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Archive for the ‘Softball’ Category

Farm Dog — forever a friend of the world!!

Posted in Memories, Softball on September 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Stacie Farmer turns 26 this Saturday.

She is not here to celebrate the milestone, but her spirit remains with everyone who met her, for a day or a lifetime. She continues to touch us all, and that will never change.

There may be anger on her birthday, which is also, unfortunately, the day of her passing. Stacie was only 24 when she left the psychical world, her body unable to overcome the pain and horror of a terrible accident. In a world full of hateful, spiteful people, it is hard to accept that someone who shone so brightly, and with such openness and love to others, should be the one to leave.

But it’s that openness, that love, that wild embrace of life that she exhibited in everything, every day, every way — on the softball field at Coupeville High School, hanging out at Miriam’s Espresso or flying down a river in West Virginia — attacking each new adventure with a sense of glee.

Wherever she went, she remained her own person. In a job description she posted on Facebook, she said her duties were: I get paid to chill with kids and their sticky jam hands too.

Farm Dog connected everyone. Bouncing through life, her dreadlocks and eternally smiling face live on through the memories of her friends — and anyone who met her became her friend.

I still hope that Coupeville High School officials will listen and do the right thing, naming the softball field at CHS for Stacie.

Not only was she a talented player, but her message — that you treat everyone as if they were your friend and you’ll be surprised how many respond in kind — is one that should never be forgotten. Putting her name, and memory, in a place where the young athletes of Coupeville learn life lessons, couldn’t be more appropriate.

Of all the time wasted on Facebook, the best day I ever had was July 19, 2011.

That day we set out to take our tribute page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Name-the-CHS-softball-field-for-Stacie-Farmer/180461272015937) to what we thought of as a big milestone. The page was less than a week old and we wanted to crack 100 “likes.”

Instead, over the next 24 hours, 374 new people joined. Eventually we settled in at close to 800 “likes,” equal to more than a third of Coupeville’s population.

It was an amazing outpouring of love and support for Stacie and her family, a promise she would not be forgotten, that we would remember the message in her mellow smile.

And so that is what I will do this week and what I hope others can do as well. Instead of dwelling on the anger and hurt and sadness, I hope we can take time to remember the lives she touched, the joy she brought to those around her, the light she spread in her time amongst us.

In tragedy, new hope has bloomed.

I have watched as friends from the past have been reconnected, sharing their stories of Farm Dog on her personal Facebook page, which her family left open for just that reason. I have seen strangers drawn together by the light she left behind.

Refuse to give in to the pain and darkness. Remember Stacie and remember her words — Bhavuta sabba mangalam. May all beings be happy.

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Felici — it’s Italian for awesome!!

Posted in Cheer, Softball on August 22, 2012| 1 Comment »

   Two of Coupeville’s best promoters of school and community spirit, Julia Felici (on left) and Nicole Becker.

There are people who are going through their lives, and than there are people who are making a real difference.

Julia Felici is young, only a junior at Coupeville High School, but the Wolf cheerleader and softballer already falls squarely into the second category.

From raising huge gobs of money for cancer research in honor of a close family friend who fell to the disease, to her work as a worthy adviser with her local assembly of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls — a Masonic youth service organization — Felici is touching lives.

“She’s pretty amazing!! Not that I’m partial or anything,” said Nanette Streubel, mother of Felici’s boyfriend, gridiron giant Nick Streubel.

Did we also mention that she loves her parents (“My Dad has to be my biggest influence. He has always led me by example and puts 100% into everything he does. He’s always taught me that good things come to those who work for it and to strive to be the best I can be.”) and is now taking karate classes with him?

The family that roundhouse kicks together stays together.

Felici comes across as a genuinely nice person, a young woman not out to toot her own horn, which is maybe why she hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity yet.

But she is without a doubt the kind of person a community looks at, takes a second look and then says, “We should all be proud to have her as one of us.”

For her part, she remains refreshingly low-key in describing herself.

“I’m pretty much your normal teenage girl,” Felici said. “I love cows, anything pink or sparkly, hanging out with my boyfriend Nick, spending countless hours on Pinterest, being with my family (especially my nephew Drake) and just being with my friends.”

Her community efforts have included a commitment to Relay for Life, an annual event to raise funds and awareness in the fight against cancer.

“A close family friend died of cancer after a long fight almost two years ago and it made a huge impact on my life and is the reason I am trying to help make a change,” Felici said.

“This year I sold sweatshirts and tote bags that said “fight like a girl” on the front and “support breast cancer awareness” on the back,” she added. “I planned on selling them just for breast cancer awareness month but kept receiving orders and ended up selling them until June. From the sweatshirts and bags alone I raised almost $900 for Relay for Life.”

When she’s not raising money, or fulfilling her duties to the Order of the Rainbow for Girls (“Being worthy adviser is much like being president of a club; I plan a calendar, run the meetings and communicate with all the adults and girls in the assembly. It takes up most of my time when I’m not at cheer”) she is one of the linchpins of Sylvia Arnold’s cheer squad.

A sport she almost didn’t take up.

“I started cheer halfway through football season freshman year,” Felici said. “The first home game of the season I watched from the bleachers and I realized I would much rather be on the sidelines with my friends cheering on the team then sitting on the cold bleachers.

“My favorite thing about cheer, well, at least about our cheer team, is that it’s the only time you can put 28 girls together and we all get along,” she added. “We all work together to accomplish great things.

“As for the physical aspect of cheer I love stunting, the fact that four girls can throw a girl in the air, have the girl do a 360 then catch her, will always amaze me.”

For those out there clinging to the antiquated notion that cheer is not a sport — we’ll call them idiots — all you have to do is watch one practice as Arnold cracks her (peppy, good-natured) whip.

“Cheerleading, just like any other sport, requires strength, determination and teamwork,” Felici said. “We go to competitions just like any other sport.

“I personally think cheer is one of the best sports because 90% of the time, the effort we put in to perfect our stunts and memorize our cheers is for the sole purpose of cheering on our friends and peers on the court and on the field,” she added. “We work hard to support others and bring spirit to the community.”

A community that is blessed to have a gem like her among us.

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You don’t mess with the Messner!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Softball, Volleyball on August 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Pick a sport and Breeanna Messner is at the forefront of the action. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Breeanna Messner is tired and sore, but that’s hardly going to stop her.

The Coupeville High School junior may be still feeling the effects of getting back into the flow of volleyball, having endured the opening day of practice Monday, but she’s already looking ahead to the new season.

And her outlook is, as always, remarkably upbeat.

Wherever Wolf coach Toni Crebbin needs her, Messner is the young woman for the job.

“I need to be ready to play any position,” Messner, who is expected to see a fair amount of time at outside hitter, said.

“We lost a lot of players this year, so I am not sure where I will be needed, but I will be ready to play whatever position benefits my team.”

Regardless of where she winds up on the floor at a given moment, Messner, who is also a star basketball and softball player for CHS, will always strive to get to a higher plane.

“I feel one of my biggest strengths is my desire to get better,” she said. “I always give 100% percent when I am on the court.

“I strive to be the best team player I can be and always encourage my team.

“I believe that there is always room for improvement,” she added. “I will take direction from my coach as to what areas she thinks I need to focus on.”

With the Wolves having lost key players such as Katie Smith, Taya Boonstra and Alexis Trumbull to graduation, while Madison Tisa McPhee has opted to play soccer during her senior season, Messner will be one of the few vets.

She and senior Bessie Walstad will need to set an example for a team that may skew very young.

“To provide leadership we will work towards creating an atmosphere that will help develop younger player’s confidence,” Messner said.

“My personal goal for this season is to improve my skills and make the players around me even better. As a team I want us to show improvement through every game and play deep into the playoffs.

“We have the talent to go far,” she added. “We just need to develop as a team with confidence and a positive mindset.”

That positive mindset is one of Messner’s key traits.

After her uncle Dick Messner, a 1963 CHS grad, was diagnosed with leukemia, she immediately jumped into action, taking part in The Big Climb.

That’s a fundraiser which had her climb a heart-pumping 69 floors to the top of the Columbia Tower in Seattle — the tallest building in Washington state.

The event combined two of her primary loves, sports and family.

Part of a tight-knit circle, she draws strength from their support, and appreciates the guidance offered by her coaches.

“Considering my whole life revolves around school and sports I don’t have a lot of free time,” Messner said. “I really enjoy spending time with my family — they all support me by coming to my games and working around my busy schedule.

“I have had a lot of great coaches like Coach Crebbin; she always has such a positive attitude and really knows what she is doing,” she added.

“A coach who really sticks out in my mind is my basketball/softball coach, David King. He has really helped me a lot as a player. He has really focused on my confidence, and through that I am more able to help my team.”

While she has two more years to excel in the red and black, Messner has begun to look to the future, as well.

She has plans to attend a four-year university and study sports oriented massage therapy.

If she can continue her on-field and on-court exploits, even better.

“I can only hope that I can play at the next level,” she said. “My plan is to continue to work hard with determination and hopefully pursue my dream of college basketball.

If the hard work, plucky attitude and raw athletic talent she has shown in the past is any indication, don’t count her out any time soon.

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