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Young Wolves achieve tennis manhood!!

Posted in Boys Tennis on September 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Everyone played.

If you had a tennis racket and could half-convince Coupeville High School boys’ tennis coach Ken Stange you attended his school, you ended up out on the court Monday afternoon. Playing in Langley against a full South Whidbey squad and a partial Friday Harbor unit, 24 Wolves got to pound the ball under the early fall sun.

And they did a pretty good job of it, beating the host Falcons 3-2 in a varsity match and splitting a pair of doubles matches against Friday Harbor while using duos who had never seen varsity action before.

Among the highlights were top singles players Nathan Lamb and Aaron Curtin rallying for impressive wins and the doubles duos of Cameron Boyd-Eck and Loren Nelson and Ben Etzell and Sebastian Davis each winning their first varsity matches.

“Nathan came through with a big win today,” Stange said. “Winning a match after dropping the first set is one of the most difficult tasks that can be accomplished on a tennis court. Winning the match after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker can be even more daunting.

“When Nathan walked up to me after losing the first set, I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to have a problem “getting up” for the second set. Boy did he deliver!,” he added. “I was proud of the effort Nathan gave throughout the entire match. Nathan’s performance and determination today were unforgettable … one of those matches I will not forget.”

Stange, who was kept busy flying back-and-forth from match to match, also came away impressed with Curtin’s ability to think on the fly.

“After getting down 1-5 in the first set, Aaron won five of the next six games to force a tiebreaker,” Stange said. “What was impressive about that set is that he made a major adjustment to his game that paid off. Players are not allowed to be coached during the set, so the adjustment was all his own idea.

“To me, that was an impressive example of how Aaron is coming into his own as a thinking tennis player,” he added. “He changed his style of play to a slower pace, hit the ball deeper into the court, and waited for his opponent to make mistakes. It took what seemed forever, but his effort paid off for us in a huge way.”

There were highlights every which way Stange turned, with the debut varsity wins from his doubles duos near the top of his list, but he also singled out a pair of newcomers who went down swinging hard.

Zane Bundy and Connor McCormick made their varsity debut at second doubles against Friday Harbor, and lost a tussle 6-4, 6-4.

“Another varsity debut for a pair of Wolf freshmen. Although they didn’t win, they played many exciting points and kept the match close the whole way,” Stange said. “If a few points went the other way, the score would have been quite different. These two have a bright future for CHS Tennis!!”

Complete results:

Friday Harbor:

1st Doubles — Cameron Boyd-Eck/Loren Nelson beat Sean Hills/Kyle Jangard 4-6, 6-4, 1-0(10-8)

2nd Doubles — Zane Bundy/Connor McCormick lost to Bruce Yao/Kerry Wang 6-4, 6-4

South Whidbey:

Varsity

1st Singles — Nathan Lamb beat Charley Stelling 6-7(2-7), 6-4, 6-4

2nd Singles — Aaron Curtin beat Nathan Riley 7-6(8-6), 6-1

1st Doubles — Ben Wehrman/Jason Knoll lost to Kyle Simchuk/Jack Hood 6-0, 7-6(7-3)

2nd Doubles — Brian Norris/Brandon Kelley lost to Chase Collins/Sam Turpin 6-4, 6-2

3rd Doubles — Ben Etzell/Sebastian Davis beat Trent Fallon/Austin Drake 6-4, 6-1

4th Singles — Shane Squire beat Jeff Meier 6-2

4th Doubles — Dawson d’ Almeida/Shane Squire lost to Campbell Albertson/Connor McCaulely 8-1

5th Doubles — Kyle Bodamer/Jake McCormick lost to Jacob Nelson/Beau Blakey 8-3

6th Doubles — Konrad Borden/Stephen Edwards lost to Adam Baesler/Josh McIlleney 8-3

7th Doubles — Jared Helmstadter/Lilan Sekigawa lost to John Cary/Lucas Christensen 8-1

8th Doubles — Sam Wynn/Garrett Compton lost to Austin Heston/Josh Delaney 8-3

9th Doubles — Geoff McClarin/Beauman Davis lost to Lowell Nichols/Jake Papritz 8-1

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Former Wolf changes with times, never stops being successful!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Boys Tennis, Football, Where are they now? on September 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Chuck Hardee (12, next to coach) during his glory days as a Wolf running back, complete with a luscious mane of ’70s hair.

There’s little question where Chuck Hardee’s politics fall these days.

Anyone who reads his many Facebooks posts in support of Republican causes can tell you the man is deeply committed to conservatism. Yet, unlike a lot of die-hards on either side, the man has a consistent sense of humor and often uses clever jibes to puncture windbags of all persuasions.

And those rumors that he would only go to the right while operating as a star running back for Coupeville High School in the early ’70s? Just rumors.

Whether you remember Hardee as a wiry, quicksilver triple threat during his days as a Wolf (basketball, football, tennis) or you know him as the successful business owner he is today (he and wife Connie own three retail stores in Spokane), his is a story of a small town boy made good.

A story of a man changed by the times, from a self-described “immature party boy most likely to be voted to go nowhere” to a responsible man who found a sense of purpose in a career in law enforcement. A man no longer on Whidbey who remains forever bound to the town he called home from fifth grade to graduation.

“My enduring memories are from the great students and friends from my time in Coupeville,” Hardee said. “Coupeville was a really special place to grow up in and all those that are there today should know, we are in an elite group of people that have had a chance to taste paradise.

“Most of the kids there today don’t know this yet, but they will always miss their time there after they are gone,” he added. “I miss it terribly and still go back anytime I am near.”

Originally from California, Hardee and his family settled in Coupeville in 1966 and he immediately found a connection with his new classmates through sports. That connection never wavered as he and his friends grew up.

“What I remember most was the team camaraderie; it was very special,” Hardee said. “I think we were so successful because most of us on the team had been in school and playing sports together since we were in the 5th grade.

“Sports is a funny thing. It really is the only thing that kept me in school at all,” he added. “I still remember vividly every touchdown I ever scored or basketball games where I had a high point total. Those memories are burned into my psyche. The trips to other schools, the team bus rides, the rooter buses, the cheerleaders … it was all very cool!”

Playing at a time when there were far fewer things to vie for your attention, Hardee and his teammates played ball year-round.

“It’s about total dedication. In our day, we didn’t play video games, or hang out in a house,” Hardee said. “We literally would play ball all the time — basketball, baseball, football. So our skills were honed.”

As a senior, Hardee starred on one of the best teams in CHS history, a squad that went 6-1 in the regular season (outscoring opponents 123-64) and advanced to the state playoffs, a feat not accomplished by a Wolf team since the late 1930s.

“We were awesome,” Hardee said. “Good teams are few and far between in Coupeville football, but it can be done!”

After the heady days of high school ball, Hardee hit a rough spell before things finally clicked for him.

“I was kind of a lost soul for a few years out of high school. Didn’t know what I wanted to do or how to get there,” he said. “But then one day, snap, it all changed for me. I woke up out of a meaningless slumber, and became ultra-responsible. It’s funny where life leads you sometime.”

He finished his bachelors degree in Public Administration, held management jobs and then segued into a 20-year career in law enforcement before moving into his current life as a retail store magnate.

It was during those years that much of his current political beliefs and outlook on life were shaped, refined and strengthened.

“I think most young people when they start out in life are liberal without ever thinking about it. When I left Coupeville in ’75, liberalism was really all around. Peace, love and rock and roll,” Hardee said. “As I was further educated and a working adult in law enforcement, the real world comes into much clearer focus than the idealistic ideas of when you are young.

“I have certainly been very active politically in the last few years. I believe it is the most important thing that is happening in our world today,” he added. “We have lost our way and our moral compass is spinning out of control.”

He has come to appreciate this quote from Winston Churchill — “If you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart, but if you are not a conservative when you get older, you have no brain.”

“For me, it was obvious, that a liberal stance on social, economic, and foreign policy is completely unsustainable and just the wrong way to go,” Hardee said. “Conservatism is much smarter, healthier.”

And while he is aware that some from his past may not agree with his views, he remains open to debate. He knows that people can change, something he has seen firsthand in his own life.

“It’s funny, when I look back at who I was in high school — immature, a party boy, I’m sure I would have been voted most likely to get nowhere,” Hardee said. “However, I would bet today, many would be very surprised at where I ended up.”

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Wolf netters finally get some action!!

Posted in Boys Tennis on September 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

And then, at last, there was tennis!

The art of smacking a fuzzy yellow ball around the hard court returned to Coupeville Thursday afternoon, as a young, highly excitable Wolf boys’ tennis squad finally got to face competition from another school and stopped badgering coach Ken Stange with the complaint “You never let us play anyone!”

With the start of its season slowed by other team’s inability to get a full roster up and practice-ready, Coupeville has had to bide its time and scrap within the family. Thursday, however, brought sunny weather and a fully-staffed opponent.

Unfortunately, that foe was tennis juggernaut South Whidbey, which dropped from 2A to 1A this season, but remained just as lethal as ever, drilling the Wolves 5-0.

Still, the ever-enthusiastic Stange found positives in the whitewash, singling out three-time District champ Nathan Lamb, who went down hacking like a mad man.

“The bright spot in our day was the play of Nathan. He played a close match,” Stange said. “There were quiet a few extended rallies that had both players running all over the court.

“The day wasn’t a total loss though, because our players managed to improve their play from the first to second sets,” he added. “Now we have an idea of what the competition looks like.”

Coupeville will get another crack at the big boys in a mere matter of days, when it travels to Langley Monday, Sept. 17 for a three-way tussle with both the Falcons and Friday Harbor.

Thursday results:

1st Singles — Nathan Lamb lost to Guy Sparkman 6-3, 6-4

2nd Singles — Aaron Curtin lost to Charley Stelling 6-2, 6-2

1st Doubles — Brian Norris/Ben Wehrman lost to Kyle Simchuk/Cameron Baldwin 6-3, 6-1

2nd Doubles —Ben Etzell/Sebastian Davis lost to Taylor Simmons/Jonathan Petersen 6-1, 6-1

3rd Doubles — Jason Knoll/Brandon Kelley lost to Mitchell Hughes/Jack Hood 6-0, 6-1

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Have racket. Need buns to paddle!!

Posted in Boys Tennis on September 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

There were buns waiting to be paddled yesterday, and paddled hard.

For it is not an opinion or a random thought, it is fact — no one paddles Friday Harbor’s collective buns like the Coupeville High School tennis team does. Whether it be boys or girls, the Wolves have taken great delight in thrashing their league opponent over the last half decade.

Which is why Wolf tennis guru Ken Stange had be chompin’ at the bit at the thought of setting his biggest roster ever (a super-sized 24 racket wielders) loose in Coupeville’s season opener Friday afternoon.

But then, it all fell apart in a mix of excuses. Talk of low numbers and a lack of practices for Friday Harbor. An apparent unwillingness to get their buns paddled, metaphorically at least, and a team that simply didn’t show up.

Long bus rides home are kind of hard when your posterior is aglow...

Which left Stange to try and control a team full of revved-up and ready to go netmen anxious for their first crack at someone other than their teammates.

“Oh, we would have whipped them … had they had a team for us to play!,” Stange said. “Hopefully we get to play them in a week or two. We need a match because I’ve got 24 kids ready to swing!”

Now the Wolves just need something, or someone, to paddle.

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Nagging drove Norris to find new love!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Tennis on August 24, 2012| 1 Comment »

Brian Norris (second from right), seen here celebrating Coupeville’s state championship in little league, has also become an accomplished tennis player after a little good-natured nagging.

Brian Norris plans to go down swinging.

“I hope to play tennis after high school and through my whole life,” he said. “It is one of those games you can play until you die. Which I plan to do.”

Hopefully the Coupeville High School sophomore has many more years left on the court to enjoy a game he picked up fairly recently.

“Mr. Stange, the tennis coach, was pretty much my inspiration to play,” Norris said. “Freshmen year he kept bugging me to play and he did so much that I decided to give it a try and I have fallen in love. I love every second of it and I really want to thank him for bugging me so much!”

A natural athlete who also doubles as a first baseman on the Wolf baseball squad (he also played for Coupeville’s state champion little league team), Norris is still learning the intricacies of the hard court game. While he expects to be used primarily as a doubles player this season, he would like to eventually see some time as a singles player, and is working hard to add new wrinkles to his game.

“I think I am good with volleys and up close with the net because of my reaction time,” Norris said. “I need to work on my backhand and work on getting different types of spin on the ball.”

Away from the court, his interests range from watching modern classics like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Forrest Gump” to working as a “professional ice cream scooper” at Kapaws Iskreme and pulling good grades in his favorite classes — history and German. An avid fan of travel, he is the founder of CHS’s new travel club, which is planning a possible trip to Costa Rica this year.

In the future, his travels may take him to other states for educational purposes, as he is interested in studying Industrial Engineering at Cal Poly. For now, though, he’ll stick close to home and be a key component of a Coupeville net squad which boasts its biggest roster in years at 20 players deep.

“We are a young team,” Norris said. “I think we have about 6-10 freshmen coming, so we have a lot of raw talent that will make us a force to be reckoned with when they are upperclassmen.”

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