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William Nelson

William Nelson

Freshman William Nelson lays down a crisp volley.

Master of the hard court.

William Nelson will be going into the family business.

The Coupeville High School freshman plans to join the Wolf boys’ soccer team in the spring, a squad coached by his dad, Kyle Nelson.

Older brother Loren already plays for the team, setting up the possibility of brothers running the pitch together.

“My favorite activity is definitely soccer and I’m really excited to finally get to play high school soccer this year,” Nelson said.

But he’s not waiting until the spring to make an impact on the Wolf athletic scene.

Nelson can currently be found stalking the tennis courts at CHS, where he’s teaming up with fellow freshman Joey Lippo as a rapidly-rising doubles team.

While soccer is a family affair, tennis is quickly becoming a large part of his life, as well.

“I have played tennis on and off over the last four to five years,” Nelson said. “I started playing cause I live close to the courts and it seemed like something fun.”

Once on the court, he has started to develop some go-to shots, while continuing to strive for excellence.

“I enjoy most hitting a perfect shot and winning a point,” Nelson said. “I would like to keep improving and win some matches this season.

“I need to work on all areas, but I think my forehand is my best area so far.”

Whichever sport he’s playing, or in the classroom, Nelson benefits from the support of those closest to him.

“I think my family has had a big impact on my life by just pushing me and supporting me all the way.”

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Joel Walstad will lead the Wolves into a new league this season. (John Fisken photos)

  Senior QB/kicker Joel Walstad will lead the Wolves into a new league this season. (John Fisken photos)

Walstad fires a jumper last season.

Walstad fires a jumper last season.

Joel Walstad is about to step into the spotlight.

The third of three children in a highly-successful athletic family (following older siblings Tim and Bessie), Joel has been a strong player in all three of his sports — football, basketball and soccer.

But, as he enters his senior year at CHS, it will be a whole new ballgame, as he becomes The Man and not just a supporting player.

First up is the gridiron, where he’ll replace the graduated Gunnar Langvold as Coupeville’s starting quarterback.

While still finding time to limber up his leg and deliver extra points, field goals and punts for the Wolves.

Walstad can strike from many different directions, though he is still looking to fine-tune his skill set.

“My strengths are kicking and quickness,” he said. “I would like to improve on my passing and reading the defense.”

Now in his sixth season as a football player, having first picked up the sport as a seventh grader (“It looked like it would be fun”), Walstad wants to make an impact in his final go-around.

“Team goal is an (Olympic) League championship,” Walstad said. “Individual goals would be to kick a 40-yard field goal in a game and to throw for less than 5 interceptions on the year.”

The senior signal caller points to his family, including parents Shawn and Renee, and “all my coaches” as having shaped his game, and his life.

A big fan of history class who likes to spend most of his free time hanging out with friends, Walstad would give the slight edge in his sports world to hoops — “Because I have played it the longest” — but it’s football that he hopes might open doors at the next level.

“I would like to try to go to college for kicking,” he said. “I kicked a 55-yard field goal one time. You can ask Coach (Tony) Maggio!”

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Zane Bundy (right) celebrates his team's title. (Mark Bundy photos)

Zane Bundy (right) celebrates his team’s title. (Mark Bundy photos)

The Washington Rush

  The Washington Rush, including Bundy (front, fifth from left) and Abraham Leyva (front, second from right).

Best team in the ‘Hood.

That’s where the Washington Rush boys’ select soccer squad and its two CHS sharpshooters, Zane Bundy and Abraham Leyva, finished Sunday.

Winning three out of four games, the Rush captured the Blue Championship Playoffs title in BU17-BU19 Gold action at the Nike Mt. Hood Challenge.

With Leyva scoring twice and Bundy once, the Rush outscored their opponents 7-3 over the three-day tourney.

The Rush opened by blasting the Pacific FC B95 Rangers, then made their only slip-up of the weekend, falling 1-0 to West Linn HS B96.

After that it was nothin’ but a good time, as the Rush roared back to win both of its championship round games.

A 2-1 win over West Deportivo Valencia put them in Sunday’s championship game, and they knocked off an FWFC B97 Blue squad 1-0 to claim the title.

The only thing the Rush missed out on was a rematch with West Linn, which fell in the semifinals.

Leyva and Bundy, who have been traveling and competing with the Rush for most of the summer, will both be juniors at CHS in the fall. They were Coupeville’s top two scorers as sophomores.

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Zane Bundy (right), hangin' out with McKenzie Bailey during his high school season. (Janine Bundy photos)

Zane Bundy (right), hangin’ out with McKenzie Bailey during his high school season. (Janine Bundy photos)

Abraham Leyva (back, third from left) and Zane Bundy (back

   Abraham Leyva (back, second from left) and Bundy (back, third from right) with their select squad.

One pesky team.

That was all that prevented Wolf soccer stars Zane Bundy and Abraham Leyva from bringing home a select soccer championship this weekend.

Playing with their BU17 Washington Rush squad at the fourth annual Rush Cup at Skagit River Park, the CHS sharpshooters helped their team finish second in the gold division.

The Rush opened with hard-fought ties against Pacific Northwest 98 Maroon (1-1) and Pacific Northwest 97 Blue (2-2) before being upended 4-1 by Washington Premier FC White.

Bundy, Leyva and Co. bounced back for a 1-0 win over Pacific Northwest 97 Maroon in the semifinals to earn a second crack at Washington Premier.

But a miracle comeback wasn’t to be, as the Rush fell 3-0 in the championship game.

Both of the Coupeville stars had strong weekends, with Leyva collecting an assist and Bundy raining down goals.

He scored Saturday on a beautiful shot that left mom Janine gnashing her teeth when she was unable to capture the score on video, then popped the ball into the back of the net during a shootout in another game.

Both booters will be heading into their junior years at CHS in the fall.

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Josh Wilsey

Josh Wilsey doin’ magic. (John Fisken photos)

It’s national Josh Wilsey day.

What? You didn’t know that was a thing? That his birthday was an event?

Have you not been paying attention? Seriously, time to catch up to the rest of us.

Wilsey, the one-time Wolf soccer wunderkind, is the kind of easy-breezy guy who bops through life to his own off-kilter tune.

He frequently amuses himself, and sometimes that’s all you need to be successful in life.

Toss in the fact he’s handy with his feet, as he demonstrated on the soccer pitch, and the dude is a winner.

He also gave me one of the better stream of consciousness articles I’ve run on this blog (https://coupevillesports.com/2013/01/23/the-team-being-rambunctious-we-broke-the-hot-tub/), and, if you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?

So, there you go — some words from the man himself, a few photos of his days as a slice-and-dice wizard on the high school pitch and you’ve come to a better appreciation of what Mr. Wilsey has to offer the world.

Don’t you feel better? I know I do.

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