Coupeville Sports

Different country, same soccer ace

November 20, 2023 by David Svien

Flying the friendly skies to Spain. (Photos courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)

Chayse Van Velkinburgh is living the Spanish soccer dream.

The Coupeville Middle School 7th grader is taking a brief break from basketball to participate in a week of pitch training with Real Madrid.

Van Velkinburgh copped MVP status at a soccer camp in Temecula, California in June, which earned him the invite to the home of one of the beautiful game’s premier franchises.

The Wolf ace is nursing an injury, said dad Dustin, but is “competing and working as hard as he can.”

“His Real Madrid coach was very complimentary of his play today,” said the proud papa, a noted pitch warrior in his own right back in the day.

The younger Van Velkinburgh is playing at Valdebebas in Madrid.

The complex includes numerous practice fields, as well as the stadium where the first team Real Madrid women, and second team men, play their games.

Competition at the camp is intense, with players from Chayse’s age group working with the class one year older.

After training, the young booters will play in a game for the Madrid Euro Soccer Academy team.

“This experience is unlike anything I have been a part of,” Dustin Van Velkinburgh said.

“I cannot express the rush of emotion I experienced today when we set foot in the Real Madrid complex.

“Just thinking about all the greats that have played here and now my son gets to share those same fields is truly amazing.”

Posted in Boys Soccer | Tagged boys soccer, Chayse Van Velkinburgh, CMS Wolves, Real Madrid, Spain | Leave a Comment »

Wolf cheer finds success, plans for more

November 19, 2023 by David Svien

Kassidy Upchurch and associates bring big spirit to the competition mats Saturday in Puyallup. (Brittany Kolbet photos)

Competition is heating up.

As they move into winter, the Coupeville High School cheerleaders will split time between sideline work and competing at events.

Saturday brought the Wolves to Puyallup, where they earned 2nd place in the “small non-tumbling class” at the Blue Fusion Cheer Competition.

The competitive cheer season runs from November through the state meet the first weekend in February, with weekend practices going since August.

Coupeville’s squad on the blue mats includes Abbigail Bond, Alysia Burdge, Miles Gerber, Jacob Schooley, Isabella Schooley, Makenna Jonker-Chambers, Pamela Morrell, Kassidy Upchurch, Hayley Thomas, Reina Reed, and Avery Williams-Buchanan.

Jayden Cooks rounds out the roster as team manager, with Jennifer Morrell and Tara Crouch working as coaches.

Pamela Morrell checks the ceiling for dust.

In addition to fine-tuning their competitive routines, the Wolves are also working towards being able to purchase cheer mats.

With a full set of mats, which consists of nine panels, CHS could host showcases and competitions.

Anthony Ford, Crystal Cruz, Sylvia Arnold and the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Association have provided support and financial assistance to the program, and the Wolves are halfway to their goal.

The team plans to reach out to community groups and cheer fans in the near future to see if anyone else is interested in sponsoring the purchase of more mat panels.

If you can’t wait until they do, make first contact with Jennifer Morrell by emailing her at jmorrell@coupeville.k12.wa.us.

Kings and queens of the blue mats.

Posted in Cheer | Tagged Blue Fusion, Cheer, CHS Wolves, Makenna Jonker-Chambers, Pamela Morrell | Leave a Comment »

Stone roars in tough loss

November 19, 2023 by David Svien

Along with playing professional basketball in Norway, Makana Stone also coaches the next generation of hoops stars.

She continues to fire on all cylinders, even if her team does not.

Coupeville grad Makana Stone filled up the stat sheet in a big way Sunday in Norway, but her pro hoops team stumbled in the second half.

The former Wolf ace went off for a game-high 32 points and 13 rebounds, while also pilfering four steals, but Ammerud fell 78-55 to host Asker.

The loss, the third straight for Stone and her associates, drops them to 2-4 on the season.

Ammerud, which returned to action this season after several years of inactivity, sits in fifth place in the six-team Kvinneligaen.

The Queens are off now for the holidays, returning with back-to-back games Dec. 2-3 against Bergen (0-6) and Ulriken (4-1).

Sunday’s clash with Asker was a barn burner during the first half, with the teams going to the break tied 27-27.

Down 18-16 after one quarter of play, Ammerud used an 11-9 surge in the second frame to knot things up.

After the break, though, Asker made its move.

A 24-9 run in the third quarter pushed the lead to 15 points, before the hosts closed things with a 27-19 advantage across the final 10 minutes.

Stone put up a fierce fight, hitting her high in an Ammerud uniform and scoring from every angle.

She knocked down nine regular baskets, drilled the bottom out of the net on a trio of three-balls and went 5-7 at the free throw line.

But the rest of the Ammerud lineup was 9-39 from the floor in the game, with no one else topping seven points.

Stone, who is in her third year of pro ball, has racked up 127 points, 74 rebounds, 21 assists, 18 steals, and six blocks this season.

Posted in Basketball | Tagged Ammerud, Basketball, CHS Wolves, Kvinneligaen, Makana Stone, Norway | Leave a Comment »

No title, still best league

November 18, 2023 by David Svien

Ethan Moss of Orcas takes a shot to the nads from Coupeville enforcer Cole White. (Jackie Saia photo)

Coupeville’s league continues to be the best in the state when it comes to fall boys’ soccer.

The Northwest 2B/1B League has claimed eight of 12 trophies across the past three state tournaments.

But while the NWL added two more hunks of hardware Saturday, for the first time in three years the nine-team conference failed to win the title.

Instead, it was third-ranked Upper Columbia Academy, an Eastern Washington private school out of Spangle, which claimed the first crown in program history.

Scoring both its goals in a furious first couple of minutes, the Lions edged fifth-seeded Orcas Island 2-0 in a game played in Federal Way.

Not only is this the first state title for UCA soccer, but the school, which finished 13-2, had never won a game at the big dance prior to this year.

After previously losing twice in the first round, the Lions toppled Mount Vernon Christian 2-1 and Riverside Christian 4-0 this time around before tangling with Orcas.

While the Vikings (12-6) failed in their bid to reclaim the title, they fought hard on a cool, foggy night, and have brought home a top-two trophy three straight seasons.

They were champs in 2021, then fell to league rival Friday Harbor in the finale last year.

After falling behind early against UCA, Orcas seemingly started to mount a comeback, only to have the refs puncture those dreams.

The Vikings rammed home a goal to cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the first half, but the score was waved off after the officials decided the islanders had roughed up the Lions goaltender during the play.

That was seriously debatable, and not a popular call among pro-Orcas supporters, but it stood.

The Vikings kept coming after that, mounting numerous charges, but could never completely bust through the UCA defense.

As the game progressed, things became increasingly more slap-happy, with Orcas booters frequently shoved by Lion defenders while trying to navigate a slick turf field.

Tempers flared, words were exchanged — both among players and fans — and three yellow cards were handed out, but the squads stopped short of igniting the full tilt brawl the announcers feared.

Saturday’s rumble brought an end to an eight-team tourney which began with a bang, as #1 Auburn Adventist Academy and #2 Friday Harbor were both eliminated in quarterfinal shockers.

Orcas beat Evergreen Lutheran 2-1 to open its state run, before toppling NWL mate Providence Classical Christian 3-1 in the semifinals, garnering some revenge for a regular-season loss.

PCC bounced back to beat Riverside Christian 2-1 in the 3rd/4th place contest.

Posted in Boys Soccer | Tagged boys soccer, Northwest League, Orcas Island, state playoffs, Upper Columbia Academy | Leave a Comment »

La Conner School Board among state’s best

November 18, 2023 by David Svien

La Conner’s School Board was hailed as one of the state’s best. (Photo property La Conner School District)

A nearby school board has been honored as one of the best in the state.

La Conner, which joins Coupeville in the Northwest 2B/1B League for athletics, was hailed Saturday by the Washington State School Directors’ Association.

Its school board joined Kelso and Sumner-Bonney Lake as the 2023 Boards of the Year.

La Conner topped the “small school” class, with the other two boards recognized for their work at “medium” and “large” school districts, respectively.

“This top honor recognizes a board that has shown significant vision and leadership that clearly resulted in positive and measurable student success,” WSSDA said in a press release.

“All three boards demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness within their roles to support the success of their students and staff while serving their communities.

“Also, each board significantly narrowed or closed opportunity gaps among students.”

La Conner’s board, working with Superintendent Dr. Will Makoyiisaaminaa (Nelson) and educators, “partnered to focus heavily on math acceleration last school year, which was the area with the largest opportunity gap for students.”

“A combination of adopting a new math curriculum and assessment tool, monthly reviews of math data by the board, and investment in teacher support paid off with significant growth in just one year,” WSSDA said.

“It also committed to the practices of Professional Learning Communities, Universal Design for Learning, and Mastery Based Learning.”

The La Conner board is comprised of Directors John Agen, Loran James, Jeremy Wilbur, Kim Pedroza, Susie Deyo and student reps Taylor Rae Cayou and Josi Straathof.