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Softball shuffle: Calkins out! King in?

Posted in Softball on January 14, 2013| 1 Comment »

David King imparts wisdom to Taya Boonstra last season. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

Amy King (in headgear) tries to stay warm enough to keep stats.

Who wants to be the next Coupeville High School softball coach?

With Jackie Calkins stepping down after two years (“My day is more demanding this year. Unfortunately, I don’t have time for coaching”) the job has been posted and now fervent speculation turns to whether David King will accept the call of duty.

King and wife Amy, who are currently reviving the girls’ basketball program, worked with Calkins. David King coached many of the road games last season, as Calkins juggled her softball duties with raising a very young daughter while her military husband was gone.

At a recent home basketball game, one of the refs, who also works as an umpire, told King, “I’ll see you in the spring!”

King just smiled quietly and softly shook his head.

“We’ll see how things work out,” he said. “I’m interested. We’re interested. We’ll see.”

With Wolf boys’ basketball coach Anthony Smith willing to take early practices this season, that has allowed the Kings to handle their basketball duties after working hours. Moving to the spring would mean earlier practice and game times and David King would need to juggle his work responsibilities if he were to run the softball program.

“I’ll have to talk to my boss at some point,” King said. “We’ll see.”

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A new Hope rises for Wolf sports!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, Softball, Volleyball on January 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Hope Lodell (right) snaps a pic with friend Payton Aparicio.

She’s a volleyball veteran now.

Hope Lodell is still finding her way.

The Coupeville Middle School 7th grader comes from an athletic family (dad Mike is a trash-talking hoops player), but the dead-ringer for Hollywood actress Chloe Moretz (“Kick Ass,” “Hugo”) didn’t catch the organized sports bug until this year.

After making her debut with the Wolf volleyball squad in the fall, she is one of many girls expected to turn out for the start of the middle school girls’ basketball season Jan. 22. While it will be her first time following in her dad’s footsteps, she already seems like a natural.

“I have not played basketball before and I am really excited to play with my friends,” Lodell said. “I haven’t really discovered my strengths in basketball yet. I want to work on harder passes to my teammates.”

She enjoyed her first go-around with volleyball, particularly since she got to play with her friends.

“I loved playing volleyball because it was my first time playing a team sport and I was with a lot of my friends and I am so glad I had that experience with them,” Lodell said. “I loved watching my friends and I improved in volleyball and in teamwork throughout every game.

“I loved going for the ball and that jolt of excitement when you make a good pass,” she added.”My favorite sport would be volleyball because it is so much fun to play and watch.”

Now bitten by the sports bug, Lodell plans to play softball in the spring. She also enjoys doing gymnastics in her free time and likes to write and sing.

Regardless of which sports season she finds herself in, she will always have her friends to draw support from.

“My friends — Kyla Briscoe, Abby Parker, Payton Aparicio, Lauren Bayne, Emma Blanchette and Lion DeShong — have been a big impact on me with supporting me and pushing me to do better,” Lodell said.

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True story: Lexie Black is still a superstar!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Softball, Where are they now?, Whidbey's Best on November 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Lexi(e) Black: Superstar

Defense was taught early in the Black household, something Brittany (left) and Lexie both picked up quickly.

It’s sad, but true — Coupeville High School does not have the brilliant sports history of a King’s or an Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

But, when your teams don’t go to state in every sport, every year (oh, the wonders of “scholarships”…) you tend to appreciate those moments a bit more. At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

The Wolves have had multiple state champs in track (Kyle King, Amy Mouw, Jon Chittim, etc.) and cross country (Tyler King and Natasha Bamberger), but have yet to win the big one in a team sport.

The closest Coupeville came was the brilliant 2002 softball squad led by Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby, which won four of five games (knocking off Cle Elum, Royal, Okanogan and Napavine while being nipped by Adna) to finish 3rd.

The dynasty of Wolf sports was the girls’ basketball program in the early 2000’s, as Coupeville finished 6th in 2002 and 8th in both 2003 and 2005. And, while the 2002 team got halfway to a state title, it was the 2005 squad that still sits in the record books.

Lexie Black (born with an E at the end of your name, whether you use it now or not, little missy!) and her little sis, Brittany, dominated the paint all season, and Lexie topped out with a sense-shattering 10 blocks in a win over Zillah on March 4, 2005. The sound of rejection was a sweet song all night long at the Yakima SunDome.

Both her individual mark and the Wolves team-record of 14 blocks still holds down first-place in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association record books for 1A teams, more than seven years later.

So, next time someone gives you grief about Coupeville’s lack of a sports heritage, tell them to look in the record books, and then bow down to the eternally awesome Ms. Black!

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(Softball) diamonds are not McKenzie Bailey’s best friend!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Softball, Volleyball on November 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

McKenzie Bailey, right, is joined at a CHS football game by big sis McKayla (left) and cousin Chelsea Huff. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

McKenzie Bailey plays two sports, not three, because her older sister tried to kill her.

Well, maybe not really, but it seemed that way at the time. One look at the fury unleashed by McKayla Bailey, now a dynamic sophomore softball hurler for Coupeville High School and McKenzie was off to play volleyball and basketball.

“I don’t play softball because of McKayla. I used to play when I was little and we were on the same team,” Bailey said. “When she was learning to pitch, my dad told me to stand in the batter’s box so she could have a visual. I told him that I didn’t want to because she would hit me. He made me do it anyway and guess what? First pitch, she hit me!

“I ended my career in softball right then and there.”

While Bailey, a freshman, won’t join her big sis on the diamond, it’s about the only place the close twosome don’t spend time together.

“McKayla and I mostly work together and help each other out. We definitely root for each other,” Bailey said. “McKayla is a great motivator for me. She always pushes me to do better and stay strong. I am a stalwart softball fan of hers and go to all of her select and high school games to motivate and cheer her on. It’s a win-win.

“I love watching (and re-watching) movies with my sister,” she added. “We drive my whole family crazy with movie quotes and re-enactments.”

While she picks volleyball as her favorite sport (“I really enjoy the pace of the game and the constant play”), she has come to embrace basketball as she has gotten older. Having reignited her love for the game in middle school (“Sarah Stuurmans was the main influence that got me to continue my basketball career. She is a great coach”), she is excited to make the plunge into high school hoops.

“I decided to give it another shot and found out that I really enjoyed it,” Bailey said. “I think the thing I enjoy the most about basketball is when you make that perfect shot with nothin’ but net, it just feels good!”

She’s played the wing in the past, but has been asked to diversify by her coaches this season and may take on new positions.

Bailey considers her elbow shot to be her primary strength, while wanting to improve her speed and ability to talk to her teammates while on defense. Wherever she plays, she intends to step up and have an immediate impact.

“My goal for basketball this year is to have a winning season,” Bailey said. “We have a lot of strong players this year and I think we can pull together as a team and make it happen.

“My personal goal is to take the open shots and score,” she added.

A big fan of Taylor Swift and her Yearbook class, Bailey is thankful for the many people in her life who have helped shape her into the successful young woman she has become. It’s a list that starts with her sister/mentor and goes from there.

“I have so many positive influences in my life, it’s hard to choose,” Bailey said. “My parents are always there for me and push me to always do my best. I know that they will support me no matter what.

“I have had a couple teachers that have really influenced me as well,” she added. “Ms. (Patsi) Waller taught me to always do my best and never give up and Mr. (Ken) Stange truly believes in his students and is such a great teacher.”

And neither one has ever thrown a softball at her head, which is nice, too.

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Bailey “so fetch” on the soccer pitch!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, Softball, Volleyball on November 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“No homework in history, again… Sweet!!” (Shelli Trumbull photo)

The Bailey girls, from left to right, McKenzie, Mollie and McKayla. (Donna Bailey photo)

McKaya Bailey is the accidental goalie.

The Coupeville High School sophomore, a pitching phenom on the softball field and also a pretty darn good basketball and volleyball player, wandered into high school soccer with no plans to make it her own. She originally attended off-season scrimmages with the team as a way to stay in shape for volleyball, only to change her mind and trade in her volleyball knee pads for goalie gloves when the school year actually rolled around.

“This was truly my rookie season, because I had never played soccer before,” Bailey said. “I’m pretty sure the first time I actually touched a ball was this past summer. At first it was just for fun to keep in shape, but then I started thinking it might be something I would have fun doing.”

Her sudden immersion into life on the pitch took a dramatic turn when she decided to accept Wolf coach Dan d’Ameida’s challenge and move into the net. While she did discuss the move with her parents, there was an ulterior motive for Bailey being so willing to take on the new position.

“What it really came down to was that it’s the only place on the field where I can use my hands!,” Bailey said. “With my softball, basketball, and volleyball backgrounds there isn’t really any hand-eye-foot coordination.

“I’m sure that anyone watching could tell when we first started to do footwork drills,” she added. “Without the ball I was perfectly fine, then they threw one in there and it was a bit of a disaster.”

She stuck it out though and worked extensively with assistant coach Gary Manker, whose daughter, Ashley, was a stellar net-minder for Coupeville.

“Working with Manker was probably the greatest part of going to soccer practice everyday,” Bailey said. “He helped me so much this season and I’m absolutely sure that without him I would not have been as successful as I was.

“From day one he pushed me to work my hardest and be my best, no excuses,” she added. “Something I heard a lot was, “Remember, body language. It’s okay to be tired, but you don’t let the other team know that.” That was probably the first thing he told me about being a keeper.”

While her raw athletic ability — Bailey is an electrifying fast-pitch softball hurler — carried her part of the way, working with Manker helped her to refine her skills. While Coupeville struggled to mount a consistent offensive attack this season, Bailey’s play behind a strong defensive line led by Anna Bailey, Kelsey Miranda and Marisa Etzell, kept the Wolves in most of their games.

“Technique, technique, technique. I had the basics down, but then it was time for me to fine tune everything,” Bailey said. “By the end I finally started to run out for one-on-one breakaways, talking to my back-line, and I was less concerned with hitting the ground and hurting myself and more concerned with not letting the ball past me. I think that was my biggest improvement. Risking my body to stop the ball and not being afraid to hit the ground.

And while the move required a lot of time and effort, and a few bruises and flattened noses, she would still step forward and accept the job.

“I definitely would still say yes to becoming goalie,” Bailey said. “Sure, I was constantly covered in bruises and most mornings could barely get out of bed, but it was so much fun, which is exactly why I wanted to play soccer in the first place.

“Not that volleyball was ever bad, but it just stopped being fun for me,” she added. “Instead of wanting to go to practice, it almost felt like a chore. Being goalie, practice everyday was different and new. Even though the drills were all the same, you never make the same save twice and that’s what drives me to keep getting in the net. I want to make that amazing save that brings the crowd to their feet.”

She picks the team’s victory over Sultan as the high-point of her year (“I had some of my best saves during that game. One, unfortunately, was actually stopped with my nose.”) and views the next two years as her time to make true believers out of local soccer fans (“My biggest goal is to go from a good keeper to a great keeper.”)

Still, deep down, she has to admit softball will always have the top spot in her sports-happy heart.

“I think the reason I like softball so much is because every aspect of it is fun. It doesn’t matter if it’s just playing catch or if we’re in the batting cages,” Bailey said. “But the best part of it all is pitching. I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s almost second nature.

“Sometimes I’ll be pitching and I’m not even thinking about what I’m doing; I just do it, when I turn off my mind and just go,” she added. “That’s why if I’m having a bad day, I ask my dad if we can go to the field and pitch. Not only is there some sort of sick satisfaction that comes from throwing a ball as hard as you can, but it gives me a chance to shut off my mind and forget what’s bothering me.”

The oldest of three sisters (“My sister McKenzie and I are partners in crime. She’s like a best friend that never leaves my house and always eats my food. My little sister Mollie and I have the same personality, so we usually get along pretty well.”), Bailey enjoys history class (“Not because I actually like history, but there is rarely homework assigned in that class.”) and is a movie addict.

“Movies are my weakness. I love a good comedy, but one of my best friends, Micky LeVine, is always having me watch scary ones. Honestly though, no movie night is complete without “Mean Girls.” It’s my absolute favorite and ‘so fetch’,” Bailey said. “If I’m not spending my weekends at softball, I’m usually with my friends or hanging out with the fam bam. I am really close with my family.

“My parents are always there for me and I’m surprised that they actually have the patience to deal with my craziness and constant movie quoting,” she added. “I think that sports are really a big factor in us all being so close. Whether its my select softball tournament, or if it’s a Seahawks game on TV, we’re all there. And everyone knows it too; we’re not exactly the quietest bunch. I guess that’s what happens when your mom’s an Engle and your dad’s a Bailey!”