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McKayla Bailey is a freakin’ national treasure!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, Happy birthday, Softball on November 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

"Oh, is that a camera you have in your hand? How ... interesting."

“Oh, is that a camera you have in your hand? How very … interesting.”

McKayla Bailey is the best. The absolute best.

No one at Coupeville High School can touch her for the title of Photo Bomb Ruler of the Universe. She is uncanny in her knowledge of where the camera is and when to slide into the picture at the last moment.

And yes, the Wolf junior, who celebrates her birthday today, is also a very good soccer, basketball and softball player, which is all good and fine.

But, in terms of generating page views, it’s her mad photo bomber skills that fuel the fire over here at coupevillesports.com.

Because, as they say, “She’s gold, Jerry! Gold!!”

Never change, McKayla. Never.

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Get better, Breeanna!!

Posted in Cheer, Girls Basketball, Softball, Volleyball, Whidbey's Best on September 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Breeanna Messner (John Fisken photos)

Kind of excited after a big play.

It did not end the way she wanted it to.

If you know anything about Breeanna Messner, it is that the Coupeville High School senior — her school’s only four-sport athlete last year (cheer, volleyball, basketball, softball) — does not give up easily.

Whether wearing the red and black for the Wolves like mom Aimee Bishop did before her, or charging up flights of steps or across muddy fields or skipping through Disney Land dressed in a tutu during a race, Messner is a true competitor.

She never backs down, and, if you poke her in the eye like one basketball player did last year, she will get up and ruthlessly drill you with back-to-back-to-back three point bombs, a small smile never leaving her face.

So for her to come out of Tuesday night’s epic five-set volleyball match with Sultan and not make it back on the floor, you knew she had to be really sick.

Whether it’s the lingering aftereffects of taking a shot to the face in a select basketball game two days before, or a reaction to a recent flu shot, she reached a point of no return after the third set Tuesday.

Not that you would have known it by her stats, because she was 13 of 13 on serves and 27 of 27 on service returns when she departed.

Whatever the problem may be, everyone hopes for a fast recovery.

You would hope for that for any Wolf athlete, but Messner, in her unassuming way, has set the gold standard the last several years for what you would like to see in anyone who pulls on a Coupeville jersey.

Before games, she is an oasis of calm, usually quietly sitting next to fellow senior Amanda Fabrizi, head bent low over her schoolwork while also monitoring the play of her JV teammates, ready to yell out encouragement.

Then she’s sprinting to the door of the gym to pick up and squeeze the life out of her beloved little cousin.

Win or lose, she lays it all on the line and I have never seen her play at anything less than full-speed. Off the court, she carries herself with a sense of grace.

You are a class act, Ms. Messner. Wolf Nation is very proud you represent us, and we hope for a speedy recovery.

UPDATE: No concussion! A Wednesday AM visit to the doctor points to a combination of a reaction to the flu shot and her potassium getting out of whack for unknown reasons.

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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.

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“Always play and practice your best, you never know who’s watching!!”

Posted in Cheer, Softball on September 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Emily Licence

Emily Licence is excited.

Excited about hitting high school (“I’m in the 9th grade finally, woohoo!”), and thrilled about her new role as a member of the Coupeville High School cheer squad.

“I started cheer this year, so I haven’t been cheering for too long and I joined because it gives me the opportunity to be loud and energetic (unlike in class),” Licence said, then laughed. “But, of course, I also joined to help spread the spirit and excitement to everyone else around me.”

Her new role gives her direction and companionship, both things she embraces.

“I enjoy cheer because it allows me to look forward to something after school instead of going home and wondering what I could be doing,” Licence said. “I also enjoy it because I get to spend time with my sisters.”

Also a big softball player, Licence credits her first sport with triggering her interest in those that, like cheer, have come afterwards.

“I enjoy playing softball,” she said. “Ever since I joined in 5th grade, it led me into taking interests a whole lot more in sports.

“If I haven’t had joined softball, I don’t think I would be doing cheer as I am now.”

And don’t tell her cheer is not a sport, an opinion CHS officials cling to when they label it an activity.

“Pshh … cheer not a sport? Oh come on, CHS officials!,” Licence said. “We work just as hard as anyone else playing a sport and use all that strength to lift GIRLS, HUMAN BODIES in the air.

“Think about it, we’re not just an activity, but a sport as well.”

When she’s not busy with sports, Licence enjoys putting in time playing music (“I also enjoy playing my guitar. It’s like my best friend for when I’m bored or in a happy mood. I just gotta play about it.”), but readily admits a distaste for at least one of her classes (“Oh yeah, I don’t like science and that’s a fact that’ll never change.”)

Her movie genre of choice is one that is guaranteed to keep her awake.

“I really enjoy watching a lot of scary movies, even if it means I end up curled up in a ball, peeking through my fingers in a movie chair or hiding my face in a pillow at home!,” Licence said.

No matter what she’s doing, on the field or off, the Wolf frosh doesn’t have to look very far to find a role model.

“My dad has taken a big impact on me as a father and as my coach in sports for four years now,” Licence said. “Without him there to push me to my limits into doing my best, I wouldn’t be the person I am.

“He showed me how to never give up on what you’re striving for and to always play and practice your best because you never know who’s watching!”

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Cassie Neil is a uniter, not a divider!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, Softball, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist on August 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Cassie Neil

Cassie Neil is at so many Coupeville High School events, it took me a while to realize she doesn’t actually attend the school.

The bubbly South Whidbey sophomore is that rarity, a person who crosses over between the two arch-rivals with ease, maintaining friendships on both sides and being a true uniter.

A three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball and softball) who has played in the same uniform with CHS athletes in select soccer, she doesn’t see any need to select a side in the argument.

“Coupeville is very beautiful and most of the people are nice. But I love South Whidbey,” Neil said. “South Whidbey and Coupeville have always been very competitive but that doesn’t mean that one place is better than the other.

“The students and staff are just all so nice,” she added. “I love going to sporting events that I’m not playing in and support the students that play!”

The youngest of five (she has three brothers and a sister), Neil is South Whidbey born and bred. Her father’s family is from Whidbey, so she’s surrounded by relatives who can cheer for her.

While a pair of bulging discs in her back kept her chained to the sideline during basketball and softball season as a freshman, she has been active as a soccer player.

She’s in her third year with the Whidbey Islanders select soccer squad, and has played defense, midfield and a bit of goalie for both the GU15 and GU17 squads.

“When I play soccer, I feel that I have learned to anticipate where the play is going to be and get into a position where I can be supportive,” Neil said. “I enjoy playing sports because I enjoy being a team player. I have learned a lot from my teammates and made some really good friends.”

A jack of all trades, she has done a bit of just about everything in the athletic world, having played volleyball, ran track and swum as well. Toss in her time on the competition dance team at Island Dance, and she has been a busy young woman.

In between playing and cheering for others, she fills in the cracks with movies (“My favorite types of movies are Disney movies. I also love “Grease” and “Santa Clause 2!”), country music (she’s a huge Hunter Hayes fan) and spending time with her many friends, including boyfriend Aaron Trumbull.

If she can find another minute or two, she plans to join Spanish Club and Key Club this coming school year.

Through it all, Neil has been blessed with a support staff of family and coaches who have helped her blossom into a smart, confident, irrepressible ray of sunshine.

SWHS basketball coach Henry Pope, who recently passed away, was hugely influential on her as a young athlete.

“He taught me to go out and give the best I can,” Neil said. “In 7th grade he convinced me to play basketball again. I made the varsity team in 7th and 8th grade because I put out the best I could like he taught me.

“I wish he could of coached me in every sport, even soccer, although he hated soccer!”

Whether she is up or down, flying across the soccer pitch or fighting back from injury, it is her mom, Suzanne Neil, who Cassie will always cherish.

“The person that has helped me the most be the person I am today would have to be my mom,” Neil said. “She is always there for me. She drives me everywhere and does anything she can for me.

“She has helped me a lot last year with my hurt back and having to sit on the sidelines for the select season last year,” she added. “I know she will help me become a better person through high school. She loves me a lot!”

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