from 80+ years ago, all the last names are still the same.

And, while it’s not totally true, as there are a few new families sprinkled inside city limits these days, there is a kernel of truth.

The photo above, which commemorates the Coupeville town baseball team of 1929-1930, reportedly hung in Whidbey Island Bank for many years.

Now, it’s up on the internet, for all to see.

And, yep, sure enough, there are names like Black, Race, Libbey and Vaughan, names which still carry weight in Cow Town.

Not to mention one guy in the back row, Mickey Clark, whose name every current school kid hears whenever they attend a CHS football game at the field named in his memory.

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He’s one cool cat!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Basketball, Football, Happy birthday, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, football, Happy birthday, Hunter Smith, interception on September 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

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.

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Welcome to Lippo Land! Population, two stars!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Tennis, Dance, Happy birthday, tagged Ballet, baseball, CHS Wolves, Happy birthday, Joey Lippo, Skyy Lippo on August 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Skyy and Joey Lippo, setting the world ablaze. (John Fisken and Connie Lippo photos)

One soars, the other scores.

Whether it’s ballet or baseball, or any of a number of other pursuits, the super-powered duo of Skyy and Joey Lippo are busy lighting up the Whidbey sports universe.

The twin terrors, who celebrate a joint birthday today, are headed into their junior year at Coupeville High School, having already made a huge impact in their first two years.

Along the way, they have kept proud parents Joe and Connie jumping in their roles of taxi drivers, team parents, ardent fans (and PR flacks).

Skyy, who started off in sports like softball alongside best friend Katrina McGranahan, settled into her niche when she found the world of dance.

Currently a company captain, a principal in contemporary dance and a soloist in classical dance, she’s achieved rare status by being tabbed for a role in Whidbey Island Dance Theatre’s upcoming production of The Nutcracker months in advance.

A veteran of the always-popular production, she hasn’t been told what her role will be this time around, but it’s believed to be the first-time a non-professional dancer has been picked so early

Which probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, since the elegant, tough as nails Miss Lippo has been abusing her toes twirling to new heights as a dancer all year, when she’s not busy working on rebuilding a ’72 Charger with her dad.

Her other half, Joey, hasn’t exactly been lying around the house, stuffing Cheetos in his face all summer either.

Coming off of a strong school sports season — he combined with Will Nelson to form a deadly doubles duo on the tennis court, then helped spark the Wolf baseball squad to its first league title in 25 years — Joey never put his mitt away as the weather turned hotter.

Instead he started traveling back-and-forth to the big city to play travel ball with the Seattle Bombers in the Seattle Elite League.

After a couple of games bouncing around positions (he was primarily a second baseman/catcher for the high school squad), Lippo ended up a starter in left field.

Once there, he made a concentrated bid for Sports Center-type glory, earning the moniker “The Cannon” for his laser-like throws, one of which doubled a runner off of first.

Now, he’s slid right back into the world of netters, as he and Nelson make a bid for the #1 slot.

After that, a possible return to basketball and then he’ll double-dip the high school and travel ball baseball experience again.

Now, of course, running down the laundry list of the Lippo’s various sports accomplishments only tells part of the story.

The twins are the complete packages, smart, friendly young adults who are fiercely loyal to each other, their friends and their family.

As they sail along setting new highs and making their bid for greatness, both Skyy and Joey brighten up the universe around them, reflecting extremely well on their parents.

Coupeville is lucky to have them, as athletes, and more importantly, as people.

So, from all of us in the peanut galleries, here’s to a hugely happy birthday, Lippo kids.

May you both never stop soaring towards stardom.

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A little late, but not forgotten!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Tennis, Happy birthday, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Facebook, Happy birthday, Nick Etzell, tennis on August 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Nick Etzell gets ready to mash a return. (John Fisken photos)

Etzell comes up gunning during summer ball.

In my defense, Nick Etzell is not on Facebook.

Without the social media monster alerting me every 13 seconds that it’s someone’s cake day, the birthday beat gets a lot harder to properly run.

But, having been relentlessly prodded by Wolf fans who noticed me “slipping,” let’s take a few moments (a day late) to commemorate another trip around the sun by the youngest Etzell.

The Coupeville High School junior is the kind of easy-breezy dude who probably couldn’t care less I missed his actual birthday.

Nick has never seemed all that preoccupied with tooting his own horn, letting his play on the courts and field speak for itself.

And the kid’s got talent, just like all of his older siblings.

The lanky one may not be as willing to rip chunks of flesh from his knees as older brother Ben, but he’s still a deadly racket-wielder on the tennis court.

The top returning singles player from a year ago, after the graduation of Sebastian Davis and Connor McCormick, Etzell has the kingdom lying at his feet as he enters his third campaign under Ken Stange.

Toss in basketball, where the Wolf fan base hopes he returns after taking a year off, and baseball, where he’s a strikeout-hurling mound ace, and Nick is a star on the rise.

And one who just happens to be relentlessly smart and a great guy who lights up every room he enters.

So, a day late, happy birthday, Mr. Etzell!

PS — If you want to pretend I wrote this all yesterday, that would be sweet.

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Young gun polishes Losey legacy!!

Posted in Baseball, Football, Happy birthday, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, football, Happy birthday, Shane Losey on August 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Shane Losey (John Fisken photos)

Shane Losey is keeping the family flag flying high.

The Coupeville High School sophomore, who celebrates a birthday today, is the latest in a long line of athletic stars from a clan with a deep bench.

Older brother Mitchell and dad Scott excelled in multiple sports, while grandpa Bill helped open holes for record-setting rusher Paul Messner on the gridiron, when he wasn’t carrying the ball himself.

Toss in Shane’s great uncle, Glenn, who played on the 1969-1970 Wolf boys’ hoops squad which was the first basketball team in Whidbey Island history to win a district title, and it’s an impressive legacy.

And that’s not even counting cousins Julian and Melia Welling, who, like Shane, are busy writing new chapters in their family’s success story.

It’s a lot to live up to, but Shane seems ideally suited to the endeavor.

Low-key, confident but not overbearing, he’s a hard worker both on the gridiron and the baseball diamond.

Whether he’s flicking passes or turning double plays, the youngest Losey is a quality dude, on and off the field.

Combining his dad’s passion for the game with mom Melissa’s love of life, Shane has a bright future — one which we, as Wolf fans will get to see play out in front of us.

I look forward to it.

So happy birthday, Shane.

Now go seize the day and add another level to the Losey legend.

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