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Archive for the ‘Happy birthday’ Category

She’s the King of the world!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on November 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Amy King (John Fisken photos)

Amy King, guiding the future of Wolf sports. (John Fisken photos)

It’s good to be the King.

Every school needs a coach who is absolutely indispensable, willing to take on any and all jobs while showing a special skill at shaping young hearts and minds.

Here in Coupeville, that person is Amy King.

While her real world job (boo! boo!!) has taken her from a three-sport coach to a one-sport coach in the last year or two, she remains the gold standard.

Meshing perfectly with CHS girls basketball head coach David King (they’ve been an “item” for a few years now), Amy, the Wolf girls JV hoops guru, brings a mixture of passion, tough love and genuine caring to her duties.

Her teams, whether it be volleyball, softball or basketball, are always successful, both in terms of putting up winning records and turning out well-rounded athletes.

King has the X’s and O’s down solid, and has a real skill for taking concepts off the clipboard and showing her young charges how to make them work in real life.

But she goes far beyond that, taking on a mom role when needed, a butt kicker role when required and a PR agent role like few others.

Her game recaps from the road are unparalleled (though her husband is certainly in there fighting for the family and school crown) and she also wields a camera with nimble grace, capturing behind-the scene photos the paparazzi can’t nab.

A superb athlete herself back in the day, King has transitioned into the job of sage sports guru with ease, though, if I were to refer to her by that term in public, she’d roll her eyes so hard they’d never come back around.

While I’d like to see her quit her real job and go back to being a painfully-underpaid full-time coach (having a roof over your head is overrated…), I’m just super grateful for whatever slice of her time we get.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m gushing because today is King’s birthday.

Though what the heck, we could gush about her any day.

And I might if she follows through on her promise to one day write one of her basketball recaps as a poem.

Anyway, happy birthday, Coach King, and thank you from a grateful Wolf Nation.

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One cake day, two superstars!!

Posted in Happy birthday, Softball, Track, tagged , , , , , on October 28, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Jasmine (left) and Tamika Nastali at work. (John Fisken and Beth Nastali photos)

Jasmine (left) and Tamika Nastali at work. (John Fisken and Beth Nastali photos)

The day, and the world, belongs to the twins.

Coupeville High School sophomore sensations Tamika and Jasmine (Jazzy) Nastali, who celebrate a joint cake day today, are two of the brightest shining stars living in our town.

Superb athletes — Tamika rakes on the softball diamond while Jasmine is a fleet-footed wonder on the track oval — the duo, like older sister Heather, are also really incredible young women in other parts of life as well.

The Nastali twins are smart, kind, caring, friendly, effervescent even.

Very supportive of each other, and of their many family members, Tamika and Jasmine reflect extremely well on parents Beth and Robert.

There is little doubt the titanic twins are going to accomplish big things, both on the athletic stage and off.

The best thing we can all do right now is get in good with them and hope they remember the small people after they’ve hit the big time.

So happy birthday, Nastali sisters.

You make our small town a much better place with your presence, and we, the fans, want to wish you the best on your birthday, and every day.

May you continue to dazzle the world for a very long time to come.

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The best? Better than that!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on October 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The transformation of Jacob Zettle. (John Fisken photos)

The transformation of Jacob Zettle. (John Fisken photos)

Some kids you just root for harder.

In the time that I’ve known Jacob Zettle, I have been nothing but impressed. Every day, in every way.

The Coupeville High School junior, who celebrates a birthday today, has not had an easy life, and yet he seems to greet each day with a huge smile, intent on doing his best and spreading joy wherever he goes.

Zettle has taken huge strides on both the football field and baseball diamond in recent months, both a testament to a growth spurt and to the hard work he puts in on a regular basis.

Every time I see him play I see a coach’s dream — a young man who listens intently, soaks up knowledge and puts out maximum effort on every play, regardless of the score.

I also see a guy who is a loyal, supportive teammate, vocal in his efforts to spur on his classmates, while always coming across as friendly, soft-spoken, highly intelligent and accessible off the field.

Jacob is a rarity, someone who you never hear a bad word about.

People genuinely like him, whether they be coaches, teammates, fans or random people walking by, and it reflects well on a young man who has embraced positivity in his life.

He is devout in his faith and it is obvious it is not merely passed down from his family, but something he has embraced as his own, a vital part of his everyday life.

I have no doubt Jacob makes his grandparents, Gary and Suzanne, very proud, and he should.

They have done a superb job raising him, and he is a young man well on his way to accomplishing grand things.

So, the day before he helps the Wolves face off with Bellevue Christian on the gridiron, we want to pause and take a moment.

To wish him happy birthday yes, but also to let him know what everyone thinks — Mr. Zettle, you are a class act, and we, as a community, are blessed to count you as one of us.

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It’s a cake day bonanza!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , on October 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Estefanny Liquidano (right), who celebrates a cake day Wednesday, is joined by Thursday birthday buddies Amber Benway and Mason Grove. (John Fisken photos)

   Estefanny Liquidano (right), who celebrates a cake day Wednesday, is joined by Thursday birthday buddies Amber Benway and Mason Grove. (John Fisken photos)

I’m using my time wisely.

As I try to keep from being swamped by a non-stop deluge of Wolf Nation birthdays, I’m taking the easy way out and pulling off a three-for-one celebration.

We’re here to send best wishes to CHS track star Estefanny Liquidano, who hits her cake day today, while jumping the gun (just a bit) to hail Mason Grove and Amber Benway a day early.

Up first is Miss Liquidano, who debuted as a shot put and discus thrower for the Wolf track and field team last spring.

The younger sister of CHS gridiron/pitch warriors Oscar and Uriel, Estefanny is part of one of the best families we have in Coupeville.

Like her brothers, she is a hard worker, committed in the classroom and in the arena, and just a genuinely nice, positive young woman, which can never be underestimated.

At a time when pathetic, Cheeto-encrusted con artists posing as political candidates are quick to dismiss the positive impact immigrant families can have on our country, the Liquidanos are a perfect response.

Justifiably proud of their heritage and of the life they are building for their family in their new country, they are the American dream coming true every day.

I am proud to claim the Liquidanos as my neighbors here in Coupeville, and stand with them, always.

Joining Estefanny on the birthday beat (in a few hours) are two other bright lights in our community.

Miss Benway, who joined the CHS cheer squad this season, is, like everyone in her family, as friendly and outgoing a person as you are likely to meet.

Amber shares a special trait with siblings Hannah and Zaine, and that is the ability to light up any room they enter (even when they’re outside).

It serves her extremely well as a cheerleader, but also in real life, where she, like Liquidano, is a strong, bright young woman headed to big success.

The same could be said of Mason, the middle one of Mindy Grove’s three athletically-talented, big moment-loving children.

Like uber-talented older sister Lauren before him, the floppy-haired one is quickly carving out a name for himself in Wolf athletics.

A talented football, basketball and track supernova at the middle school level, the CHS freshman picked up a tennis racket for the first time this spring, and has already played #1 singles for the Wolves.

Showcasing an ability to learn quickly, and then quickly kick butt, Grove likely warms the heart of Wolf tennis guru Ken Stange, who can already see years of future success playing out on the hard-court.

For me, I’m looking forward to winter, when the three-point-bomb-heaving sniper returns to the basketball court.

As a middle schooler, Grove was unafraid to shoot, and showed a genuine flair for dropping treys on backpedaling fools, which will fit perfectly into the scheme round ball coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh is concocting.

Like his sister, and like his birthday buddies, Mason is far more than just an athlete, also showcasing major skills in the classroom while being a people person in the everyday world.

As all three of our cake-eating celebrators hit their big day, whether it’s today or tomorrow, we, the fans, just want to wish them all the best.

Enjoy your day, and thank you, one and all, for putting such a positive spin on Wolf athletics.

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Birthday buddies and class acts!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on October 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Birthday buddies Skyler Lawrence and Grey Rische at work. (Amy King and John Fisken photos)

   Birthday buddies Skyler Lawrence and Grey Rische at work. (Amy King and John Fisken photos)

One day, two superstars.

Oct. 1 delivered us a pair of top Wolf athletes in Skyler Lawrence and Grey Rische.

Actually three, if you count former CHS track and field sensation Dalton Martin.

But, once you graduate and move on to the real world, you generally lose your birthday celebration privileges here on Coupeville Sports (I need some time to myself…), so today the focus is on the terrific twosome still repping the red and black.

And they are two of our best, strong on the athletic field and winners in the classroom and out associating with the general public.

Skyler and Grey are easy to root for, and their continued success in all their endeavors reflects quite nicely on their town and their school.

Lawrence has been a beast on the boards for the Wolf basketball program and was part of last year’s team, the first to qualify for state in a decade.

I remember the first time I saw her play, back in middle school, and how impressed I was with her hustle.

She would sweep the boards clean, then beat the guards down the floor, every time without fail.

Not a straggler whatsoever, Skyler goes full tilt and is quite willing to get down and dirty in the dog-pile when necessary.

She also seems to have a great sense of humor, as she and running mate Allison Wenzel are usually giggling about something when not on the floor.

You scan the bench and there the two of them are, poking each other and exchanging private jokes, regardless of the score.

Skyler is also a supremely accomplished thrower for the CHS track team, a two-time state meet qualifier in the shot put who’s gunning for the school record.

Grey joins her on the Wolf track team, where he’s a jack of all trades, seeing time as both a thrower and a runner.

Toss in a stint as a basketball player (maybe he’ll return to the hard-court for his senior season?) and Rische is a well-rounded athlete.

His biggest success, though, has probably come on the tennis court, where he shines as both a doubles ace and a singles sniper.

For much of his career, he teamed with brother Jared Helmstadter, forming the Thunder and Lightning combo, until Jared’s graduation split them apart.

This season, Rische has teamed up with fellow Class of 2017 netter Jimmy Myers to form one of Coupeville’s most dependable doubles duos, and the one which remained undefeated the furthest into the season.

With CHS coach Ken Stange juggling a young lineup this year, Grey has also slid into a singles slot at times, and he’s more than held his own.

Providing a nice dose of leadership and calmness on the court, Rische is a key part of why the Wolves are circling their second straight 1A Olympic League title.

As the birthday buddies play out their senior year, I hope they both continue to accomplish great things and stay true to the classiness both have shown on a daily basis.

Happy birthday to both of you. May your cake day be awesome, and your final year at CHS even better.

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