Drake Borden, perhaps the last great Wolf boy’s netter, unleashes a serve. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
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:
After my first year of teaching in Coupeville, Pastor Cliff Horr, tennis coach and one of my favorite doubles partners, decided that 10 years was enough coaching for him.
Perhaps the fact that his entire boys’ and girls’ varsity squads had graduated influenced his decision.
Anyhow, I showed up for practice in the fall of 2005 to see about nine boys ready to play tennis. It wasn’t quite what I had expected.
Talent was low and numbers were few.
Still, there was a young man named Aaron Gavin.
He wasn’t the best tennis player, but he was a great leader.
There were also a few young players who would be with me for all four years, and they were the first building blocks of the boys’ program.
That first fall was rough. We lost almost all our matches. There was much room for improvement.
There was one odd but teachable moment that season.
It was the day of my first match as tennis coach.
We were on the way to South Whidbey to take a beating from the Falcons, and I heard some nefarious sounds coming from the back of the bus.
I went to the back to investigate and saw a kid swallow and start chewing a sheet of paper.
As the bus pulled into the parking lot, I told the boy to spit out the paper and show me, or we’d turn the bus around and I’d resign from my coaching position.
Let’s just say that it was not a note anyone would want to read, and they were showing it to the car travelling behind the bus.
I told the nine boys to meet me at the track the next day and to wear good running shoes.
Collectively, the nine boys ran 15 miles that day, as the girls’ soccer team jeered them for their behavior.
I think I made my mark that day.
There was one young man, Jake Weaver, who had nothing to do with the nonsense of that day.
He did most of the running that day. It was the day he took the role as a leader.
Play improved and players held themselves accountable.
And that’s how it went. Kids took the lead.
Aaron Gavin graduated, and Jake took the reins of leadership.
Each season, new kids arrived … each season, the level of play improved.
Early lessons helped build success later. (Photo courtesy Ken Stange)
I was blessed in year two with the arrival of the class of 2010 and Connor Tasoff.
He brought friends: Jordan Lamb, Travis Curtin, and Garrett Knoll.
That was a core group of four that would eventually take 1st and 2nd in both singles and doubles in our league tournament.
I consider Connor Tasoff to be the father of the tennis program at CHS.
He was the first “tennis junkie” to join the team. He and his friends made tennis cool.
He was a leader.
If I could go back in time and change the tennis history of only one guy, I would have had Connor go to state.
Any success I had in my years of coaching the guys at CHS goes back to him.
He started something, and it rolled on and on, from 2006-2019, which was the last year of the CHS boys’ tennis program.
Connor and his crew set the example that would be followed by a very long list of singles players and doubles teams.
After Connor came Ben Hayes and Nathan Lamb.
After Ben and Nathan came Aaron Curtin.
After Aaron came Jakobi Baumann.
After Jakobi came Drake Borden.
Drake was the last of the greats. If Connor was the father of the program, Drake was the youngest son.
Much like Connor, Drake had true love for the game.
He played and watched, and he analyzed and worked on his game.
Of all the singles players I had, Drake played in the most difficult league. He went toe to toe with some of the best players in the state and he garnered their respect.
Had my spine been healthy enough to hit with him during his senior year, he would’ve beaten me easily.
After Drake came COVID, the move to the 2B classification with soccer in the fall, and the death of the boys’ tennis program.
There were doubles teams, too.
Not always was the top singles player at the top of the ladder.
Garrett Knoll and Travis Curtin.
Aaron Curtin and Ben Etzell.
Joseph Wedekind and John McClarin.
Joey Lippo and Will Nelson.
James Wood and Mason Grove.
These guys all ascended to become the top duo. They lived on Court #3, where the top doubles teams always played.
Whether the leadership came from a singles player or doubles team, the knowledge was always passed down to the next guys.
We always had fun in the fall.
Let the awards (and cupcakes) rain down. (Photo courtesy Ken Stange)
One of the best parts of the season was the end of season awards dinner thing that sports teams do.
We tried to have it away from the school as much as possible because we spent too much time at school already.
According to the kids, our dinner was the best of any team, because the families brought their best dishes.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who would eat light all day because I knew that we’d dine like kings at the awards dinner.
Anyone who was on the team while Garrett and Jason Knoll played probably still remembers the perfectly colored tennis ball cupcakes made by Peggy Knoll.
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