Valen Trujillo catches her coach in mid-nap. (Photo courtesy Ken Stange)
The mission is complete … for now.
Ken Stange recently wrapped an 18-year run as Coupeville High School tennis coach, leading the Wolves through two seasons most years.
As he marinates in his “retirement” down at Bailey’s Corner Store, he’s sharing memories, deep thoughts, and (maybe) clues to where the bodies are buried.
A nine-part odyssey inside the mind of the man, the myth, the always-entertaining net guru:
I’ll forever remember the state tourney moments, as well as a few doubles teams and a singles player that just missed qualifying for state.
Players like Hayley Fiedler and Vivian Farris, who came up two points shy of a state berth.
That was the most recent one. Damn … it stings, and it always will.
That said, I had a front row seat for that district doubles final in May of 2023 and I can say that those two young women left it all on the court.
The rain probably still hasn’t washed away Hayley’s DNA from Court 5 at the Amy Yee Tennis Center in Seattle.
Or Joey Lippo and Will Nelson, who came up one point shy of a state berth in the fall of 2018.
It still feels as fresh as the near miss in 2023.
Like so many of the #1 doubles teams at CHS, Joey and Will ascended to that spot through a combination of attrition, hard work, and beating the guys ahead of them on the ladder.
I wanted it so badly for them … probably almost as much as they wanted it.
Had they made it out of that very difficult district tournament, they would’ve been in serious medal contention.
That loss gave me a level of sadness that was greater than the sadness I felt when Russ threw that pick against the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
I still must couch it in some dark humorous way, so it remains palatable to me.
That’s the way it goes, sometimes.
While I didn’t like the outcome of that Super Bowl loss, it’s still one of the greatest Super Bowls I ever saw.
I feel the same way about those two near misses.
There were other kids that I wish got their shot at state.
In 2017, Valen Printz (Trujillo) was a senior and #1 singles player.
She won a 3rd/4th place match at districts but only two kids made it to state.
She knew she was playing for pride (and the alternate spot just in case).
It was her final high school match.
She ended it just like she started when she was in ninth grade … with a win.
She was a fierce competitor and one of the nicest people I ever coached.
Valen was an unbelievably good leader too.
She was sort of like a team mom to the other kids.
What’s more, when she played, she would beat the crap out of her opponent and then on the bus ride home, she’d talk about how she and her opponent were now friends.
Another near miss just shy of state was Ben Hayes in 2010. I think he was a junior.
He was one of the most amazing athletes I ever coached.
He had a district tennis match that was being played at CHS, while school was in session.
I got some of the teachers to dismiss their classes to watch, so we could get another edge against the kid from Seattle Academy.
There were about 80 kids watching from the little corner by Court #2.
Ben had a set point, and the other kid made a horrible call.
The rules didn’t allow anything except for the bad call to stand.
Things went downhill and Ben lost the match. The other kid would go on to qualify for state.
Every time I saw the opposing coach after that, I had to suppress my truest feelings.
Tia Wurzrainer (left) and Avalon Renninger were a dazzling duo. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
There was also the season that never was: 2020, when Avalon Renninger and Tia Wurzrainer had put in the off-season time and work but were denied their shot at playing.
They both came out for that first week of the season and after five minutes I was already making plans for the state tournament.
They had taken lumps from their elders, Payton (Aparicio) and Sage (Renninger), and were ready to take home some state hardware.
I wanted it badly for them, too.
Avalon and Tia were the same age as my daughter. I knew them when they were tots.
It was their senior year, I was fully recovered from spinal fusion surgery, and I was going to help them get to state.
Damn, they had balance.
Tia was the steadying force with power and consistency while Avalon was the player who would do almost anything to get to a far away ball.
She wore her heart on her sleeve, just like me.
If I could give one doubles team their fair shot at a chance to play for a state berth, it would be Avalon and Tia.
Alas, the world got cancelled for a while. It was 2020, the season that never was.
Those near misses and bitter pills aren’t the best memories in the world, but nonetheless, they are memories.
While I do remember the outcome of those big losses, what sticks out most in my mind are the people involved in those memories.
The kids … their parents … their families … their teammates … even some of the opposing coaches, who became dear friends.
Everyone always in the moment and hanging on every shot.
How in almost every instance, the kids were as gracious in defeat as they were in victory.
How in almost every instance, the kids pushed things to the outer limits, much further than they probably thought they could have gone.
Good times for sure, but more importantly, those are the experiences that can be drawn upon later in life, when difficult situations arise.
Coupeville Sports 