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Posts Tagged ‘Basketball’

New country, same hoops love!!

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on July 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone (left), on tour with an all-star basketball team in Brazil, poses with a local player. (Photos courtesy Stone)

Team USA, ready to rumble on foreign soil.

Visiting the world-famous, 125-foot high, Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.

Stone, who will be a junior at Whitman College, reps her Team USA colors.

Basketball has been very, very good to Makana Stone.

The hoops life has taken the Coupeville grad around the world, with a big highlight being a trip to Brazil that’s just wrapping up.

Stone, a junior at Whitman College, was picked to be part of a 10-player USA D-III women’s basketball team.

She and her teammates played four games in Brazil, facing off with squads from Jundiai, Santa Andre, Queimados and Fluminese.

The second of those four rivals was a pro team.

For Stone, who was an All-League First-Team pick during her sophomore season at Whitman, the trip has been everything she expected, and more.

“It has been a once in a lifetime experience!,” she said. “I’ve gotten the opportunity to play with some of the USA and Brazil’s best players.

“The talent out here is unreal,” Stone added. “I’m thankful to have been able to have the chance to play with and against it.”

While on the trip, the Team USA players (a men’s squad joined Stone and Co. on the road) got to experience the culture and food of Brazil.

They also had an opportunity to work with the next generation of hoops stars, something Stone loved.

“One of my favorite parts of this trip was being able to hold a clinic for Brazilian kids in Rio,” she said.

The act of putting the ball in the hoop bridged any gaps between people from different countries.

“There was a bit of a language barrier and they laughed at my attempts to use Portuguese,” Stone said with a chuckle.

“But, there’s really nothing like making new friends through a little basketball on the streets of Rio!”

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“I enjoy the challenge!!”

Posted in Basketball, Track, tagged , , , , on July 20, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Aiden Burdge heads back up court after nailing a three-point bomb in a middle school hoops game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

When Aiden Burdge wants to see his greatest opponent, he looks in the mirror.

The Coupeville High School freshman, who follows a path carved by talented older sisters Kylie and Kiara, has a clear focus when he settles in to run a race or shoot a basketball.

Get better, every time out, and push himself to get the most he can out of his abilities.

“My strength as an athlete is my determination to push at a challenge until I overcome it,” Burdge said. “I need to work on discipline and training, because the older I get, the harder I have to push myself to get better.”

While he was a quick, three-ball-shootin’ wonder on the basketball court in middle school, it’s track and field which captivates Burdge.

“My favorite sport is track because it’s a great feeling to fly through the air and I know I can only improve,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge that’s in front of me and I want to get better.”

Track, above most other sports, is all about self-improvement — getting a PR, shaving a few seconds off your best time or picking up a few more inches on a throw.

That chance to compete against himself, and see his progress reflected back, is a big part of why Burdge enjoys the sport so much.

“My goal in my high school sports career is the same as my middle school sports career goal – to beat my own records,” he said.

Burdge is part of a large, tightly-knit family, and he appreciates the support he gets from his three sisters and parents Aaron and Trina.

Whether he’s playing a sport, knocking out tunes on the piano, or spending time with his family, the young Wolf star knows he has their full support and love.

“My parents and my siblings all pushed me to be better and to put forth my best effort,” Burdge said. “And for that I’m grateful.”

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Work hard, dream big!!

Posted in Basketball, Track, tagged , , , , on July 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Logan Martin skies for a bucket. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Logan Martin is always working.

The son of Coupeville coach Bob Martin, and younger brother of Wolf track and field legend Dalton Martin, he can be found in virtually every photo from off-season SST training at the school.

And, during basketball season, Logan is always the first one to hit the court at halftime or after games, putting up shots and working on his game.

The benefits have begun to show, as Martin has been a key member of successful middle school and AAU hoops squads, mixing a deadly three-point shot with strong work down low.

As he preps for his freshman year at CHS, the quiet, but driven, young baller has his eyes set firmly on the goal.

“I want to make varsity as a freshman, be a four-year varsity (player),” Martin said.

He plans to stick with track and field as well, where he’s a top thrower like his older brother, who captured four state track medals, but is letting go of football as he makes the jump to high school.

While he’s been successful in the track arena, it’s the hardwood life he fully embraces.

“Basketball is my favorite sport, because I feel it’s the sport I’m better at than other sports,” Martin said. “It’s a great way to exercise.

“It can be played by anyone – young or old,” he added. “And you can take a basketball with you practically anywhere and practice anytime.”

When he’s not practicing or playing, Martin is an avid photographer and has shown a canny eye behind the camera.

A series of pics he snapped during the spring high school track season ran in several articles here on Coupeville Sports, with the photos garnering praise for how they captured the inner essence of prep sports.

Whether he’s documenting others, or taking center stage himself, Martin is one to watch.

Playing against Sequim during his 8th grade hoops season, he opened the game by taking, and hitting, the first three shots of the game — a fall-away jumper, a soft fader, then a three-ball from the left side.

The display showcased Martin’s skill, and his versatility, something he’s always working on.

“I think one of my strengths as an athlete is my work ethic,” he said. “I would like to work on having a better attitude when I play.”

Mom Abbie is his biggest fan, faithfully appearing at every game to cheer for her youngest, while dad Bob draws praise for shaping Logan as an athlete.

“My dad (has had a big impact), because he started me in sports and coaches me all day in life and in athletics.”

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Colwell a star on the rise!!

Posted in Basketball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on July 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Ella Colwell, a volleyball, basketball and track star, enters Coupeville High School as a freshman this fall. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Colwell sinks a free throw during a summer hoops camp. (Photo courtesy Megan Wise)

Sports often build friendship.

That’s true for Ella Colwell, a three-sport star heading to Coupeville High School as a freshman this fall.

During her middle school days, she played volleyball and basketball, while rounding out the year with track and field.

Staying active and involved on a daily basis has paid off for Colwell.

“Being a part of something (is great),” she said. “It helps you find people that you maybe didn’t think you’d be friends with.”

While Colwell enjoys all of her sports, hard-court life is the life for her.

“My favorite sport is basketball, because I like how you can be aggressive in it and also I love how much of a team sport it is,” she said. “You really can’t have a successful team if you don’t work together.”

Colwell and her hoops teams, both in middle school and SWISH, have been winners, bringing home titles as they build a tight-knit bond.

A tall, strong athlete who could likely develop into a fearsome inside enforcer in the paint, she’s ready for the challenge.

“My strengths as an athlete would be someone who you can look for as help,” Colwell said.

“Like, in basketball, I’m a post/defender, so when a teammate needs help getting around their defender, I might go up and screen them, or yell “defender on your left” or “watch for screens.”

A strong math student (“it’s my favorite, because I love the satisfaction of when you’ve been trying to solve this hard question, and you finally get it right”), Colwell enjoys watching action/thriller flicks in her spare time.

“Movies that get your heart pumping,” she said. “And have you on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens next!”

But when it’s time to head to practice or games, Colwell is as committed as they come.

“My goals for my high school sports career would definitely be to make it on the varsity for basketball,” she said. “And to become a better overall volleyball player.”

Regardless of the sport or activity, she knows her biggest fan, mom Megan, will always be there for her.

“My mom has been a big impact because she was the one who first told me to play basketball,” Colwell said. “Actually, at first, I didn’t even want to play, but I’m glad I did, because it is my favorite sport.”

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Catch the Stone Cold World Tour!!

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on July 9, 2018| 1 Comment »

Coupeville grad Makana Stone is off to Brazil as part of an all-star basketball team. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Basketball has carried Makana Stone from Cow Town to Brazil.

The Coupeville High School grad, who has spent the past two seasons ripping up the floor at Whitman College, has been tabbed to join the USA D-III Women’s Basketball Team.

As a member of the 10-player squad, Stone is jetting off to Brazil and will be overseas July 16-25, playing four games while there.

The trip, set up by USA Sports Tours and Events, has American women and men’s teams playing games against Jundiai, Santa Andre, Queimados and Fluminese.

The Santa Andre women’s squad is a pro team.

When they’re not playing and practicing, the USA hoops teams will have a chance to experience everything Brazil has to offer.

The players will visit schools and sports clubs, and will have a chance to see the Christ the Redeemer Statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain, two of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.

Stone, who is entering her junior year at Whitman, is the lone player on the tour to hail from Washington state.

The women’s team includes athletes from nine states and a variety of colleges, and will be led by coaches from Luther College in Iowa.

Stone is coming off a sophomore season in which she torched the nets for 12.3 points a game, snatched 7.2 boards a night and was named a First-Team All-Conference pick by the Northwest Conference.

Whitman has advanced to the NCAA tourney in both of her seasons, piling up a 48-10 record in her time in Walla Walla.

While growing up in Coupeville, playing soccer and basketball and running track, Stone put together one of the best individual prep sports careers the town has seen.

A two-time CHS Female Athlete of the Year (who should have been at least a three-timer and I will never stop arguing she was robbed as a freshman), she finished as the #3 scorer in Wolf girls basketball history.

Stone also has the most state meet medals of any Wolf female track competitor, and kicked off her high school career by winning her first 28 races – the best streak in the history of CHS.

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