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Posts Tagged ‘boys soccer’

Play young, play now!

Posted in soccer, Tennis, tagged , , , , on August 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Adeline Maynes (left) and Mary Western were high school softball sensations while still attending middle school classes. (Bailey Thule photo)

Claim your destiny, young guns.

With the start of a new school year rumbling into sight, thoughts turn to the first days of practice for fall sports.

Coupeville High School offers volleyball, cross country, cheer, football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, and boys’ tennis — if enough athletes turn out.

In the case of soccer and tennis, participation numbers are a concern, and coaches and admins are pushing a push on getting enough players to be able to offer full programs.

Last year low numbers among female booters caused the school’s soccer programs to be compressed into one co-ed one, as the Northwest 2B/1B League allows girls to play on boys’ pitch teams if their school can’t field a full girls program.

That snapped a 20-year-plus run of Wolf girls’ soccer teams at CHS, and coach Kimberly Kisch and Athletic Director Brad Sherman are hopeful to revive the girls’ team as its own thing this time around.

Coupeville boys’ soccer coach Robert Wood is putting his own push on when it comes to building a solid roster and would be thrilled to see a packed field on day #1 of practice, which is set for August 26.

With boys’ tennis, low numbers put the program on hiatus several seasons back, but new coaches Tim Stelling and Starla Seal would like to revive the net squad.

With CHS boasting brand new tennis courts which were just finished, it would be a perfect way to kick things off without having to wait until the Wolf girls take the court next spring.

One thing to keep in mind is that Coupeville, as a 2B school, can use 8th graders on high school teams — varsity or JV — where there is a legitimate need.

So, while middle school students have their own volleyball and cross country programs — and the state doesn’t allow 8th graders to play high school football — you can attend CMS yet play soccer or tennis for CHS this fall.

Multiple Wolves have taken advantage of that recently in sports such as girls’ tennis, softball, baseball, and girls’ basketball.

That includes Tenley Stuurmans, who advanced to the state tourney in tennis this past spring as just an 8th grader.

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Wilson still a warrior

Posted in Running, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Aidan Wilson (left) enjoys his moment atop the podium.

Aidan Wilson is still out there kicking butt and taking names.

The Coupeville grad, who won five state track and field medals as a Wolf, competed in his second Spartan Sprint race in Michigan this weekend and excelled.

Vying in the competitive class, he won his age group.

Spartan Sprint races send runners through a course where they have to evade obstacles, diving into mud, climbing up ropes, and jumping over fire.

Wilson and fellow competitors had to deal with 20 obstacles on a 5K course.

His triumph in the event continues a tradition of excellence, going back to his days as a multi-sport athlete at CHS.

During his time on Whidbey, Wilson more than earned his status as a Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Famer.

He participated in a mind-boggling 16 events as a Wolf track and field star, collecting 41 wins across three seasons.

Wilson brought home five state meet medals, earning three 2nd place finishes, capping his career by placing 7th out of 32 in a two-day, 10-event decathlon featuring competitors from every state classification.

One of only eight Wolf boys to earn as many as five state meet medals, it’s likely he would have gone higher on that list if real-world issues hadn’t restricted him to just two trips to the big dance.

The pandemic erased all spring sports when Wilson was a freshman, and the state meet was cancelled during his sophomore season as track officials limited how far schools could travel in the Age of Coronavirus.

Wilson also ran a season of cross country, while raining down goals on the soccer pitch.

He rattled the net for 10 goals as a senior, earning All-Conference First-Team honors, and finished his prep career with 13 scores, putting him #7 on Coupeville’s all-time boys’ soccer scoring chart.

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Wolf soccer ace goes international

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , , on July 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Chayse Van Velkinburgh (right) is playing soccer around the world. (Photos courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)

Chayse Van Velkinburgh is following the bouncing soccer ball around the world.

The Coupeville 8th grader recently spent a month in Spain, pursuing the beautiful game.

Van Velkinburgh put in two weeks of intensive training with the Madrid Euro Soccer Academy, then played in Mad Cup 2024.

That tourney, now in its fourth year, boasts 809 teams, with 14,000+ kids from 34 countries playing games at 32 venues in Madrid.

Van Velkinburgh’s squad, which squared off with teams from Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela among others, made it all the way to the Elite 8 in the silver bracket.

Off to dominate on the pitch.

The young Wolf ace then hopped on a plane and headed back home, finding himself back on the soccer pitch in America mere hours later.

Suiting up with Northwest United this time, Van Velkinburgh helped his team finish second at the Skagit Firecracker Tournament.

Back in America, Dustin and Jessica’s son will continue to play with NW United, while also joining the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer program this fall.

After playing a final season of middle school basketball, he’s slated to return to Spain in January for another three-month stay at the Madrid Academy.

Chasing that ball and chasing that dream.

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White was just right for Wolves

Posted in Baseball, Boys Basketball, Boys Soccer, Cross Country, Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on June 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Cole White drills a jumper. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

He bled for Wolf Nation.

Frequently.

Cole White, the pale prairie prince, has been one of Coupeville’s best athletes and students over the history of this blog, and one who never shied away from sacrificing his body for the good of his team.

This past winter, as he helped lead the Wolf boys’ basketball team back to the state tourney, he got smacked in the face, had his fingers stepped on, got kneed in the groin, and frequently had to meet behind the bench with the athletic trainer to deal with the aftereffects of being roughed up.

And yet, almost every time, White was back in the game, and back in the thick of the action, moments later.

Fingers taped up, bandages applied, stuff jammed up his nose, he was back at it, draining jumpers in his rivals faces, ripping a ball loose during a battle on the floor, or whipping a pass between defenders to set up a teammate for an easy bucket.

Like his dad, Greg, before him, Cole led by example, a solid leader and award-winner in three sports a year.

Dependable could be his middle name, as the lanky whirlwind was like a second coach on the floor, the pitch, or the diamond — calm, cool, and collected.

He played soccer, basketball, and baseball at CHS, and even ran cross country in the early going and was Mr. Smooth no matter the season.

Off to dominate on the soccer pitch. (Jackie Saia photo)

On the soccer pitch, Morgan’s favorite son and Riley’s big brother knocked in 10 goals — one of just 12 Wolf boys to reach double digits in their career.

He might have gone higher, but his freshman season had just six games, thanks to the pandemic.

White shrugged that off, trending upwards as he bashed in six of those 10 goals as a senior, when he earned First-Team All-League honors as a midfielder.

Better yet, he helped lead the Wolves to their best record in years, during a season in which Coupeville held its own in a league anchored by state soccer powerhouses like Friday Harbor and Orcas Island.

Winning is kind of his thing. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Once he moved to the hardwood for basketball, White was a key member of a senior-heavy team which won a bi-district title and advanced to state for the second time in the last three seasons.

A Second-Team All-League pick, he snagged the Defensive Player of the Year award from his coaches, while also pumping in 205 points.

Cole finished his high school hoops career with 405 points, and he and Greg (604) are the first father-son duo to combine for 1,000+ points in the 107-year history of CHS basketball.

But he wasn’t done there, as he anchored a Wolf baseball team which made its second consecutive trip to state.

Excellence fueled by sunflower seeds. (Jackie Saia photo)

Playing shortstop and swinging a lethal bat, the Second-Team All-League pick racked up 19 runs, 15 walks, 15 stolen bases, 13 hits, and eight RBI during his senior campaign.

Oh, and he was honored by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association with the Cliff Gillies Award, which recognizes student/athletes who excel in scholarship, citizenship, and participation in activities.

Plus, he was valedictorian, so smart as well as athletic.

For all those reasons — the quality stats, the commitment, the work ethic, the intelligence — plus the fact he’s an internet star thanks to mom’s streaming service, and he has always just seemed like a really good guy, Cole is an easy pick to join the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

As he heads off to Gonzaga in the fall, the world is his, and I have little doubt he will accomplish much in the years to come.

But before he goes, let’s take a moment to honor Cole for what he has already done, and the classy manner in which he has done it.

After this, he’ll join dad up at the top of the blog, under the Legends tab.

He’s earned it, every step of the way.

The first steps on his way to being a Hall o’ Famer. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

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White notches WIAA honor

Posted in awards, tagged , , , , , on June 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Cole White (5) and teammates celebrate winning a bi-district hoops title. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Cole White’s trophy case continues to grow.

The Coupeville High School senior, who received All-League honors in all three of his sports this school year, received the Cliff Gillies Award Monday during the year-ending CHS awards and scholarships ceremony.

That honor, handed out by schools across the state, is named for a former longtime Executive Director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

It recognizes student/athletes who excel in scholarship, citizenship, and participation in activities.

White was a leader on all three of his teams, two of which went to the state tourney.

“Cup check!!” (Jackie Saia photo)

He was a First-Team All-League pick as a midfielder in soccer, then notched Second-Team honors in both basketball and baseball, with those Wolf programs advancing to the big dance.

On the hardwood, White snagged the Defensive Player of the Year award from his coaches, while also pumping in 205 points.

He finished his career with 405 points, and he and dad Greg (604) are the first father-son duo to combine for 1,000+ points in the 107-year history of CHS basketball.

On the diamond, Cole anchored the defense at shortstop, while amassing 19 runs, 15 walks, 15 stolen bases, 13 hits, and eight RBI.

He led the Wolves in both runs and walks.

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