Coupeville Sports

Monica Vidoni

Bessie Walstad may not know this, but she is a huge role model.

A four-year star in three sports (volleyball, basketball, softball), the Coupeville High School senior is inspiring the players coming up behind her, young women who hope to one day take her place both on the court and as a mentor.

One of those players, sophomore three-sport threat Monica Vidoni, is very clear in her admiration for Walstad.

“It’s sad that she will be leaving high school this year. Bessie is a big role model to me,” Vidoni said. “I always watch her in sports because there is a lot to learn from her. I still have a lot more to learn from her. She’s always the one to support me, after a bad game, or if I’m having a bad day.

“If you ever need help in volleyball, basketball, or softball, Bessie is the person to ask!”

Vidoni, whose younger brother James (“A wonderful brother!”) suits up for the Coupeville Middle School football squad, plays middle front in volleyball, patrols the post in basketball and bounces around between first, second and the outfield in softball. She was also a standout discus thrower during her middle school days, but had to let that go at the high school level when she chose softball as her spring sport.

While she enjoys all of her sports, and shows great promise as a potential rising star, it’s basketball which lays claim to her heart.

“Basketball is my favorite sport. I’ve been playing since kindergarten, maybe first grade,” Vidoni said. “I fell in love with the sport when my dad brought home the small basketball and hoop.“

Along with Walstad, she credits her father, who has officiated football, basketball and baseball games for three-plus decades, and her eighth grade basketball coach, as having the biggest impact on her sporting career.

“My dad is a big part of my life,” Vidoni said. “He is a big athletic supporter and he is a great help to me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today with out him!”

While her dad gave Vidoni her fighting spirit and natural talent, her coach helped to bring that talent out, while retaining the fun of the game.

“My eighth grade basketball coach, Coach O’Keefe, made a humongous impact in my basketball career,” Vidoni said. “He always put a smile on my face when I was feeling down, or having a bad day. He taught me new basketball tricks, and post moves that I still do today. He was always there for me, and my team.

“He taught me so much. It was a pain to leave middle school basketball,” she added. “I wouldn’t be the basketball player I am now with out him. He will always be my favorite basketball coach!“

Vidoni’s interests away from the sports arena are diverse. A fan of techno and dubstep music, she enjoys biology and weight training and has hopes of learning the French and Japanese languages. She’s interested in becoming a computer programmer and would like to one day play college basketball, as well.

First, though, she has plenty of time to become a star at the high school level, and then, like her mentor, become a role model for another generation. Be Like Bessie is a mantra that helps drive her. Be Like Vidoni may be the mantra for the next wave of Wolf athletes.

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Madeline Strasburg, seen here in a picture by Shelli Trumbull shot during last year’s softball season, is a multi-sport athlete who cooks, takes photos of her own and brings a sense of joy to everything she does.

Montana takes and Montana gives.

Three of Coupeville’s best football players from recent times — Dalton Engle, Mitch Pelroy and Tim Walstad — are currently attending Montana Western University, where the trio is putting in time and work in an effort to eventually see playing time on the gridiron with the Bulldogs.

In return, Big Sky Country has given Coupeville High School a key member of this year’s varsity volleyball team in the form of sophomore outside hitter Madeline Strasburg. With her spark-plug play this season (“Madeline is a go-getter and turning out to be one of our strongest, most consistent hitters,” said CHS coach Toni Crebbin), consider it a fair trade.

Strasburg has actually been on Whidbey for a while, also playing basketball and softball for the Wolves, but she first picked up her love for volleyball while living in Montana as a grade-schooler.

“I met the high school volleyball coach (Bill Dirkes) through my mom and he had told me I should play volleyball in the fall. I was only going into the fifth grade and I had never played before so I was very nervous!,” Strasburg said. “He told me I would do well, and I did.

“He was the person who taught me and made me love the sport,” she added. “I loved watching his girls play, and I don’t think it has occurred to me yet that I am now one of those girls.”

Strasburg, who also credits her mom for always pushing her to do her best, while offering tons of support, is still a work in progress on the court.

“I feel I am a very aggressive player,” Strasburg said. “I would really like to work on my back row play, as well as my communication on the court. I would like to get stronger in my position.

“As a team, we are young, so we want to gain experience, learn from each other, and be the best that we can be!,” she added.

A well-rounded student/athlete, Strasburg bounces from love to love, much in the same manner that she flies around the court.

“I love to cook!,” she said. “I also like photography. I am in my second year of yearbook class, and I thoroughly enjoy it, because I can be creative and take pictures.

“I also love watching football and cheering for the guys who come to our games and cheer for us!,” she added. “Plus, if you’re taking pictures for yearbook, you get to be a lot closer to the game!”

Her happiness, which is always bubbling up, explodes when she talks about volleyball. It’s clear she gets a a deep, abiding joy from her time on and off the court with her teammates.

“I am so excited this year to be on varsity and to get to play with girls like Bessie Walstad and fellow sophomore Hailey Hammer,” Strasburg said. “I think it is awesome to be able to play on the same level as girls that are so great at volleyball! I am very excited for this season and the ones to come!” 

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