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Chayse Van Velkinburgh with dad Dustin. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Chayse shreds the defense. (Photo courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)

“All in all, it was a good day.”

Chayse Van Velkinburgh, a 10-year-old Coupeville Elementary School student, continues to play above his age group on the soccer pitch.

Saturday, mask in place, he participated in two games, while repping the uniform of two different teams.

Van Velkinburgh opened the day by suiting up for the U12 NWU Black squad, starting at left back, where he helped trigger two of his team’s three goals in a loss.

The first score came off of a long ball played from the back, while on the second tally the young supernova dropped in a pinpoint quick throw to give a teammate an advantage on a backpedaling goaltender.

“The score won’t show it, but he played really well at that level,” said dad Dustin.

Game two brought Chayse back to his normal squad, U11 NWU Black, and he propelled them to an 8-3 victory.

The younger Van Velkinburgh scored twice in his nightcap, punching in a laser from 25 feet out for one score, before getting creative for another goal.

Smartly reading the opposing goaltender, he picked off a goal kick, then lit up the goalie.

A little dribble opened things up, before Van Velkinburgh slid the ball between the opposing player’s legs to set off a celebration.

A man of many talents

Big goals, big celebrations for Sebastian Davis. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

He could seemingly do it all.

Athletics, academics, or activities — if Sebastian Davis put his mind to it, he could accomplish great things.

All while making it look easy-peasy from the outside, and without making others around him feel like they were accomplishing less.

That’s a rare talent, to be overwhelmingly successful while never coming across as a glory hound.

Sebastian cycled through just about every sport at some time during his run through Coupeville schools, but there are two where he made a truly enduring impact.

On the soccer pitch, he burst onto the scene as a fully-formed, goal-scoring beast, an electrifying complement to established stars such as Abraham Leyva and Zane Bundy.

His standout season, at least in terms of stats, came during his junior campaign, when he punched in six goals for the Wolves, second-best on the squad.

Most of Sebastian’s pitch tallies were of the impressive type, as evidenced in the photo above.

He had a knack for flying in from the side, plucking the ball away from a rival player, then using a lil’ razzle-dazzle to baffle the goaltender.

The ball would go one way, the netminder the other, and, up in the CHS press box, close friend Sebastian Wurzrainer would get to softly bellow, “GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL.”

It was a good set-up.

But as much as he turbo-charged things on the soccer field, Sebastian had his best run on the tennis court.

Davis and Loren Nelson enjoy the fruits of their labors at a tennis banquet. (Wendy McCormick photo)

He made the postseason every year, for four years running, captured a league singles titles, and sits on Wolf coach Ken Stange’s list of the best-ever players he’s coached in Coupeville.

“Sebastian, despite almost always having a lead role in the fall theater production, always found a way to be the star on both the court and the stage,” Stange said.

“What’s more, his did it while maintaining a ridiculously high academic standard.”

The long-time coach was most impressed with how Sebastian collected his wins.

“He didn’t have the big serve and forehand that most singles players desired,” Stange said. “But he did have amazing drive and passion for the game.

“He kept focus, ran every ball down, and played every shot like it was the shot that could win the match. That kind of attitude inspired others to reach similar heights.”

Davis and teammates (left to right) Connor McCormick, Joey Lippo, and William Nelson bagged many a tennis award. (Ken Stange photo)

As Stange noted, sports were far from the only stage on which Sebastian excelled.

He was a scholar of great note, won a ton of medals in Science Olympiad competitions, and was the leading man of choice for the CHS theater troupe.

Sebastian was the Cary Grant of Coupeville, bringing a puckish charm to his many roles on the stage, all while balancing learning his lines with his many other activities.

After high school, he went on to another well-lit stage, studying Earth and Space Sciences and Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington, where he graduated in 2020.

Today, in an event which should have happened a long time ago, we welcome Sebastian to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, inducting him into our hallowed digital shrine for his excellence as an athlete and student.

After this, you’ll find him hanging out under the Legends tab at the top of the blog.

He is proof that small towns can produce big superstars, and that those same superstars can achieve epic heights while remaining down to Earth.

Sebastian Davis — a winner in every way.

Sarah Wright

No games, but good grades.

As she waits for softball to return from its COVID-19 shutdown, Coupeville’s Sarah Wright has remained a force in the classroom.

The former Wolf was one of 12 diamond dandies to make the Dean’s List for the Advent Semester of the 2020-21 academic year at Sewanee: The University of the South.

To be eligible for the Dean’s List, a student must have a semester average of 3.625 or higher after completing a semester with credit for at least three and one-half academic courses, at least three of which were taken for a grade.

Wright and her teammates topped the entire school, in fact, as their team GPA of 3.781 was the best posted by any Tigers athletic squad.

Softball was followed by women’s swim/dive (3.597), men’s cross country (3.589), women’s cross country (3.572), and volleyball (3.561).

Wright, a Valedictorian and four-sport athlete during her time in Coupeville, is a sophomore at Sewanee.

While Tigers softball has been sidelined during the pandemic, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

School officials have said Sewanee spring sports teams may compete, but only at home, with no travel involved.

No games have officially been set yet, but there is talk the team may play in late February/early March, Wright said.

Softball sluggers (l to r) Izzy Wells, Audrianna Shaw, and Coral Caveness are heading back to the diamond. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s happening.

Barring any further twists or turns in the Age of Coronavirus, Coupeville High School athletes begin spring sports this coming Monday, February 22.

The first games in a shortened season are set to begin March 4, with play ending April 3.

The last time a CHS sports team competed was Feb. 11, 2020, when the Wolf girls basketball team faced Meridian in a season-ending playoff tilt.

Several weeks later, COVID-19 shut down all Washington state schools, and spring sports were eventually cancelled.

Coupeville, and its new mates in the Northwest 2B/1B League are opening with spring sports, which are all played outdoors, with hopes of then moving to fall (March 29-May 8) and winter (May 3-June 12) seasons.

With the shortened time frame, there is some small overlap with practices for the next season beginning during the last week of the preceding season.

All CHS games will be against league foes, and, in most cases, there won’t be any sort of playoffs this school year.

One early exception to that, however, is track and field, which has a league championship meet scheduled for April 3 in Coupeville.

Looking at the schedule as it sits, Wolf softball has the most games, with 12, followed by baseball (10), girls tennis (6), and track (6).

Baseball and softball both have a pair of doubleheaders, while tennis has just one opponent — Friday Harbor — as none of the other NWL teams field a net squad.

As probably goes without saying at this point, things can and may change.

To stay on top of schedules, check out:

 

School: Calendar – Coupeville School District

League: Northwest 2B/1B Athletics, Northwest 2B/1B Home Page (nw1a2bathletics.com)

 

BASEBALL:

Sat-Mar. 6 — Friday Harbor — (11:00)
Fri-Mar. 12 — La Conner — (DH) — (3:00/4:45)
Tues-Mar. 16 — @ Darrington — (4:00)
Tues-Mar. 23 — @ Orcas Island — (3:00)
Fri-Mar. 26 — Concrete — (4:00)
Tues-Mar. 30 — Mount Vernon Christian — (4:00)
Fri-Apr. 2 — @ Friday Harbor — (DH) — (4:00/5:30)
Sat-Apr. 3 — @ La Conner — (4:00)

 

GIRLS TENNIS:

Sat-Mar. 6 — Friday Harbor — (11:00)
Wed-Mar. 10 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:00)
Wed-Mar. 17 — Friday Harbor — (3:30)
Mon-Mar. 22 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:00)
Fri-Mar. 26 — Friday Harbor — (3:30)
Fri-Apr. 2 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:00)

 

SOFTBALL:

Sat-Mar. 6 — Friday Harbor — (11:00)
Fri-Mar. 12 — La Conner — (DH) — (3:00/4:45)
Sat-Mar. 13 — Orcas Island — (11:30)
Tues-Mar. 16 — @ Darrington — (4:00)
Sat-Mar. 20 — @ Concrete — (TBD)
Tues-Mar. 23 — @ Orcas Island — (DH) — (3:00/4:45)
Fri-Mar. 26 — Concrete — (4:00)
Sat-Mar. 27 — Darrington — (1:00)
Fri-Apr. 2 — @ Friday Harbor — (4:00)
Sat-Apr. 3 — @ La Conner — (4:00)

 

TRACK:

Thur-Mar. 4 — HOME meet — (3:30)
Fri-Mar. 12 — @ Lummi — (3:30)
Thur-Mar. 18 — @ La Conner — (3:30)
Thur-Mar. 25 — @ Mount Vernon Christian — (3:30)
Wed-Mar. 31 — @ La Conner — (3:30)
Sat-Apr. 3 — Northwest 2B/1B League meet @ HOME — (11:30)

Irrational. Obstinate. Committed foe of paywalls. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

How long can I keep this going?

That’s been the question since August 15, 2012, when Coupeville Sports debuted on the internet.

Back then, I was full of self-righteous fury over having hundreds (probably thousands) of bylined stories erased from existence after the Coupeville Examiner was sold to Black Press, the owner of the Whidbey News-Times and South Whidbey Record.

Feeling sorry for myself carried me a certain distance, then the blog morphed into something more positive.

Now, even after several aborted attempts at walking away from the job, we sit at 8.5 years and 8,058 articles.

I haven’t had a “real job” since I left Christopher’s on Whidbey in 2015, surviving by the slimmest of margins thanks to readers who have donated to the cause and advertisers who stepped up in the early days.

Coupeville Sports is never going to make a profit.

The subject matter is too narrow, and the audience, while parts of it can be found in unexpected places, from Pennsylvania to Brazil, will never be universal.

My ingrained stubbornness contributes to that, as I have held on to two early declarations with a fanatical commitment — no paywall, ever, and ads, once bought, are good for the life of the site.

I had a chance recently to possibly go in a different direction, to return to my journalism roots and work for someone else.

If it had worked out, if I could have gotten past some personal concerns while convincing others that I could commit for a reasonable length of time, it would have likely improved my financial state.

But, I’m stubborn, and apparently still haven’t completely gotten over the erasure of my previous work, so I chose not to pursue that path.

At least I’m staying on brand here, irrational and obstinate to the end.

So, I plug on, pounding out Coupeville Sports, while returning to my days as a “film critic” with the launch of Flat Butt Film Fest – One movie, 100 words back in August, 2020.

853 articles and zero dollars earned — faithful to the brand, ever and always.

Even without games being played, this is the 51st story I’ve published in 2021 here on Coupeville Sports.

Or 50 more than either the News-Times or Record, which don’t have a sports writer since my mentor, Jim Waller, retired in December.

Now, with authorities moving all of Washington state’s counties into Phase 2 of Governor Jay Inslee’s latest COVID reopening plan, games should return to Cow Town for the first time in a year-plus.

Coupeville High School is scheduled to launch spring sports — track, softball, girls tennis, and baseball — next Monday, Feb. 22.

The opportunity for many more stories seems like a sure thing.

My ability to scrape out a meager living, paying rent and such, is less of a sure thing.

It’s the dilemma I’ve built for myself, and one unlikely to fade any time soon thanks to my “business plan.”

How long can I keep this going?

I don’t know. We shall see, I guess.

Still not going to use a paywall, though.

 

Want to help keep me typing away at 2 AM on the shores of Penn Cove, using a computer powered by a hamster on a treadmill?

1) Buy an ad. $50 for the life of the site, plus, BONUS, you get an identical ad on my movie blog. BOGO fever rages.

2) Donate to the cause, through PayPal or by mailing me at 165 Sherman, Coupeville, WA 98239. You are the wind beneath my typing fingers.

 

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