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Posts Tagged ‘Avis Mitchell’

Like mother, like son

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on November 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Wolf grad Dante Mitchell (right) is back in the gym. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Mitchell is joined on the NWMS bench by former Coupeville High School girls’ soccer coach Troy Cowan (far left).

The coaching life continues.

Coupeville High School grad Dante Mitchell, son of legendary hoops guru Avis Mitchell, is back on the bench at North Whidbey Middle School.

It’s the second season at NWMS for Dante, who both played and coached in Coupeville.

On the hardwood, he threw down buckets alongside twin brother DeAndre, before later putting in time as a basketball coach for Coupeville Middle School.

The photos above come from North Whidbey’s opener against Stanwood.

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Give it up for the real MVPs!!

Posted in Basketball, Golf, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , , on March 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Avis Mitchell gets eye-balled by son Anthony Bergeron. (John Fisken photo)

   Avis Mitchell gets a little side-eye action from son Anthony Bergeron during his Senior Night festivities. (John Fisken photo)

Christine Fields, enjoying every moment she has on the golf course.

Christine Fields, enjoying every moment she has on the golf course.

Totally different, yet alike in so many ways.

One is a mom, a coach, a proud (and sometimes loud) fan, who has blessed Coupeville High School with multiple basketball-playing sons who also happen to be great guys off the court.

The other is a superb Wolf athlete who may never really get her due because she toils off in the shadows by herself, playing a solitary sport with no teammates (at least from her own school).

Yet, what Avis Mitchell and Christine Fields share, other than a birthday today, is much.

Both are classy through and through, talented, extraordinarily bright women who achieve at the highest level.

Avis has helped shape the game of many former, current and future Wolf hoops players and I would argue there is no more dedicated fan in the stands, game after game.

Plus, there was this one time where she went and bought me a sandwich at Subway and brought it to me at a CHS basketball game.

That is above and beyond; that is the mark of a freakin’ saint, I tell you!!!

Christine is a talented soccer player, but her greatest accomplishments have come on the golf course, following in the footsteps of dad Mike, a professional duffer, and older bro Austin, a state meet veteran.

Miss Fields is quite simply the most highly-decorated golfer in the history of CHS.

With three straight trips to state, capped by a 5th place finish in 1A as a junior, she has surpassed her brother for that title. Plus, she still has one more run at a title ahead of her.

But, because there are no other Wolf golfers, Fields has to train and travel with South Whidbey’s girls’ squad.

With no home matches, ever, and few fans dedicated enough to follow her hole-to-hole across the country club circuit, she rarely, if ever, gets to hear the roar a successful Coupeville baseball or softball team would.

Which is too bad, because her accomplishments deserve a round of applause.

Regardless of the sport, or a slight age difference, Avis and Christine are united by success, by their style and class, by being two of the best Wolf Nation has to give the world.

As they celebrate a joint birthday, we wish them all the best. Cause that’s what they are — the best.

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Serene superstar celebrates big day!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , on October 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The man, the myth, the quiet assassin -- Anthony Bergeron. (John Fisken photos)

The man, the myth, the quiet assassin — Anthony Bergeron. (John Fisken photos)

Senior Night, eyeballing mom Avis Mitchell.

Senior Night, eyeballing mom Avis Mitchell.

Dr. Dunkenstein. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Dr. Dunkenstein. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Anthony Bergeron was the quietest hoops sensation I’ve ever met.

The former Coupeville High School basketball stud (who could also get up in the air and haul down a pass or two on the football field) let his game speak for itself.

And it did.

In the two seasons he played as a Wolf, Bergeron took huge strides. Literally.

He went from a tentative player at the start of his junior campaign — the first time he had played organized basketball — to a high-flying, 20-point-a-game, slam-dunking highlight machine by the time he was a senior.

Bergeron was the lone Coupeville hoops star on the boys’ side of the game who could take a game over last season and simply dominate. When he was on and clicking, it was a thing of beauty.

Not that you would know it by his demeanor, however.

He was never one to throw out his chest and thump it during a game.

Bergeron treated his opponents, and the game itself, with respect, a trait most likely handed down from his mom, Avis Mitchell, a highly-respected local coach.

Anthony had a playful side, which you could see come out during practice and warmups.

But when the game tipped off, he was all business and it was a pleasure to see him take such an upward surge in his ability and confidence.

Soon, he will be playing college ball, and continuing to impress us all.

But today, since it’s his birthday, we’ll make him slow down for just a second.

You were, and are, a genuine class act, on the court and off, Mr. Bergeron.

We, your fans, were privileged to bear witness to your rapid growth and were blessed to have you join Wolf Nation even for a relatively short time.

Best wishes as you go forward. Keep showing them your talents run deep.

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All hail the one true king!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, Hammer Time, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , on March 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Hunter Hammer, the biggest thing to happen to sports coverage on Whidbey ... ever.

Just a taste of Hunter Hammer. Bottom row, the early days with dad Mark (left) and mom Linda (right). Above, the modern day master at work.

It’s another busy day at Wolf Nation’s Birthday Center.

CHS junior golfer Christine Fields, a two-time state meet competitor, hits the big 1-7 today.

Also, highly-respected hoops guru Avis Mitchell, who has given the Wolves three basketball players in the last two years (sons Anthony Bergeron, Dante Mitchell and DeAndre Mitchell) celebrates her arrival on the planet.

But the fact remains, in terms of Coupeville High School sports, both are overshadowed by the six-foot-seven legend himself, the one true Page Hit King, the man, the myth … Hunter Hammer.

Many have come for his title, and a few have made some serious inroads — I’m looking at you, softball sensation McKayla “Photo Bomb Queen” Bailey.

But none have knocked him off his perch yet.

Hammer, whether rejecting shots by delusional basketball rivals who dared to drive into his paint or flinging shot puts into the great wide unknown, is now, always was, and will always be, a first-class athletic beast.

But what separates him from others is his love of the camera, his willingness to go that extra mile to deliver the kind of photos that bring me increased page hits.

Without his birth 21 years ago today, we probably wouldn’t be talking about coupevillesports.com now.

Cause, seriously, what reason would there be for us to exist if not to pay tribute to the king?

It is always Hammer Time around these parts, and no one has to tell us to stop to get us to honor him.

Hunter, you complete us. And now I need to go to another room, because I told myself I wouldn’t cry and…

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