Lauren Rose, baby whisperer, standout athlete, academic genius and all around remarkable young woman. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Rose comes up firing while patrolling the infield.
To know Lo is to adore her.
I have watched countless athletes play in my years as a sport writer, but Lauren Rose lands on a very, very small list as one of the best I have ever witnessed.
For her athletic ability? Absolutely. For her work ethic and commitment? Positively.
But also because she is simply one of the best human beings to ever pull on a Wolf uniform. Ever.
Lauren and twin sister Kayla are two of the most gracious, kind and caring, intelligent, personable young women I have met.
When you add in Lauren’s amazingly consistent, often inspired, athletic performances during her four-year run at Coupeville High School, and there is no doubt whatsoever she has long deserved inclusion into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.
So, after I get done gushing about her in this article, you’ll find her enshrined up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.
The supremely serene superstar, whether she was being hailed as Mouse, Munchkin or Keebler Elf, had the stats, the SportsCenter highlight plays, the big wins, and all the All-Conference awards.
But, most of all, she had a heart that was unmatched. She might not have been as tall as some of her teammates, but she played like a giant every dang day.
Pick a sport — volleyball, basketball or softball — and Rose delivered, steady, calm and collected, yet burning with desire to get better, work harder and fight longer.
She once snapped off 20 consecutive points on her serve in a varsity volleyball match against Chimacum, almost running a complete set by herself, and every serve was pure perfection.
Rose, who may have missed two or three serves in her entire four-year run for the CHS volleyball program, lashed winner after winner, putting a slightly different spin on each serve as she continually hit a target only she saw.
The Cowboys weren’t a bad team, and the match itself was competitive, but when Rose was twirling the ball and launching elegant missiles, they might as well have just sat down on the bench and enjoyed the show, cause they had no answers for what she was dealin’.
And that’s how she was in all her sports, whether finishing among the state leaders in assists as a nimble-fingered setter, harassing rivals to distraction on the basketball court as a ballhawk, or being uniformly superb at whatever position her softball coaches asked her to play.
Rose did a stint behind the plate as a freshman, waiting for Sarah Wright to arrive from middle school and take over the catching duties, then moved out to anchor the team at short and third in later years.
And it’s in the world of softball where The Keebler Elf delivered what I believe to be her most inspired moment.
Coupeville had a road game in Sequim rescheduled at the last second, which put Rose in an unexpected sticky situation.
As the leadoff hitter for the red-hot Wolves, she wanted to be in the lineup, and yet she also had an important SAT test she couldn’t miss.
Strong athlete, strong student, trapped in a no-win situation.
Except, she made it work.
First, Rose blitzed her way through the test, using a #2 pencil like a sword to defend her academic rep.
Then she bolted across the street, hurdled into a waiting car driven by a teammate’s parents and hauled tail for the ferry, not even stopping to change into her uniform.
“I’ll do it on the ferry!”
“Do you know how dirty ferry bathrooms are??????”
“I’ll move faster than the germs!!”
With the clock ticking against her, Rose (and her ride) made it to the field in Sequim with mere moments to spare, at which point she catapulted herself from the back seat of the still-moving auto, juggling her mitt, bat and snacks as she sprinted towards her coach, who was pacing madly, one eye on his watch, one on the ump.
“Oh, sweet lord, my heart…”
“Told you I’d make it,” Rose whispered to her coach as she flung her mitt and snacks over her shoulder, bouncing them into the dugout on a dime.
Never breaking pace, she sprinted to the plate, nodded to the ump, hefted her bat, glanced at the pitcher for a split second (or less) and promptly smacked the first pitch of the game, driving the ball to straight away center for a standup double.
Legendary.
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