In memory | Coupeville Sports

Archive for the ‘In memory’ Category

In the end, there is only love!!

Posted in In memory, Softball, Whidbey's Best on September 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Stacie Farmer

Stacie Farmer passed away three years ago today, but she never really left us.

Her physical body was unable to overcome a horrifying accident that claimed her on what would have been her 24th birthday.

But today, on Sept. 15, a day that, in a cruel twist, marks both the beginning and end of her journey here on Earth, her light still shines brightly.

The Coupeville High School grad, a splendid softball player for the Wolves during her time at CHS, is 27 today and being remembered in many places.

Which is appropriate for a fearless, graceful young woman who spread love and hope with her as she skipped merrily across the globe.

From The Rock to a river in West Virginia to a mountain top in a foreign land, Stacie reached out to everyone she met with the same attitude.

She embraced people, and they embraced her back.

Stacie loved with an open heart, and whether you were a young child who looked up at her, her face ringed by her wild dreadlocks, a smile beaming down at you, or a complete stranger she passed for but a moment, as she waved at you as she rolled by, you were better for the contact with her.

It would be better, in every way, if she was with her family and friends for her 27th birthday. This is not debatable.

But she can’t be here — in person at least — and so she is remembered every time a friend thinks of her.

Every time someone tells a story about her. Every time someone, anyone, takes a moment from their life to just be, in the moment, and make life better for those around them.

We can’t all be Stacie Farmer, but we can at the same time.

We can help others, we can raise their spirits, we can give them a piece of ourselves, the piece that honors her favorite words — bhavuta sabba mangalam — may all beings be happy.

Do something for someone else. Make their life a better place.

Don’t let Farm Dog’s legacy fade away.

Read Full Post »

Wolf Nation honors fallen Falcon coach!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, In memory, Whidbey's Best on September 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Wolf players (l to r) Anthony Bergeron, Aaron Trumbull, Joel Walstad, Jared Helmstadter, Isaac Vargas and ? (Shelli Trumbull photo.

Wolf players (l to r) Anthony Bergeron, Aaron Trumbull, Joel Walstad, Jared Helmstadter, Isaac Vargas and Morgan Payne. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

South and Central Whidbey stand together for Henry Pope and his family.

One hoop, one Island.

Coming together as one, basketball players from the entire length of Whidbey Island converged on Langley Sunday to honor the legacy of South Whidbey High School hoops coach Henry Pope.

Taking part in “Hoops for Henry,” a group of Coupeville High School players brought a touch of red and black to a fundraiser for the family of the Falcon legend, who passed away suddenly earlier this year.

For one day, while the action on the court was still intense as always, it didn’t matter whether you were South or Central. There was only one Whidbey, and it stood with the Pope family.

Read Full Post »

Hoop it up to support coach’s family!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Community Sports, Girls Basketball, In memory, Whidbey's Best on August 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The shock of losing South Whidbey High School boys’ basketball coach Henry Pope is still being felt across the Island.

But a group is stepping up to help raise funds for the family he left behind, and area basketball players and fans can help support the cause by taking part in a 5-on-5 hoops tournament on what would have been his birthday.

“Hoops for Henry” will tip-off 11 AM Sunday, Sept. 15 in the SWHS gym where Pope led his Falcons onto the floor.

The tourney is open to male and female players age 13 and up. Teams need to be registered by Sept. 13 and cost is $100 per team.

The pertinent info can be found above in the second photo.

To register, donate items or sponsor the tourney, call Teri Baker at (360) 632-7881.

Read Full Post »

“I try to leave out the parts that people skip!!”

Posted in In memory, Not sports? Tough! on August 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Elmore Leonard (Photo copyright cnn.com)

The work.

Elmore Leonard was the coolest cat working.

His novels were tight, streamlined, snappy works of art that smacked you across the face, then stroked your chin and told you, “It’s OK baby, you know I love you.”

But you were never really sure.

“I want us to be friends, Faye. And we all know that friends don’t hit each other… unless they have to.”

“Rough business, this movie business. I’m gonna have to go back to loan-sharking just to take a rest.”

Mixing dark humor with bracing violence, Leonard, who passed away Tuesday at 87, made an indelible mark on every would-be writer, film fan and book lover.

From “Get Shorty” to “Maximum Bob” to the vastly underrated “Hombre,” many of his books were turned into films and TV shows and the best ones (like “Jackie Brown,” which came from “Rum Punch” or “Out of Sight”) played true to his perfectly-played dialogue.

Dennis Lehane, the author of “Mystic River” and “Gone Baby Gone” and maybe the best crime novelist out there right now, had this to say about Leonard on his Facebook page this morning:

Elmore Leonard has left us, which sucks. One of the biggest influences on my own work, if not the biggest. He was one of our most underrated satirists and social commentators and the most influential, game-changing crime novelist of the last several decades.

When it came to writing dialogue, he sat on the mountaintop while the the rest of us wandered in the valley. He’s truly irreplaceable, and the world is poorer for his leaving it. RIP, Dutch.

You were The Man, Mr. Leonard. May your work live forever.

Read Full Post »

“She can run through dandelion fields, free of the chains holding her!!”

Posted in Cheer, In memory, Whidbey's Best on August 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Nicole Becker

Nicole (left) and Victoria.

Nicole Becker is deceptively tough.

To the outside world, she is the prototypical cheerleader, bubbly and quick to smile, always at the forefront of every cheer routine. During her days at Coupeville High School (she graduated in June), she rose through the ranks to become a captain during her senior season.

But the days since she left school have been some of the hardest of her young life. The unexpected death of her older sister, Victoria, followed by major surgery that has sidelined her for weeks, have delivered a one-two punch that could knock down the strongest of souls.

As she has fought her way back, she has taken great comfort in her faith and drawn on the support of family and friends.

And that’s something we all need to remember. This is a time when if you know Nicole, you need to let her know that you care about her. That she is not alone in her journey. That a school, a town, are always here for her.

We don’t forget our own. We can’t. We need to be there for her, both at the good times and the bad.

From her couch (which she is largely restricted to right now), Becker offered her thoughts on the events in her life. Take a moment to read them, then, if you can, reach out to her. Let her know we care.

Pre-surgery there is a cartilage in your hip that holds your hip in socket and I tore it. Surgery: it was painful like no end.

There was more damage in my hip than the doctor expected to find once he was inside, so I have 18 surgical stitches inside my hip socket holding it together. My doctor is very confident that it will not lead to a hip replacement later in life.

Recovery: I spend 80% of my day laying on a couch just because every movement hurts.

I wrap my hip in ice to help with swelling and inflammation. There is also the CPM machine. Which is a continuous progressive movement machine that raises my leg up and down, to prevent scar tissue.

I attend physical therapy three times a week to build up the strength back in my hip and my leg.

My sister: this has been the hardest three months in my life.

My sister has been hospitalized before but nothing compares to walking in the emergency room and having the EMTs tell you they did everything they could. That day still plays in my head and just wondering where it went wrong.

But this Coupeville community is the most amazing community I’ve ever been a part of. So many people have reached out to me; to know people that you don’t know care for you is the most amazing feeling.

It will be hard but as God put us on this earth with imperfections he takes us up to him completely perfect with nothing holding us down.

My sister had special needs. To the point where she needed full time care.

And to know she is in a place where she can run through dandelion fields and laugh and smile free of the chains holding her is such a peaceful thought.

She’s my best friend and will forever be my best friend.

But I am overwhelmed by the love this community has given to my family and I. I am overjoyed with it in such a somber time.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »