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“I want to keep getting better!”

Posted in Basketball, Softball, Volleyball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, freshman, Jada Heaton, Softball, volleyball, Whidbey Island Inferno on July 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Jada Heaton (left) and Mia Farris, ready to rock the softball diamond. (Jennifer Heaton photo)

“I have a great group of friends I play softball with. Every year we strive to be better.”

That’s working out quite nicely for Jada Heaton, as she and her playing companions have done exactly that — get progressively stronger and more-talented with each season.

The group has piled up wins, captured district titles, and made runs at the state tourney as little leaguers, capped by a recent fourth-place finish at the big dance in Vancouver while playing as the Whidbey Island All-Star juniors squad.

Along the way, a quick scan of photos shows Heaton almost always wearing a huge smile while in action, whether spraying hits at the plate or chasing down long bombs to the outfield.

“Get back here, you!” Heaton pulls off a Willie Mays-style catch near the outfield wall. (Jackie Saia photo)

The young star on the rise derives a great deal of joy from her time on the field, and her time spent with a close-knit group of friends.

“Softball is my favorite, because I’ve been playing since I was little,” Heaton said. “I like playing sports with my friends as a team. Win or lose. Trying to always get better.”

Now, with her little league days having come to an end after big wins at the state tourney over teams from Puyallup and Mukilteo, she’s on the path to beginning a new career as an athlete.

Heaton will be a freshman at Coupeville High School in the fall, and plans to play volleyball, basketball, and softball for the Wolves.

“I’m excited to play them all in high school,” she said. “I want to keep getting better; hopefully letter in all three of those sports.”

“Hand me my bat, ladies. Mama has to go wreck some fools!” (Jackie Saia photo)

Athletics keep Heaton hopping — “Not much time for anything besides sports,” she said with a laugh — but she did have a great time in one particular class.

“I enjoyed working on the middle school yearbook,” she said. “Hoping I will be on the yearbook staff for high school.”

In everything she does, Heaton leans on those close to her for positive reinforcement.

“My family is always supporting me,” she said. “I (also) have an amazing group of friends.

“Most of us have been together since preschool,” Heaton added. “I am thankful for their friendship.”

Regardless of which of her sports she’s playing at a given moment, she always tries to approach things with a can-do outlook.

“One of my strengths as an athlete would be my attitude,” Heaton said. “I try hard to encourage my teammates.

“I also listen to my coaches good and bad. Learn from what they are telling me,” she added. “I will work 110% and not give up. Working hard, but also having fun doing it.”

The happy warrior. (Corinn Parker photo)

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Big bat, big dreams

Posted in Softball, Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, freshman, Incredibles 2, Softball, Taylor Brotemarkle, volleyball, Whidbey Island Inferno on July 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Taylor Brotemarkle, who will be a freshman at Coupeville High School in the fall, is a high-achiever with a bright future. (Jackie Saia photo)

Taylor Brotemarkle has big dreams.

The Coupeville High School freshman-to-be is coming off a very-successful trip to the state tourney with the Whidbey Island All-Star juniors softball team.

Brotemarkle and her squad, which included seven girls each from Coupeville and Oak Harbor, rolled to a district title, then split four games at the big dance, finishing fourth out of eight teams.

As the Inferno eliminated teams from Puyallup and Mukilteo, a key player, on both offense and defense, was their go-go sparkplug.

A three-sport athlete who loves the animated super hero film Incredibles 2, hanging out with her pack of close friends, and attending language arts class, she’s part of a very-promising group from the CHS Class of 2025.

Now, as Brotemarkle gets ready for the next stage of her school days, she has a bold plan in place for her high school athletic career.

“(I want) to win a state title for softball,” she said.

“I dare you to throw that ball, sister!” (Jackie Saia photo)

Don’t doubt her commitment to the cause, as Brotemarkle has already shown a strong work ethic, and a high desire to achieve.

The young star, who delights in “the memories I get to make, and the competitiveness” of being an athlete, hails a future teammate and a current coach with a close personal connection for their help along the way.

“My friend Bella (Whalen) has helped me grow so much as an athlete, as well as my mom, (Kimberly), who is one of my softball coaches,” Brotemarkle said.

Mom and daughter celebrate winning a district softball title in 2019. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

After playing volleyball, basketball, and softball through middle school, she plans to “definitely stick with softball as well as volleyball” in high school.

While she enjoys, and excels, in all of her activities, Brotemarkle would choose diamond life as her #1 path.

“Softball (is my favorite), because I have one of the most amazing groups of girls for a team,” she said. “And they make it so much fun, and we have made such great memories.”

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“I like the adrenaline rush”

Posted in Basketball, Softball, Volleyball, tagged Coupeville Middle School, math class, Softball, taekwondo, Teagan Calkins on July 14, 2021| 1 Comment »

Teagan Calkins zooms to the front of the pack as a cross country runner. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Teagan Calkins is ahead of the pack.

The ever-active Coupeville student/athlete, who will be an eighth-grader this fall, has spent much of her time playing ahead of her age group.

At age 12, Calkins is the youngest member of the Whidbey Island All-Star juniors softball team, which just concluded a successful four-game run at the state tourney.

While in Vancouver, she played in the outfield and caught, while being the team’s second most-productive hitter at the plate.

The youngest girl on the Whidbey Island All-Star junior softball squad, Calkins played strongly at the state tournament. (Jackie Saia photos)

It’s just the latest highlight for Calkins, who has also played soccer, cross country, basketball, and volleyball, while participating in gymnastics and taekwondo.

It’s a busy sports lifestyle, but one she plans to keep going. When she hits high school in a year, Calkins hopes to play volleyball, basketball, and softball, while also staying with taekwondo.

While she enjoys all her sports, softball and volleyball currently top the list.

“Softball because I enjoy kinda being in charge of the field, because of the positions I play, which are center field and catcher,” Calkins said. “Volleyball because I like diving and receiving a lot. I like playing libero.”

Calkins flies home with a run.

Regardless of the sport, being active and involved are big for her, and she embraces the exciting aspect of each activity.

“I like the adrenaline rush and being focused on one thing,” Calkins said. “To leave everything else behind and just focus on the sport.”

Away from competition, she enjoys math class (“I’ve just always loved math, and I’m really good at it”), and has shown a keen eye as a photographer, emulating mom Jackie Saia.

Already a star, at age six.

On the field, or court, or trail, or mat, Calkins brings energy and fearlessness to everything she does.

“My strengths are having motivation to dive to get the ball in both softball and volleyball and having good stamina,” she said.

“I’d like to work on how to play every position if I’m needed in softball, and “crashing” to stop the ball at catcher,” Calkins added. “I’d also like to work on pitching … release point, and speed, and how to do different releases for different pitches.”

To get to where she is, and to get to where she wants to be, Calkins has benefited from strong coaching, something she highly appreciates.

“Coach Fred (Farris) has coached me in softball for five years and taught me pretty much everything I know,” she said.

“When I was put in higher level volleyball camp and being the only 7th grader on an all-8th grade team, I was coached by coach Cris (Matochi).

“He was very encouraging and positive.”

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Summer time is spike time

Posted in Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Jill Prince, Ryanne Knoblich, summer camp, volleyball, Western Washington University on July 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Lucy Tenore and friends participated in a summer volleyball team camp at Western Washington University. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

No off-season.

Coming off a second-place finish in their first season back in the Northwest 2B/1B League, the Coupeville High School volleyball coaches and players continue to put in the work.

Nine Wolves made the trek to Western Washington University recently for the school’s annual summer team camp, and the lessons learned should pay huge dividends down the road.

“We improved our cohesion and ability to play out-of-system, which is always a big obstacle to overcome with any new team,” CHS coach Cory Whitmore said.

“Our communication became more productive and with four seniors from the previous season no longer with us, our new leadership was a huge part of our focus.

“I believe each player that attended camp improved at their particular role.”

Returning varsity vets Lucy Tenore, Jill Prince, Maddie Georges, Alita Blouin, Abby Mulholland, Ryanne Knoblich, and Gwen Gustafson were joined by Olivia Schaffeld and Lyla Stuurmans.

“It’s a relatively smaller group to take to camp and meet the physical and mental challenges of four days of drills and scrimmaging and tournament matches,” Whitmore said. “Very few substitutes and for some, none at all.

“I’m really proud of not only how they held up through the challenges, but how they progressed through them.”

Whitmore praised the effort of all nine players, with a special emphasis on three.

“A couple to mention would be Alita playing virtually non-stop through a back injury that is in rehab,” he said. “Maddie for being the only setter, so scrambling and moving constantly to help her teammates.

“And Lyla, a freshman, having to learn the rotations at an accelerated rate in addition to playing a full six rotations for the team.”

With the pandemic receding, the hope is for a normal fall high school volleyball season to kick off the 2021-2022 school year, with Coupeville chasing two-time defending state champ La Conner.

The battle is eternal, and Whitmore is ready.

“We have a great foundation to take into the fall and we definitely left camp stronger than we entered it,” he said.

“This is a fun group to work with, and I’m looking forward to continue our team development to finish out the summer.”

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Chloe Marzocca writes a tale of athletic success

Posted in Softball, Volleyball, tagged Chloe Marzocca, freshman, Softball, Stand By Me, volleyball on July 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Chloe Marzocca fires a fastball. (Jackie Saia photo)

Chloe Marzocca is a fast adapter.

While playing multiple sports, the incoming Coupeville High School freshman has shown an ability to adjust to whatever her coaches require, a trait which should pay off as she moves to another level.

“I think my strengths as an athlete are being able to play multiple positions, and play well, and absorbing information that the coaches teach me relatively fast,” Marzocca said.

“I’ve played multiple positions over a span of multiple years,” she added. “I think that makes it a lot easier to play with a bunch of new people in both sports.”

After a busy middle school career in which she played little league softball, while also suiting up for volleyball and track and field at CMS, Marzocca is focusing on the first two sports heading forward.

Fresh off a stellar season with the Central Whidbey Little League juniors softball squad, she’s now playing for a summer team led by the high school coaching staff.

Swinging a hot bat, and helping to anchor the defense with a steady supply of web gems, Marzocca is already making her mark.

Exactly as she hoped to.

“I would have to say softball is my favorite sport,” Marzocca said. “There’s no specific reason as to why it’s my favorite, but being able to get out on the field and have fun with little to no care in the world kind of fuels my love for the game.”

The joy of competing is what draws her to all of her sports.

“What I enjoy about being an athlete is getting out and seeing how other people play,” Marzocca said. “And improving myself, mentally and physically.”

Geared up to rumble on the softball field with teammate Allison Nastali. (Jennifer Marzocca photo)

When she’s not busy practicing or playing, the Wolf frosh can often be found putting the skills learned in the classroom to use.

“My favorite class has always been English,” Marzocca said. “I enjoy writing and reading, to the point where, if I’m bored, I can find myself writing a short story, or maybe reading another book, and forgetting about it for probably a week.”

She hails Stephen King’s sublime Stand by Me as a favorite movie, as it “reminds me of my friend group, and it’s just an entertaining movie to watch.”

Marzocca would like to “letter at least two to three times in both (my) sports,” and to “just improve as a player and teammate overall.”

As she’s progressed through school, sports, and life itself, having the support of family and friends, especially the tight-knit group of girls she shares the field and courts with, has been invaluable.

“I think the people who mostly impacted me to be who I am today are my parents and my close friends,” Marzocca said. “I’ve learned a lot from all of them, and they’ve done a lot for me in and out of sports.”