Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Any stray coins in the couch?

July 27, 2026 by David Svien

I’m staring into the abyss, and my old friend stares right back at me.

That Coupeville Sports — a free-to-read blog hyper-focused on small-town athletics (and a few other things) going down on a prairie in the middle of a chunk of rock way up in the Pacific Northwest hinterlands — is still alive, is nothing short of a miracle.

Or so I tell myself as I pound out stories at 2 AM on a computer fueled by a very-tired hamster on a wheel.

Somehow, we’re creeping up on 14 years, with the blog having debuted back in August 2012, and this is article #12,762.

We’ve survived a pandemic, me couch-surfing in West Virginia for three months, and a weaselly South Whidbey School Board member trying to get my advertisers to drop me in 2024 — while not realizing those ads were a one-time payment, with most of them having signed up eons ago.

But now, less than four weeks away from the first high school practice for a CHS sports team — football hits the field August 19 — I’m back to playing my old game.

Can I survive long enough to get to the fall, when donations typically rise and I’ll have the chance to seek financial aid from the booster club?

Or being unable to pay rent when August arrives, in a matter of a few days, will I finally achieve my destiny of living in a van down by the river? Just without the van.

I currently have three monthly bills — $600 for rent, $50 for internet (necessary for writing an internet blog), and $35 for phone service — with WordPress expecting $300 in mid-September to keep Coupeville Sports functioning for another year.

Since returning to Whidbey, I haven’t owned a vehicle, using Island Transit, dodging the high price of gas in America, and staring down oncoming traffic while navigating the side of the highway between bus stops.

Some of you are remarkably careful drivers, while a few of you need to focus on staying on your side of the white line a little better. Just sayin’.

I came back from my sisters in West Virginia because I hurt my foot clearing land, got an infection, and needed access to my Washington state health care. My recovery has prevented me from doing the kind of side work which has helped keep me afloat in previous years.

This is a tough time financially for almost all of us, except for maybe the billionaires out there, and I realize people’s generosity can only go so far.

I’m not asking for a handout.

I offer a unique service. No one else is doing what I’m doing, at least in this region.

If wall-to-wall coverage of Cow Town is something which matters to you, if having access to 900+ articles a year, is something you want to keep going, I need a little help.

The foot is almost healed, which would allow me to pick up outdoors work again, and there’s always a .0000001 chance Sports Illustrated or some Canadian media empire will suddenly decide to fully fund my writing.

Sweet pipe dreams are made of this…

If you can help, I greatly appreciate it.

There are a lot of stories yet to tell, if I can hold off the abyss a little longer.

 

PayPal:

https://paypal.me/DavidSvien?locale.x=en_US&country.x=US

 

Venmo:

David-Svien

 

Snail Mail:

1722 Whales Run Pl.
Coupeville, WA 98239

Posted in Ranting and Raving | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Glover was a rock for Wolves

July 26, 2026 by David Svien

Camden Glover rumbles on the hardwood. (Julie Wheat photo)

“I would like to continue to be a reliable team player.”

That was Camden Glover’s stated goal as he entered his freshman year at Coupeville High School, coming off a stellar run as a middle school athlete which included several big-game performances on the hardwood.

And it was one he achieved during a four-year run in which he was as solid as they come.

Stevie’s oldest son, who has always been a protective big bro to his younger siblings, had actually already made his high school debut as an 8th grader, playing for the JV baseball squad, where he tore the leather off the ball.

But once he was a full-time high school student Glover really made his impact felt, both as a hitter and a pitcher across four varsity seasons on the diamond.

Numbers wise, he racked up 67 hits, 18 doubles, 49 RBI, 50 runs, 52 walks, and 47 stolen bases — while rarely being thrown out — while leading the squad in batting average over his final two years by nailing the ball at a .380 and .420 clip.

Throwing the high, hard cheese, and daring hitters to try. (Jackie Saia photo)

Put him on the mound, and Glover was equally as imposing, piling up 172 strikeouts in 101 innings of work on the bump.

Not only was the burly prairie native a danger to other teams whether he was flinging heat or taking swings, he was the kind of dude any coach wants at the center of their lineup.

In both good times, such as the Wolves advancing to the state tourney, or tough times, when he helped hold together a very-thin lineup, Glover carried himself the same.

He was a professional through and through, a leader by action and word, and, to those of us on the outside of the fence, seemed to be the glue which held his team together.

That was a mentality which carried over to his other high school sports, as well.

On the football field, Glover prowled the line, going both ways and anchoring things for the Wolves.

Few opponents got past him when he laid down a block, and he could be a menace on defense, often rumbling into the backfield to stuff a runner or pursue the other team’s quarterback.

Sharing a moment with fellow prairie progeny Lyal Viers (1) and Andy Penrod. (Tammy Glover photo)

Put him on a basketball court, and Glover was a truly intriguing player.

He had the size and strength to pound away in the key, muscling his way through defenders for hotly contested buckets.

But take your eye off of him for a second, and he would also pop out behind the three-point line, where he could be a deadly proficient long-range gunner, splashing home treys before the defense had fully registered what was happening.

Glover put in two really solid seasons of work at the varsity level, finishing with 351 points (and a ton of rebounds).

That has him sitting #80 all-time for a CHS boys’ basketball program which launched way back in 1917, which puts him in the top 18% of scorers among the 433 male hoops stars whose scoring exploits I have been able to chart.

With Glover having picked up his diploma this past spring, Wolf sports teams will have a big hole to fill — both in terms of the stats he piled up, and in the leadership, work ethic, and mentorship he displayed.

His younger brothers, and his cousins, are on their way, though all of them still have a few years before they’ll be at the high school level.

When they do, they’ll already have a role model to emulate, having watched Camden rip things up.

For now, we’ll take a moment to swing open the doors of the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and welcome Tammy’s first grandson into its hallowed digital halls.

After this, you’ll find Camden Glover up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab, a young man who earned that status by bringing it every day, every play.

A younger Camden with his #1 fan. (Photo courtesy Stevie Glover)

Posted in Hall o' Fame | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Race the Reserve seeks volunteers

July 26, 2026 by David Svien

Sherry Bonacci (left) and Aimee Bishop get runners fired up.

Race the Reserve, the biggest fundraiser for Coupeville High School’s senior class, hits the prairie Saturday, August 8 this year.

The annual event, which raises money for “safe and sober graduation activities,” features a 5K, 10K, and half marathon, with runners rambling through the scenic views of Ebey’s National Historic Reserve.

While parents of students from the CHS Class of 2027 are at the forefront of things, they need a pack of volunteers to help pull things off.

If you’re interested in kicking off a new school year in style, you can sign up by popping over to:

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0448A9AF2DA0FFC61-62841214-consessions?useFullSite=false

Posted in Fundraisers, Running | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Travel softball squads set tryouts

July 24, 2026 by David Svien

Take your game to the next level.

Tryouts for 14U and 16U Island Vipers travel softball teams go down August 4-5 at Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park.

All the pertinent details, including contact info if you have questions, can be found in the snazzy pic at the top of this story.

So, scroll back up, then get ready to swing for the fences.

Posted in Softball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Lead with love, win with style

July 24, 2026 by David Svien

Volleyball guru Cory Whitmore plots strategy. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

His run was truly stellar.

When Cory Whitmore took the reins of the Coupeville High School volleyball program in 2016, the varsity had won seven matches across the previous two seasons combined.

In his first go-round in the CHS gym, the Wolves promptly went 11-6, kicking off a string of nine consecutive winning seasons under their spiker guru.

Whitmore led Coupeville to the state tourney in 2017, snapping a 12-year dry spell, and got back in both 2023 and 2024, with the last of those teams claiming 4th place for the first state trophy in program history.

In between, his teams posted double-digit win totals eight times, with the only outlier being the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, when the Wolves were only allowed to play nine matches total.

When he stepped down after the 2024 season, Whitmore carried a .702 winning percentage with him, having gone 106-45 while on the CHS sideline.

How does that compare to other Wolf coaches? Pretty dang good.

While records are incomplete, the other highest winning percentages I can attest to are owned by the last two CHS softball coaches, Aaron Lucero and Kevin McGranahan.

Lucero is top dog right now, off to a 39-7 start (.848) across his first two seasons, while McGranahan went 111-49 (.694) while matching Whitmore’s nine-year run.

Here’s how Whitmore’s time at Coupeville played out:

2016: 11-6
2017: 13-5 (State)
2018: 11-5
2019: 14-5
2020: 6-3 (Partial season – Covid)
2021: 11-6
2022: 10-6
2023: 12-7 (State)
2024: 18-2 (State – 4th)

That final campaign was truly one for the ages, with Coupeville winning league and district titles, remaining undefeated until the final day of the season, advancing to the state semifinals, and smashing the program’s single season win mark en route to bringing home hardware.

Under Whitmore’s guidance, the Wolves also did the previously unthinkable, toppling La Conner from its perch atop the Northwest 2B/1B League volleyball standings, handing the Braves their first conference losses in more than a decade-plus.

Still kickin’ butt and takin’ names on the court. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

But while the wins and the trophies are huge, what I will remember most about the former Wolf coach is how he got there.

From the first practice to the last banquet, Whitmore was a dream to deal with.

He was friendly, personable, able to take complicated volleyball info and break it down to where even a relative idiot such as myself could (mostly) understand the game in a different way than before.

After crowd-pleasing wins or gut-punch losses, Whitmore never shied away from taking the time to send me emails from the road as the bus bumped back home or camping out in the CHS bleachers to answer my questions.

I found him to be one of the straightest shooters to ever hold a coaching job in Cow Town, and one of the most entertaining.

During his time running the Wolf program, he immersed himself fully in it, building a very-successful youth program which brought his high school players and elementary school students together.

Whitmore made volleyball fun and exciting for the next generation, and it will pay off for years to come.

Filling the gym with smiles. (Phoenix Da Costa-Ford photo)

He also set up a coaching tree which continues to branch out, with former Wolf players such as Ashley Menges, Scout Smith, Alita Blouin, and Hope Lodell having followed in the footsteps of the man who guided them during their own playing years.

While we all would have loved for him to coach for decades, his “retirement” was well earned.

Teaching at one school (Oak Harbor) while coaching at another, while putting in the 24/7/365 level of commitment to the volleyball program he did, takes its toll.

So, seeing Whitmore looking all hale and hearty and maybe able to have a moment or two to himself these days (or be able to spend some quality time with husband Cris), makes it easier to accept.

But while he’s stepped back from the spotlight a bit, that doesn’t mean we can’t pull him back to center stage one more time — at least online.

Today we swing open the doors to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, inducting him for his coaching prowess, his work ethic, and his sunny personality. The pride of Ritzville is the complete package.

After this you’ll find him up at the top of the blog under the Legends tab — the coolest cat in the joint.

Posted in Hall o' Fame, Volleyball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »