Ryan and Rachel Wilson hang out with their four children, who all would look great in Coupeville’s black and red at some point. Just sayin’.
“It’s been a special place for me since I was a kid.”
Growing up in a military family, Ryan Wilson, who was the Orcas Island High School Athletic Director until his recent resignation, often spent vacations in the Lake Quinault area.
Further cementing the connection, he and wife Rachel, who led the Vikings volleyball program, were married at the local lodge.
Now the couple, and their pack of precocious kids, have left the Northwest 2B/1B League and bought a home almost right next door to the school in Lake Quinault.
Call it home sweet home, unless I can convince them to transfer their athletically blessed, but still quite young, offspring to Coupeville at an appropriate time.
“Ha! We’ll see,” Ryan Wilson said with a chuckle. “Never say never.”
For now, he’ll be teaching in Lake Quinault, while both he and Rachel, a former professional volleyball player, will look for ways to stay involved in sports.
The departure of the Wilsons brings an end to their run on Orcas, which began when they arrived there in 2018 from California.
The Vikings employed three AD’s in as many years before Ryan Wilson accepted the job, and he provided stability while spurring great growth.
Under his watch, Orcas teams showed substantial improvement in almost every sport, with boys’ soccer claiming a state title and two runner-up finishes.
Rachel Wilson led the Vikings volleyball team to the 1B state tourney last fall, the program’s first trip to the big dance since 2011.
A first-round victory over Waterville-Mansfield marked the first time Orcas had won at the state spiker championships since 2005.
Ryan Wilson is justifiably proud of the heights Vikings sports reached, while mindful of the hard work put in by himself, his coaches, and support staff.
“The lion’s share of our program’s achieved at the highest level, and those kids will have great stories to tell for years,” he said.
“It was fun to be part of that success, having committed to being part of something bigger than just myself.”
The Wilson’s positive impact, on both Orcas and in the NWL, can’t be denied.
“Ryan and Rachel were a huge asset to the school and the league,” said Justin Paulsen, an Orcas parent and basketball official.
“Their influence will be greatly missed,” he added. “Lake Quinault is lucky to have such a positive and motivated influence joining their program.”
That’s an opinion shared by Coupeville AD Willie Smith, who has worked with Ryan since his arrival in the region.
“He was passionate and completely vested in the Orcas community and kids,” Smith said. “Fiercely loyal to our league and a totally standup guy who I respected a lot as a fellow AD.
“He has a great future ahead of him in every aspect other than being a good bowler or golfer, but hey you can’t be good at everything,” he added with a big laugh.
“He added levity and had a good perspective in our meetings and was a lot of fun to be around. He’s going to be missed by us and Orcas for sure.”
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