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We’re never leavin’ town, suckers!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Golf, Softball, Stange has Moves, Track on February 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

“Why is Stange dancing over there?!?!”

“No livin’ on a school bus for this guy! No McDonald’s twice a week! Wahoo!!”

“Wait … track has to go to Sultan … TWICE?!?!”

So who did Ken Stange pay off?

I kid. I kid. But, seriously, who did he pay off, because the Coupeville High School girls’ tennis team is rarely going to see the inside of a school bus this season.

Want to enjoy the thrill of playing in front of your home fans? Be a netter, because they’re scheduled to play an astonishing 10 of their 14 matches on the courts at CHS.

With one of their four road trips just a short jaunt to Langley, and another a hop across the ferry to play Chimacum in Port Townsend, Stange will laugh and laugh when other coaches talk about epic trips to the wilds of Sultan.

Having wrested the semi-mostly-kinda-finished spring sports schedules from Wolf scheduling maestro Kim Andrews (who didn’t give them up easily), I was able to quickly look at them and pick up little tidbits of interest. All while fending off Andrews, who kept on screaming “The ink hasn’t even dried yet, you heathen!!”

Of note, after a basketball season in which Coupeville spent a LARGE chunk of time on the road, is a return to balanced scheduling.

Well, except for track, which never gets to host more than one meet in a season. Randy King will have plenty of Sultan stories, as his squad visits that town twice.

Softball and boys’ soccer have balanced schedules, while baseball hosts 11 of its 20 games.

The record for traveling, however, won’t go to the track squad. Instead, that honor falls to Wolf golfers Austin and Christine Fields, who will trek to Langley every single day. With Coupeville not having its own links squad, the Fields will train and travel with South Whidbey, while still repping the black and red of their home school.

Schedules:

P.S. — check http://coupeville.tandemcal.com/ for updates, because as Andrews will tell you, “Nothing is written in permanent ink, buddy!!!”

BASEBALL:

Wed-Mar. 13 @ Lakewood
Fri-15 Lakewood
Sat-16 Nooksack Valley
Sat-23 Port Townsend
Mon-25 South Whidbey
Wed-27 @ South Whidbey
Fri-29 South Whidbey
Mon-April 1 @ Cedarcrest (DH)
Wed-3 Cedarcrest
Mon-8 ATM
Wed-10 @ ATM
Fri-12 ATM
Mon-15 @ Granite Falls
Wed-17 Granite Falls
Fri-19 @ Granite Falls
Mon-22 Sultan
Wed-24 @ Sultan
Fri-26 Sultan
Mon-29 @ Lakewood

BOYS SOCCER:

Tue-Mar. 12 @ Friday Harbor
Tue-19 @ Cedarcrest
Fri-22 @ Lakewood
Tue-26 South Whidbey
Fri-29 @ Sultan
Tues-April 2 ATM
Fri-5 @ Granite Falls
Mon-8 King’s
Wed-10 Cedarcrest
Fri-12 Lakewood
Tue-16 @ South Whidbey
Wed-17 Friday Harbor
Fri-19 Sultan
Mon-22 @ ATM
Wed-24 Granite Falls
Fri-26 @ King’s

GIRLS TENNIS:

Tue-Mar. 12 @ Friday Harbor
Wed-13 ATM
Mon-18 Lakewood
Wed-20 @ South Whidbey
Fri-22 Chimacum
Tue-26 ATM
Wed-27 South Whidbey
Thur-28 Blaine
Tues-April 9 @ Granite Falls
Fri-12 Lakewood
Wed-17 Friday Harbor
Tue-23 Lakewood
Thur-25 Granite Falls
Fri-26 @ Chimacum

SOFTBALL:

Wed-Mar. 13 @ Lakewood
Thur-14 @ Meridian
Tue-19 South Whidbey
Thur-21 @ Cedarcrest
Sat-23 Port Townsend
Mon-25 ATM
Wed-27 @ Granite Falls
Fri-29 Sultan
Mon-April 1 @ Lakewood
Mon-8 South Whidbey
Wed-10 @ Cedarcrest
Fri-12 ATM
Tue-16 @ Granite Falls
Thur-18 Sultan
Tue-23 Lakewood
Mon-29 @ South Whidbey
Wed-May 1 Cedarcrest
Fri-3 @ ATM
Tue-7 Granite Falls
Thur-9 @ Sultan

TRACK:

Thur-Mar. 14 @ Island Jamboree (Oak Harbor)
Thur-21 @ Sultan w/ Granite Falls
Sat-23 @ Tri-District previews (King’s)
Thur-28 @ Granite Falls w/ South Whidbey
Thur-April 11 @ Sultan w/ Cedarcrest and King’s
Thur-18 South Whidbey
Thur-25 @ South Whidbey w/ ATM

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Welcome to the jungle (you’re gonna die)!!

Posted in Softball on February 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

McKayla Bailey, semi-scary flamethrower. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

But let’s put our heads together and think…

What if she wore THIS to the mound?!?!

Typical ATM player response…

I can’t take the credit.

My brother-in-law, Matthew Kirkconnell, is the one who raised this question. So he gets the credit (or the blame).

If a lot of fast-pitch high school softball players are wearing face masks these days — so that their parents don’t have to pay extensive dental bills if a line drive comes shooting back up the middle — why not go a little … scarier.

Is there a rule that says you can’t be really intimidating on the mound?

Probably, since the people that run Washington state high school athletics do their darnedest to scrape most of the fun out of the games (we … want … our … vuvuzela horns BACK!).

But, if not, then I think McKayla Bailey and fellow pitchers should go this route. Immediately.

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It’s only raining in your mind!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Golf, Softball, Track on February 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

220 hours until Aaron Trumbull brings the heat… (Shelli Trumbull photos)

Nicole Becker unleashes her speedy feet…

and McKayla Bailey starts whippin’ frozen b-b’s at batters.

Ignore the weather outside.

We stand nine days (about 220 hours, give or take an hour) away from the start of spring sports in Coupeville.

Monday, Feb. 25 brings the first day of practice for baseball, softball, boys’ soccer, girls’ tennis, track and golf. Story lines abound.

Will a baseball team headed up by the players who won a state little league crown in 2010 make a run in the Cascade Conference and give ATM and the big boys a wedgie?

Will Maria Rockwell join McKayla Bailey to give the Wolf softball team a wicked one-two combo of flamethrowers?

Will Mendes‘ marauders return to state in soccer? Will any of Ken Stange’s netters emulate their male counterparts and go full-Etzell, diving on the cement court in pursuit of a loose ball?

How fast is Makana Stone? How hungry for redemption is Madison Tisa McPhee? Will Caleb Valko be goofing off and drop the shot put on his foot at any point this season?

And last, but certainly least, will the Fields family (senior Austin and sophomore Christine) scorch the field at the state golf meet once again? Christine was the 8th best golfer in 1A last year as a freshman, largely based on a great 2nd day.

Of course, as we gaze out into a muddy February morning at the moment, the only question that really resonates is — when will the rain go away?

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Amazing fact: cute kids get major page hits!!

Posted in Fashionable Fans, Softball on February 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I know, hard to believe.

Anyway, as we sit here, just 10 days from the first day of spring sports practice (Monday, Feb. 25), I was going through photos ace camera-clicker Shelli Trumbull captured last season.

Then, lo and behold, I stumbled across a gold mine of cute lil’ kid pics snapped during the softball season.

Being shameless, and needing to fill some space during the slow stretch between seasons, I grabbed some of the best for you.

Let the page hits fall down like rain…

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Hammer speaks softly and carries a big stick!!

Posted in Softball on February 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Hailey Hammer surveys the wreckage after thumping a hit last season. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

Hammer guards the line at first base.

Hailey Hammer digs the long ball.

The Coupeville High School sophomore softball slugger launched a towering shot against Archbishop Thomas Murphy last season, then added an equally impressive one during summer ball. A pretty smooth defensive player on the corners, Hammer carries a big stick and knows how to speak with it.

“My strength, I would say, would be my hitting,” Hammer said. “I love that I can just go out and have fun with my friends that also love this game. Also, every great hit or making a great play.”

Hammer and fellow frosh phenom McKayla Bailey made a big splash for the Wolves last season and will be among a core group of players new Wolf coaches David and Amy King will look to as they head into this season.

Hammer, who bounced between first and third, has far more diamond experience than her age might indicate. She first picked up the sport in tee-ball, and like the flame-throwing Bailey, plays virtually year-round. She currently suits up for a select softball team in Everett on Sundays.

With softball mixing with the just-ended basketball season and a full school schedule, Hammer is always on the go.

“I barely have time off since I have school Monday-Friday, then I have Boys and Girls Club basketball coaching and then I have select softball,” Hammer said.

A fan of her biology class (“We do a lot of fun labs”) and the movie “Pitch Perfect” (“Bessie (Walstad) and I quote it all the time!”), Hammer finds time for family and friends, and draws support from both.

“My parents (Mark and Linda) have really impacted me,” Hammer said. “(Big brother) Hunter comes to all the games that he can, to cheer me on, along with my mom and dad.

“The coach Kings have taught me so much about softball and basketball,” she added. “And Bessie, of course. She’s my partner in crime.”

Walstad, the team’s senior catcher, has been a particular role model for the younger Hammer, a combination teacher and close friend.

“My highlight would have to be playing with Bessie,” Hammer said. “She knows how to cheer me up and last year we had a cupcake war after practice.”

As the Wolves head into a new season (the first day of practice is Monday, Feb. 25), Hammer is thrilled to get back on the diamond on a regular basis.

“Some goals I have are to win, of course, but to also get closer as a team,” she said. “Softball is my favorite sport. I just love the sport!”

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