The only mascot you’ll ever need. (John Fisken photo)
I am a big ol’ hypocrite.
Let’s just get that out of the way right off the bat.
On one hand, I openly campaign for athletes at other schools to consider the benefits of playing for Coupeville.
It’s a small 1A school, with a no-cut policy, which means whatever your skill level, your chance of playing (and making a substantial impact) are greater than at a school with a larger student base.
I personally think we have stellar coaches, both in the newbies and grizzled vets, our uniforms are snazzier than other schools, our prairie is prettier than some of the hell-holes other schools occupy, and, last, but certainly not least, media attention, baby.
Play for a school like Klahowya and you’re fighting to get the briefest sniff from the Kitsap Sun, which has a ton of 2A and 3A schools in its area.
Find yourself in Port Townsend (where Seran Dances won three state track titles in May, yet not a word has appeared on the local paper’s website) or South Whidbey (more than a week to read anything on-line about softball’s adventure at the state tourney), and things get really dire.
Not to toot my own horn too much, but I am relentless, and will shower you with coverage morning, noon and night, even if you’re the last player on the JV bench.
So, just imagine the tsunami of articles you can print and clip if you’re actually a big-time star.
College scholarships? A bigger school is not the mecca some think they are.
There may be more Wildcats than Wolves playing college sports overall, but that’s mainly due to the bigger student body from where those athletes came.
Take the last decade and Oak Harbor (a 3A high school) and Coupeville have exactly the same number of athletes who received scholarship money while playing for a major D-1 college program.
It’s Wolves Tyler King (U-Dub) and Kyle King (Oklahoma) vs. Wildcats Marshall Lobbestael (Wazzu) and Heidi McNeill (U-Dub).
With Oak Harbor housing 1,132 students to Coupeville’s 227 in the last classification counts, I’m not sure earning a draw isn’t more of a loss.
If you want to play college sports, you can, and it has little to do with the size of your high school.
In the end, talent, hard work and absolute commitment means more than a fancy name on your high school jersey (unless maybe it says ATM, Bellevue or Garfield).
You have to find your niche, whether it’s D-1 or a small community college, and there will be a chance to compete.
I’m not saying you’re guaranteed a scholarship, or even a chance to play. But you find the right place, be it Alabama or Skagit Valley, you can get a shot, and then it’s up to you to do what you can with that shot.
In the end, though, this all comes down to one thing.
I write about COUPEVILLE, and the better the Wolves do, the easier my job.
There are no conflicts of interest. I don’t work for the school district, they don’t give me a penny, and they have little say in what or who I write about.
If I want to shamelessly recruit, it’s my call, and it makes perfect sense.
I have shed any form of journalistic impartiality. I want, and need, Coupeville teams and athletes to do well. End of story.
And yet, as I said, I’m a hypocrite.
Because, at the same time I openly try and convince people to leave other towns, other schools, behind, I piss and moan when the exact opposite happens.
When we head into the new school year in the fall, there will be at least four very talented athletes playing for Oak Harbor High School who could still be wearing the red and black of CHS.
These are not athletes whose families moved to a different school district, necessitating a change.
That happens, for many different reasons, and I can name a whole string of top-level athletes who were very successful at other schools after landing at their new home.
Volleyball spiker Jessica Riddle, who holds the CHS single-game record for kills and aces, led Anacortes to back-to-back 5th place trophies in 2A as a junior and senior.
Two who moved before high school are Kwamane Bowens, who went on to earn a D-1 football scholarship and Emma Laurion, who scored 118 goals and won back-to-back state soccer titles for Crosspoint Academy.
Huge losses for Wolf Nation. Huge “what if they didn’t move?” scenarios.
The current Wolves masquerading as Wildcats, though, didn’t move. Their families have simply chosen to let them attend, and play for one school, while living in another district.
Which is their right.
As long as both schools, and the WIAA, have no issue with what they’re doing, who am I to question their choices?
Parents should be allowed to make whatever decision they think benefits their children.
Especially when I would openly glad-hand those who made a similar choice … if it benefited Coupeville.
I could be pissy. I could be whiny. Wouldn’t be the first time.
While none of these athletes are the next Kobe Bryant or Mia Hamm, if they played for CHS, they would give me plenty to write about. So, on a personal note, these decisions hit me.
Which sounds really whiny. I get it.
Once again, this blog is not called Oak Harbor Sports or the Klahowya Klarion, or Up with Chimacum.
So let me marinate in my pool of tears over here.
I want athletes to jump to Coupeville, not away. I may understand when the opposite happens, but I don’t have to be thrilled.
Like I said, I’m a big ol’ hypocrite.
