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Archive for the ‘Hall o’ Fame’ Category

A heart as big as the prairie

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , on February 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Scout Smith, beatin’ the crud out of your best pitches. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

A coach’s daughter, who took the lessons delivered by parents Charlotte and Chris to heart.

My respect for her grows each time I see her play.

Scout Smith is not the tallest, the strongest, the fastest, or the most physically-gifted athlete I have ever written about, and I mean her no disrespect when I say that.

But she doesn’t need to be.

I have watched Scout play volleyball, basketball, and softball for six years now, through middle school days and almost all of her high school experience, and I know this for a stone-cold fact — no one can match her heart.

She is the daughter of coaches, and she paid attention when parents Chris and Charlotte imparted lessons on the field and the court, in the dugouts and on drives home.

Scout is one of the smartest athletes I have witnessed in person, and like older brothers CJ and Hunter, she combines her big brain with a resilient spirit.

She does not quit. Ever.

She will find a way to beat you, and, if that way doesn’t work, she will lose with grace.

It will hurt, it will drive her on to greater heights, but she will honor her opponents and the game itself. Always.

Epic black eye developing after slamming face-first into the volleyball court in pursuit of a ball, she will quietly tell her dad to sit his fanny back down on the bench, because she’s not coming out of the game with her season, and prep career, on the line.

And she will dance around the bases, feet barely touching the bags as she floats through the air, after knifing Cedar Park Christian with a walk-off grand-slam home run which jumped over the fence like a laser.

She deeply loves her brothers, of that I have no doubt, and she has spent her days chasing them athletically.

In that moment, though, she does something neither one of them accomplished during their own halcyon high school careers.

And she will never, ever, EVERRRRRR let them forget that.

Under the deceptively calm exterior Scout projects to the world, burns a heart which is like 10 million active volcanoes exploding all at once.

It’s why she’s helped take Wolf volleyball and softball teams to state, and it’s why she will live large in the memories of Coupeville fans for a very long time after she leaves the prairie.

The youngest Smith, who still has one final softball season left to play before graduation, may go on to play college sports like her brothers, who are in their second year as baseball stars at Green River College.

I hope she does.

I hope Scout finds the right fit, at the right school, at whatever level, and in whichever of her sports brings her the greatest joy.

If she does, she will make a school, and a coach, or coaches (who says she can’t play more than one sport?) very happy.

But I also hope she makes the jump to collegiate sports only if it’s something SHE truly wants.

Whatever she does, wherever she goes, whatever path she follows, whether it’s sports-related or not, Scout will knock it out of the park.

She’s too smart, and has too much heart, and is too committed, to not be excellent.

There was a moment when I, like all the other Wolf fans, had no clue she even existed.

Then, one day, she and her family made the move to Coupeville, and now Scout is so interwoven into our world, it seems inconceivable there was ever a moment when she wasn’t here.

I hope she knows how deeply respected she is, by coaches, fellow athletes — both teammates and rivals — and those who have watched her rise and take her rightful place among the best to ever pull on a CHS uniform.

Scout is the one you hope all young athletes model themselves on as they follow their own path to success.

Be graceful, be kind, play with a burning intensity, let your actions speak louder than your words, work your tail off, be there, front and center, every game, every practice, when we see you, and when we don’t.

Let your heart be a volcano.

Do that, and like Scout, it will carry you far.

For Miss Smith, today it carries her into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, where she joins her brothers, three truly superb human beings, on and off the various courts and fields they have owned.

After this, you’ll find the trio up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.

How did Scout get there? She earned it, every step of the way.

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Twice the talent, twice the grace

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on February 26, 2020| 2 Comments »

Maya Toomey-Stout unleashes the fury. (Brian Vick photo)

Sean Toomey-Stout rumbles. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The wonder twins and their wonder moms — Beth Stout (left) and Lisa Toomey.

They came into the world together, born to be stars.

When we have the conversation about the best athletes I have written about, not just today, but all-time, Maya and Sean Toomey-Stout are among the first names I would raise.

The wonder twins, “The Gazelle” and “The Torpedo,” they are up there with Makana Stone, Hunter Smith, Madeline Strasburg, Nick Streubel, Breeanna Messner, and a few others.

So, while I normally wait until after graduation to induct Wolf athletes into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, what’s going to change in 3-4 months?

The Toomey-Stout’s are golden now, and they’ll be golden in June, so why prolong the inevitable?

Throw open the doors to our hallowed digital world o’ wonder, and let Maya and Sean join older brother Cameron in the Hall.

It’s time.

From this moment on, when you look at the Legends tab at the top of the blog, you’ll see all three Toomey-Stout siblings in residence.

While both Maya and Sean still have a final track and field season to go, a swan song hopefully full of record-busting and state title-chasing, the duo have already established themselves as the gold standard.

As athletes, and as people.

Moms Beth Stout and Lisa Toomey have raised three of the finest kids to grace Coupeville, and I would regard them that way even if none of the trio had been athletes.

But dang, they have been, and their impact is undeniable.

Maya’s eye-popping power on the volleyball court, Sean’s electric, game-changing plays on the football field and basketball court, their complete and utter command of any event they compete in during track season.

And that’s just the start.

Maya was a very good hoops player herself until she let the game go to focus on volleyball, and her skills as a base thief during her little league softball days were truly uncanny.

I really believe she and her twin brother would be among the best to ever wear a CHS uniform in any sport.

Toss a tennis racket their way, say, or a soccer ball, give them a couple of practices, and be amazed.

Great genes help, yes, but what sets Sean and Maya apart from almost everyone else on their campus is their work ethic.

To find another recent Wolf athlete who worked as hard, in season and out, as the Toomey-Stout twins, you’d have to look around until you spotted … Camtastic.

Cameron set the pace for the family, and his younger siblings have lived up to his legacy.

Scan the photos from off-season training sessions in the CHS weight room and the same three faces pop up in 99.2% of the photos.

Other Wolf athletes come and go, with some reappearing on a fairly-steady basis, but the Toomey-Stouts were there EVERY DANG DAY.

They took nothing for granted, they prepared for everything, and they played their hearts out from the first day of their middle school adventure to the final days of their high school journey.

It’s Sean, his arm injured, sneaking back on to the field late in the final game of his football career, intent on anchoring his defensive unit to the end, regardless of the score or the pain.

When CHS coach Marcus Carr noticed “The Torpedo” ready to blow up the Interlake QB, and intent on accomplishing the feat with only one good arm, the Wolf gridiron guru shook his head softly, then went to retrieve his wrecking ball, a look of pride and concern mingling on his face.

It’s Maya, pushed to the limit in the final moments of her prep volleyball career, physically exhausted, mentally drained, after back-to-back epic matches, yet still finding a way to elevate and abuse the ball, until there were no more shots to make.

“The Gazelle” would have played all night, if need be. Like her brothers, she has no quit button.

That the Toomey-Stouts are great athletes is a start.

That they are top-notch students intent on using their brains, and not their brawn, to get ahead in life after their high school days, is more.

That they are kind, and caring, that they treat those around them with compassion, that they greet life with a joy which radiates outwards and touches all those they meet, is the most.

When Beth Stout and Lisa Toomey, two of the loveliest human beings I know, brought their children into the world, they made that world a better place.

And now, Cameron, Maya, and Sean continue the work of their moms, spreading love, joy, and general awesomeness.

We, as a town, as Wolf fans, have been blessed to be a part of their story, and putting them in my lil’ Hall o’ Fame is one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.

So why wait?

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Once a Wolf, always a legend

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , on November 8, 2019| 3 Comments »

John Engstrom (back row, far left) finally enters the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

John Engstrom was the small town boy who hit the big time, and made the big time sit up and take notice.

The descendant of one of Whidbey’s pioneer families (his mom was an Engle), he rose from being a three-sport athlete and class valedictorian at Coupeville High School to thriving as one of Seattle’s most-respected newsmen.

Now, the late writer picks up one more honor, as we induct him into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

There are a fair share of former Wolf stars whose names I know, having run across them in my hunt for stats and stories, but whose tales remain largely foreign to me.

Thanks to Charlie Burrow, who nominated Engstrom for induction, I can finally put more of a face to the name.

One down, several hundred to go, and this reminder – if there is a Coupeville athlete from the past you want to see go into our digital Hall o’ Fame, don’t assume I know their full story.

Come forward, let me know. I need your help to fill in the blanks.

With Engstrom, who graduated from CHS in 1959, we have a man who excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and the classroom during his time as a Wolf.

His name popped up during my attempts to track down all the buckets scored by Coupeville hoops stars, as he pumped in points as a junior and senior.

Playing alongside “Big” Mike Criscuola, who may be the true #1 scorer in program history (the records of the time are spotty, at best), Engstrom was Coupeville’s #2 scorer during his senior season.

That was the year the Wolves shocked the pundits by finishing second in the six-team Northwest District tournament.

Reducing to a mere paragraph or two in the pre-tourney breakdown, Coupeville stunned Sultan and Darrington, before narrowly falling to a rampaging La Conner squad in the title game.

It would be 11 years before the Wolves would become the first Whidbey Island boys hoops team to win a district crown (the immortal 69-70 CHS team coached by Bob Barker), but Big Mike, Engstrom, Sandy Roberts, and Co. made believers of all the non-believers.

After graduation from Coupeville, Engstrom attended the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education and a masters in education.

Spring-boarding from his time on the school paper, he went on to write for United Press International and have a long career as a sports writer, editor, travel writer, and TV critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

He and wife Susan Paynter, a revered P-I columnist, retired in 2009 when the newspaper brought its print edition to a close.

The couple lived on the Oregon coast afterwards, until Engstrom lost a battle with acute myeloid leukemia at age 72 in 2014.

On his passing, his newspaper colleagues hailed him as “a terrific supportive boss, just a wonderful human being.”

“A steadier, more laid-back person you could not find,” said another.

Among Engstrom’s many high points during his journalism career was covering the Seattle SuperSonics during their NBA championship season in 1979.

Whether camping in his fifth wheel trailer while documenting Eastern Washington wheat farmers, or living in Spain during Franco’s reign, the former Wolf was the ultimate journalist, one who impacted all of his co-workers in positive ways.

He was “a gentleman, a lovely man, a favorite colleague,” who was “all class and grace.”

And now, a bit late, but very well-deserved, he joins our lil’ digital Hall of Fame.

After this, when you look up at the top of the blog, go peek under the Legends tab, and you’ll find Engstrom camped out where he’s always belonged.

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“They lived out loud and I loved it!”

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on September 6, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Jazmine Franklin (front) and McKenzie Bailey, during their days as high school tennis aces. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They were awesome together. They were awesome apart.

And now, three-plus years after graduation from Coupeville High School, Jazmine Franklin and McKenzie Bailey continue to grow in their awesomeness.

The former is an accomplished artist who’s a step away from breaking big, while the latter is on her way to being the coolest teacher a new generation of little kids could hope to meet in the classroom.

While both continue to soar on a daily basis as they chase their dreams, today we’re here to primarily talk about what they accomplished as Wolf athletes.

It is a sports blog, after all, and we’re way overdue on inducting the dazzling duo into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

So, let’s rectify that oversight and crack open the door on our digital hall of wonders, sending them into hallowed company as a team.

After this, when you wander up to the top of the blog and peek under the Legends tab, you’ll find Franklin and Bailey exactly where they’ve always deserved to be.

Both did it all, and did it extremely well, during their time in the red and black.

Franklin was an accomplished cheerleader and a class leader, while Bailey bopped her way through volleyball and basketball, while also being at the forefront of everything the Class of 2016 student leaders accomplished.

But, it was when they came together, picking up tennis rackets and laying waste to anyone foolhardy enough to wander into their path, where they sparkled like never before.

“Killer Kenny” attacks.

“Girl’s crazy … but I kind of dig it.”

CHS tennis coach Ken Stange referred to the fun-loving, hard-hitting duo as Salt ‘n Pepa, and they were his go-to whenever he needed a crucial win.

It might have been easy for their play to be overlooked, as their hard-court careers virtually mirrored those of Payton Aparicio and Sage Renninger, who were a #1 doubles team for four straight seasons, culminating in a long run at the state tourney their senior season.

Playing in the #2 slot never dinged their shine, however, as they methodically raked their way through other teams, while helping their teammates raise their own games.

When he looked back at the first 15 years of his career as leader of the Wolf tennis programs, Stange tabbed Franklin and Bailey as one of the best doubles duos he had coached.

He appreciated their ability to blister foes from big and small schools alike, and how they went about accomplishing the feat.

Over the course of their prep careers, the duo went an eye-popping 28-4 when teamed up together.

That’s a brain-melting .875 winning percentage, a number few, if any, Wolf athletes have come remotely close to hitting.

Always game for a photo op…

But deadly efficient on the court. (Ken Stange photo)

Franklin and Bailey were leaders on and off the court, a combined second voice for their coach, and they capped their prep careers by being “excellent team captains.”

Stange has seen (and coached) hundreds of young women and men during his decade-and-a-half-plus at CHS, but Salt ‘n Pepa remain among his favorites, for their skill, their fight, and their attitudes.

“They were about winning and fun, in that order,” he said. “They lived out loud and I loved it!”

 

To see (and possibly purchase) Franklin’s artwork, pop over to:

https://jzmn-originals.myshopify.com/

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Dazzle with talent, win with grace

Posted in Boys Tennis, Hall o' Fame, Track, tagged , , , , , , on September 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Jakobi Baumann flies over the hurdles during a track meet last spring. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The first time I met Jakobi Baumann, he was a young kid hanging out in the old, cruddy wood shack masquerading as the press box at Mickey Clark Field.

Over the course of a high school soccer game, he ran the scoreboard and we talked a bit as I scribbled a few notes about a game that was playing out to a less-than-thrilling tie.

Jakobi was smart, that was already obvious, but he was also funny and well-spoken.

This was a guy going places, and not just because his dad, Duane, ran the school.

My snap judgement that day was a simple one.

One day, I would probably still be occupied with slapping attack bees with my notebook (the old press box was a death trap…), trying to figure out how to make a scoreless stalemate sound halfway exciting.

Meanwhile, the young Mr. Baumann would be out in the world, impressing people of prestige and power.

And lo and behold, I was right.

Maybe not about the bees, as the school’s current press box — a huge improvement — has so far shielded my tender vittles from any kamikaze insects.

But about Jakobi hitting grand heights? I was dead on about that.

As he and twin brother Jaschon wound their way through their years at CHS, both were top-notch students, athletes, and people.

With no disrespect meant to Schon, who is off to study at the U-Dub, this article is about Kobi, though.

As he heads to Mexico to begin a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we want to send him on his way by recognizing everything he accomplished during his time in Cow Town.

So, we’re inducting Jakobi Baumann into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, honoring him for being a stellar tennis and track and field performer, as well as a standout in every other activity he tackled, from band to drama to Science Olympiad.

Baumann and fellow Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Famer Allison Wenzel could play a mean duet.

And, for being a really solid dude, a guy who was supportive of his teammates and classmates, and did it all with a genuine sense of class.

After this, while the real Baumann will be South of the border for awhile, he will also live on under the Legends tab at the top of the blog.

It’s a position he earned through hard work.

On the tennis court, Baumann rose from a middle-of-the-pack player in his early days to being solidly The Man, anchoring the lineup at #1 singles for the Wolves.

As he grew taller and more sure of himself, his power increased, his willingness to take the challenge directly at rival players revved up, and the wins came along with his growth as a player and person.

While his shot-making skills were strong, Baumann set himself apart from others by refusing to give in, regardless of the score.

Intensity, thy name is Jakobi.

Time and again, he fought back from deficits, pushed his rivals deep into matches, and never slowed down when chasing balls which seemed long gone.

Watching Jakobi play, it reminded me of a kid named Sonny Jelvik, who was on the Tumwater High School team when I played my own three years of high school tennis.

Time and again, I would pound shots against him in practice which had “winner” stamped on the ball (I thought), only to see Sonny run down the ball at the last second and flick it back into play.

It was frustrating beyond all belief, and made for long afternoons on the court, as we slugged away at each other for hours. But it made me better, something I see now.

Like Jelvik, Baumann had no off button, and his desire to win was matched by few.

That carried over to his time in the world of track and field, where he made it to bi-districts, a step away from the state meet, in three events as a senior.

Baumann put in a great deal of time as a distance runner, and was one of the few brave souls among the current crop of Wolf boys to attack the hurdles with great glee.

If we go back through eighth grade, he tried his hand at nearly everything, competing in 13 events during his time as a track star.

That he found the time to do two sports, when he was also occupied with so many academic activities as well, is pretty amazing.

While this is called Coupeville Sports, we have to take a second to note his single greatest accomplishment might have come in the world of music, where Baumann made the trombone thrill as he advanced to the state championships.

But, whether he was lettin’ loose with sweet sounds, flying over the hurdles, long legs churning, blinding people with science, or just goofing around with friends, he was always the real deal.

Jakobi was (and is) a genuinely nice guy, smart, witty, willing to stand up for what he believes in, but also able to do it with kindness for all.

He will go far in life, of that there is no doubt. More serious, highly-accredited Hall of Fames will be in play one day.

The kid with the jokes in the broken-down press box will be a man who makes the world a better place.

When Jakobi receives other honors, when the stories written about him land in bigger outlets than my blog, it will be really easy to be happy for him and his family.

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