Coupeville Sports

“Follow me if you want to live!!” Toni Crebbin — coach, mom, mentor and laser tag beast, all rolled into one.

Two decades.

That’s how long Toni Crebbin was involved in the Coupeville High School volleyball program, first as an assistant, than as head coach of the Wolves.

A firm leader (“We don’t back down … ever,” she once said when asked what it took for the small 1A school to compete in the Cascade Conference, where five of the other seven programs are much-larger 2A schools), she also had a soft side, frequently joking with and teasing her players.

What was always remarkable about her CHS teams was how her players never seemed (in public, at least) to get down on one another.

They celebrated as a team when one of their own made a great play and they kidded each other, but never screamed at one another, when a player failed.

I have to think a large part of that comes from the zen-like Crebbin, a mother of four who, off the court, devotes a chunk of her life to helping poor and crippled orphans in China.

Crebbin’s impact will be felt long after she leaves the bench, something you can easily tell by the words of some of her current and former players.

“I’ve learned so much from her in the two years I’ve been playing in high school. She was an amazing coach,” said sophomore middle blocker Hailey Hammer. “The whole locker room was in tears when she told us the news. It’s sad to see her go, but we understand why she is doing it.

“Crebbin and (departing assistant coach) Shannon Holcomb) will be missed so much, but we know that they will always be with us.”

Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby, a star player on teams in the early 2000’s that went to state several years running, first played for Crebbin as a member of the JV team when she was a freshman.

“Coach Crebbin really helped me develop my fundamental skills as a volleyball player,” Ellsworth-Bagby said. “I think she has great knowledge and skill for helping players reach their potential. The program will most definitely miss her.”

That was a feeling seconded by Taya Boonstra, who graduated last year and is now attending the University of Washington.

“Having Mrs. Crebbin as a coach was an honor,” Boonstra said. “She is one of the most sincere, caring women I have ever met, and an inspiration not only on the volleyball court but in life as well.

“Mrs. Crebbin was like a second mother, because if you were having a bad day, she could tell, and she’d pull you aside and make sure everything was okay,” she added. “What I love most about Mrs. Crebbin is that she truly cares about her players as individuals, and she believed in us as a team when not many other people did.

“She has put her heart and soul into her teams for years, and I know Coupeville will be on the right track if they can find a coach half as kind and inspiring as Mrs. Crebbin.”

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A different side of the volleyball coach, on one of her missions to China to help orphans.

One of the best coaches I have worked with on and off for the past two decades is leaving the biz.

Toni Crebbin, who led by example on the court and off, where she helped lead numerous missions to help Chinese orphans, is stepping down as Coupeville High School volleyball coach after twenty years in the program. Assistant Shannon Holcomb is exiting with her, leaving CHS minus both a varsity and JV coach.

Their final moments came in a loss to Friday Harbor at the district tourney Saturday, and then, in the locker room, when Crebbin told an emotional team about her and Holcomb’s imminent departures.

“I was really upset when she told us, because I still have two years left and because I didn’t get to know her as well as I wish I could have,” said sophomore outside hitter Madeline Strasburg. “When Creb and Shannon told us they were both leaving, I think everyone in the locker room got tears in their eyes. I wish she wasn’t going, but I am so proud to say I was one of the girls she coached!

“She was a great coach!,” she added. “Whenever we would come into a timeout she was always encouraging us, even when we were down by a lot. She always believed in us.”

The decision had been several years in the making, Crebbin said. With the younger of her two sons, Josh, graduating from Oak Harbor this year, and two adorable eight-year old daughters hanging around the house looking for a bit of mom time, 20 years had a nice ring to it.

“I figured it was a nice round number to end on,” Crebbin said. “Seriously, I have been talking this over with my husband for three years now, planning for my son Josh’s senior year to be my last.

“This year’s team was one of the nicest groups I have coached, not to mention drama free, so it was nice to finish with that as a positive,” she added. “Now I can play mom and actively participate in my daughter’s off island gymnastics carpool, as well as anticipating driving off Island for my other daughter’s select soccer in the near future. Who knows, I may even coach them in club volleyball some day!”

While she has always rooted for two schools, with her husband Mike running the wrestling program at OHHS and Josh playing football and wrestling for the Wildcats, she is not forsaking the Wolves any time soon.

“Cheering on the CHS volleyball team is definitely on my agenda too,” Crebbin said. “I told (Coupeville AD) Lori Stolee that I will help out with the transition and will make the new coach’s transition a smooth one.

“I am coordinating with Steve Swankie to get the club team up and running,” she added. “So hopefully there is a high number of participation from the girls.”

While the decision probably won’t fully impact her until the next volleyball season arrives and she no longer finds herself on the bench, she is already moving on and adjusting to life as a full-time mom and cheerleader.

“This is usually the time when volleyball slows down for me, and life gets cranking as a wrestling widow/mom,” Crebbin said. “I’m looking forward to being in the stands and cheering my son on to state — although I think that is more stressful than coaching!”

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The Wolves in happier times. (Aimee Bishop photo)

Not even some Hammer Time could save the Wolves.

Despite strong all-around play from sophomore middle blocker Hailey Hammer, the Coupeville High School volleyball team bowed out Saturday after absorbing back-to-back losses at the District 1 tournament.

The Wolves opened strongly, stretching eventual second-place finisher Nooksack Valley to four sets. Paced by Bessie Walstad’s 11 kills and Hammer’s nine kills and three aces, Coupeville fell 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22.

Perhaps thrown off a bit by the loss, the Wolves then stumbled in a loser-out match to a team they should have been able to beat.

“Unfortunately, the second match against Friday Harbor was the polar opposite (of the Nooksack match). We came out flat and pretty much stayed that way,” said Coupeville coach Toni Crebbin. “Despite the scores being almost identical, we were playing a weaker team and it should not have ended that way.”

Friday Harbor won 25-17, 25-23, 25-23, as Coupeville finally kicked into gear with a too-late third-set rally behind Hammer, who nailed five of her eight kills. The Wolves wrapped up their season at 4-13.

King’s, which remained unbeaten and largely untouched (the Knights swept three opponents to the tune of 225-149), won the district tourney, with Nooksack Valley claiming second. South Whidbey and Lynden Christian will play Monday, Oct. 29 to decide third and fourth.

The tournament was the final go-around for three Wolf seniors, as Walstad, Katie Kiel and Lauren Escalle wrapped up their time as CHS spikers.

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