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Well played, Maia Sparkman, well played!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist on October 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Maia Sparkman, a hat trick-scoring class act. Too bad she’s not a Wolf.

Dang it.

Maia Sparkman plays for the wrong school, but you can’t dislike her — even when she’s busy whuppin’ on the right team.

When I threw out an olive branch briefly to South Whidbey High School earlier this year (after much poking of them), Ms. Sparkman was the first Falcon to respond, and not by staring daggers at me for an entire basketball game, as most of them are fond of doing.

In her answers, I found her to be an intelligent, well-spoken, extremely gracious young woman who has fought back from a terrible ankle injury to reclaim her rightful spot on the soccer pitch.

Even when I gave her a chance to rip me for my trash talking about her school, she proved to be far more mature and well-reasoned than I was, taking the high road and speaking about her love for her school and not slamming another school.

She’s a class act, through and through.

So, while there’s little for Wolf fans to be thrilled about after South Whidbey came up the Island and snatched a 3-0 victory away Tuesday night, you have to give a round of applause to Sparkman.

It was her hat trick which swung the game in favor of the Falcons (3-9) — while the exceedingly friendly Cassie Neil (double dang), another brilliant young woman who I have written a feature story about, shut out Coupeville (2-9) in goal for the second time this season.

So, it is what it is. Some nights you can dislike the result, but appreciate the people responsible for it.

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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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“You dirty, dirty sell-out!!”

Posted in Joel Norris is unhappy, Poking the Canucks, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist on July 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Dost I dare show my face in C-Town?

“It’s called COUPEVILLE SPORTS, man, not make the South Enders feel better about living on the wrong end of the Island Sports!!”

The backlash to the backlash begins.

For 10 months, I have chafed South Whidbey High School, their athletes, school administrators (who unofficially banned me from their school, but won’t admit it publicly, which would give me another half-assed cause to rant about) and, most notably, their fans.

The Falcons are Coupeville’s closest rival, in proximity and size and they’re easy to tweak, since they get so passively-aggressively riled about it.

If silent, vaguely-disapproving glares could kill my soul, I would have died a painful death during the basketball playoff games in the Langley gym last winter.

But now, to the horror of my die-hard red-and-black-wearing fan base, I’ve gone and scandalized the world by writing not one, but two, positive, non-snarky feature stories about SWHS athletes — Maia Sparkman and Parker Collins.

There’s even a chance there will be more, as Cassie Neil and Tera Applegate have said yes to the idea.

Which leads some Wolf fans to loudly scream that I’ve sold my soul to the hippie devils.

Maybe. Just a bit.

But if I have, I did it for several reasons.

One, as more and more South Enders read the blog, if they realize I’m willing to be fair to their Falcons — at least some of the time — there’s a chance a couple of them decide, what the hey, let’s advertise on the fastest-rising sports web site on Whidbey Island.

Could happen. Should happen.

My contact info is located under “David’s Best Ever Friends” and my rates are exceedingly reasonable. Just saying.

It also gives me another chance to head-slap the Canadian-owned newspapers of this Island. Right hand hits the Whidbey News-Times, left hand smacks the Whidbey Examiner, then both heads whip back and bonk the South Whidbey Record Three Stooges-style.

Cause, despite all the filthy lucre the Canadian Corporate Overlords up in Moosejaw seem to be willing to pump into their pale versions of what once were proud papers — they flat out aren’t doing the job. And man, the Record provides the slowest, thinnest coverage of them all.

Those two features on Sparkman and Collins — from a part-timer who DOESN’T EVEN COVER SOUTH WHIDBEY — trumps what the Record has produced in the last year. Ouch.

And thirdly, you always have to keep ’em guessing. No one expects Coupeville Sports to cover cars running into buildings in Oak Harbor, but every time I do, the page views roll in … just like the cars do before hitting the wall.

Now, let’s be honest here.

Once a new high school season starts up and the Wolves go back to pounding on the Falcons (we own The Bucket in football, baseball and softball spanked you hard and in golf, your best golfers were … Coupeville kids … so facts are facts), will I offend again?

Will I remind the folks in Langley that their former mayor enjoys jail food? Probably.

And they’ll surely remind me of their deeply-held belief that Coupeville smells like poop.

But I DON’T hate South Whidbey. Some of my favorite people were born and raised there.

I can celebrate their athletes — who seem like really intelligent, well-spoken, talented young men and women — and still poke the South End and its high school for not being as awesome as Coupeville is, in my eyes.

There’s a big difference between hate and spirited rivalry.

Hate is what a person feels for carpetbaggers who profit off of other people’s writing, then sell out the heritage of proud papers to maple syrup-chuggin’ robber barons who promptly erase that paper’s history (and all the bylines).

THOSE are the people deserving of a righteous head slap.

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The Falcons are alright: Parker Collins soars!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Football, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist on July 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Parker Collins comes up firing for the Falcons. (S Collins photo)

Parker Collins comes up firing for the Falcons. (Heather Collins photo)

Back in his Coupeville days.

After 10 months of “picking” on South Whidbey, I have decided to offer an olive branch to Coupeville’s closest rival.

While I don’t exactly want the Falcons to beat the Wolves at anything, the reality is there are a lot of very talented, very smart young men and women wearing the blue and white. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge them.

Cause Lord knows the Canadian-owned South Whidbey Record isn’t exactly doing a bang-up job at it.

Parker Collins has his head on straight.

The South Whidbey High School junior, who actually attended Coupeville Elementary for several years (“A big shout out to Mr. Noste and the 4th grade recess football crew!”), lists lunch as his favorite school activity and is a die-hard Portland Trailblazer fan.

“I enjoy rooting for the Trailblazers, who are going to make a deep playoff run with future All-Star Damian Lillard and current All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge leading the charge,” Collins said.

As a fellow Blazer true believer who has cheered/suffered with them since the glory days of Clyde the Glide and Uncle Cliffy, here’s hoping the kid knows what he talks about.

Whether on the court (he plays forward for the Falcons hoops squad) or gridiron (he’s a quarterback/tight end for SWHS), Collins is a talented player on the rise. One who has developed his skills while learning the games the right way under strong coaches.

“My father has had a big impact on who I am today,” Collins said. “He is an “old-school” coach and player, and I think I get my work ethic and sense of team play from him.”

Collins was also heavily influenced by one of his teachers at Langley Middle School, who showed you can impart wisdom while keeping it fun.

“Mr. Ratekin is my favorite teacher. He is a really good teacher because he was able to teach us difficult material and still make it enjoyable,” Collins said. “We played basketball every day at lunch, and he made us play as a team, while playing with us, which was a blast.”

In post-season interviews of last year’s Falcon seniors, Collins name came up frequently as being a big part of South Whidbey’s future hoops success. After playing AAU basketball off-Island this year, he’d love to live up to their hopes, but remains low-key when discussing his own talent.

“I think that I am a team player. I put the team before myself,” Collins said, “I also think that I am a pretty intelligent player. I understand the game and enjoy the strategy behind it.

“I feel like that I have grown a lot as a player, and I enjoy my teammates and coaches,” he added. “Each year I try to improve some aspect of my game, and I would also like our South Whidbey squads to play as a team.”

A big fan of local musical artists such as the KnowMads, Collins likes Will Ferrell films and says “Netflix is always there for me, so I try to return the favor.”

As one of those who have spent time in both school systems (Collins‘ fourth grade class photo features current Coupeville High School athletic stars like Aaron Curtin, Hailey Hammer and Joel Walstad), he has a unique perspective on the differences between being a Falcon and a Wolf.

“I think that both schools are very lucky in that each one is small, so you are able to be part of a close-knit community,” Collins said.

Then he stops and grins and delivers a nice zinger.

“Well, Coupeville USED to be better… However, since my transfer to the South Whidbey School District, it has been all downhill for the Wolves!”

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The Falcons are alright: Maia Sparkman sparkles!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist, Track on June 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Maia Sparkman and older brother Guy.

Sparkman makes the magic happen on the soccer pitch.

After 10 months of “picking” on South Whidbey, I have decided to offer an olive branch to Coupeville’s closest rival.

Cause Lord knows the Canadian-owned South Whidbey Record isn’t exactly doing a bang-up job at it.

Maia Sparkman has talent for days.

The Falcon senior soccer star, who has been her team’s starting center midfielder since her first moments on the pitch as a freshman, decided to run track last year. Bam! Trip to state as a key member of South Whidbey’s 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relay squads.

But it’s the beautiful game which has taken most of her time and energy, as Sparkman balances her high school team with playing for the Northwest Nationals premier squad.

“My favorite sport is soccer and I am very passionate about this sport,” Sparkman said. “I think what I enjoy the most is setting up my teammates for a goal scoring opportunity.

“To me, it’s not really scoring the goal that counts, it’s the build up of the play to make that goal happen,” she added. “I am also a strong leader. I bring a lot of communication to the game which really helps my teammates keep pushing themselves.”

Her career on the pitch has been dotted with huge moments, from a “golden goal” to beat Sultan in double overtime last season to a beautiful assist which set up freshman Annie Lux on a header that downed Granite Falls in a second extra period.

“Beating Granite was a huge milestone for South Whidbey’s varsity team because when I was a freshman the only team we beat was Sultan,” Sparkman said. “My sophomore year we only beat Coupeville and Sultan, and my junior we beat Coupeville, Sultan and Granite.

“I think the the girls soccer team is slowly regaining its strength and the school will support girls soccer now if we start doing better,” she added.

Sparkman and fellow senior Madi Boyd, also a state meet contender in track, pace the Falcons. The duo have played together since they were barely taller than the ball.

“Madi is an outstanding player that I’ve been playing sports with ever since I was in probably 3rd grade,” Sparkman said. “I’m excited to share my senior soccer season with her.

“My goal for this upcoming season is to have a better winning record then last year. It’ll be a struggle to beat Cedarcrest, King’s and Archbishop because they have so many premiere level players that SW just doesn’t have,” she added. “I don’t have doubts that our team will be great, but even if we end up not doing well, I still want to make it a season to remember.”

With her successes tempered by hard work and setbacks (a tough loss that cost her premier team a trip to nationals made her realize “even with a lead, a team won’t win if they don’t play until the end of the game”, while a broken ankle was hard to fight back from), Sparkman relishes the moment.

Along for the ride have been parents Russell and Noriko Sparkman, who have encouraged her, inspired her and shaped the vibrant young woman Falcon fans see today.

“I broke my ankle very badly in February of 2012 which required surgery and being on crutches for three months, then I had rehab for another month and a half,” Sparkman said. “My mom pushed me through my recovery and kept reminding me that I will be back on my feet playing soccer in no time.

“It helped receiving encouragement from both my mom and dad while I was on crutches because I was ready to give up soccer,” she added. “My mom deals with my attitude so often I’ll never find a way to thank her for putting up with me.”

More than just an athlete, Sparkman offers the complete package. An ASB secretary, she has graced the honor roll every semester of her high school career, is in National Honor Society and enjoys Spanish club and DECA.

While she’s committed to attending a four-year university after high school, she’s not sure whether she’ll continue to play soccer or will take a breather from a lifestyle that has required a huge output of time and effort.

She’s received interest from Pacific, UC Santa Cruz and Evergreen State, and while she appreciates the offers, it may be time for a change.

“I’m undecided on if I want to play in college because I kind of want to just live my life without making my life around soccer,” Sparkman said. “I have committed all four years of my high school life to soccer because of how much I practice overtown and the ferry rides take up a lot of time.

“I kind of want to just live my life without making soccer my number one priority,” she added. “I will be choosing the school that I want to go to first, then if I can play soccer there I will probably end up playing. If I can’t play on the varsity team at the school that I end up at, I will for sure play for a club or intramural team.”

Talented on the soccer pitch and in the classroom, Sparkman tops it off with a grace not always seen at the high school level. Given the chance to blast Coupeville and proclaim her school’s superiority, she instead chooses to focus on the positives of her experience as a Falcon.

“I don’t know many people from Coupeville and I’m sure everyone is nice, but South Whidbey has a family-like relationship with each other,” Sparkman said. “I can walk around the hallways and comfortably say hi to everybody.

“I enjoy being a Falcon because every person from our school is proud of who they are and where they come from.”

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