Wolf coaches (l to r) Amy King, David King and Brittany Black. (Shelli Trumbull photos)
The softball gurus.
The Kings are unique.
Of all the Coupeville High School coaches, the husband/wife team of David and Amy King stands out. Whether it’s girls’ basketball or softball (Amy also coaches volleyball), they work as a seamless team.
While other sports have good varsity/JV coaching combos who work well together, the duo bring something special to the field and court, working as a unit but both retaining their own style.
Plus Amy King is the absolute best ever at sending in detailed write-ups on her team’s performances when they’re playing on the road.
BEST EVER. End of conversation.
As they briefly wind down from having coached their squads to the best records of any Whidbey Island high school hoops teams this past season, softball is just around the corner.
A perfect time for David King to gush (a little) about his on-court and off-court partner in crime (and a couple of other people just for good measure.)
Mr. King, you have the floor:
Besides the players that made this season so successful, there are many others that contributed to our success.
Jae (LeVine) as our manager and keeping score at away games.
Then there was Brittany (Black). She stepped in with the JV team for the first three or so weeks and really helped Amy out while she was recovering from surgery.
Between the two, Amy provided direction and Brittany provided a huge lift with direction on the court and then bench during games.
Once Amy felt well enough, Brittany then was able to help more on the varsity side. Her help was appreciated by Amy and me.
There are others to thank, from those helping set up and cleaning up the gym, driving the buses and those in the office keeping us on the right path with paperwork and schedules.
But for me, my biggest thanks goes to Amy.
She is one that does not like the spotlight directed towards her. With that said, she deserves the spotlight, at least this one time!
She coached the JV volleyball team this year, then between volleyball and basketball she had a surgery.
While planning the surgery she always had the players and team in mind as to when the best time was for her surgery so she would miss the least amount of time.
We had a week of practice, she had her surgery and missed three practices and was there the day after Thanksgiving for practice.
Not many people would do this. I had no doubt she would be there. She has always put others ahead of herself.
I am the luckiest varsity coach out there.
What Amy brings to this program is an organizational skill set that is second to none.
She is the one that types up our practice plans, gets all of the important paperwork to the players. And since I’m not on Facebook, she is part secretary for me as well and relays information to the players for me through Facebook.
She also makes sure we have what is needed for every game.
These are just a few of the things she does behind the scenes that allows me to be me and to allow our program to thrive. And I haven’t even talked about her coaching success.
As a coach, she treats each and every player the same. With respect. And the players respect right back.
A player may be very skilled or maybe a player is new to the sport, either way she gives each player the same opportunity and time.
It is very hard to juggle a JV team when you have at times 13-15 players and be able to keep them all happy and still find a way to improve their skills.
She knows the game, once an outstanding player and now an outstanding coach.
She gets the players to play hard, play as a team and gets them ready to compete on game day. She gets after them when they need and knows when to approach with a softer side.
The help she provides me on the varsity bench is priceless and during the game she also has the uncanny skill to help me coach and keep stats for me. She makes my job fluid and so very easy.
Over the years she has touched so many players lives.
She cares about them as basketball players and more importantly as young women.
Every day we are in the gym the kids come up to her and greet her with huge smiles and hugs. They are so excited that they have the opportunity to be coached by her.
She is a tireless worker, has her normal job, has already coached two full high school seasons and in less than two weeks will be out there on the softball field making the upcoming season a success.
She deserves the biggest thank you of them all. Thank you!
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