Julia Felici
Athlete. Role model. Loving aunt. In-freakin-credible cookie baker.
Julia Felici is all this and so much more.
The Coupeville High School grad, who celebrates her birthday today, did a lot of things during her time as a Wolf and did them all well.
Cheer, track, basketball, softball, Homecoming royalty and then it’s on to her work with The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.
She doted on nephew Drake, had the good sense to be close friends with the impeccable Mekare (Greatest Living Person?) Bowen and was one of the biggest fans of her fellow classmates, showing up at practically every athletic event she wasn’t already playing or cheering at.
Two moments will stand out for me when it comes to Miss Felici.
On the basketball court as a junior, she was a scrappy ballhawk. Only one thing was missing — she rarely shot the ball, always looking to set up her teammates.
Late in the season, Wolf JV coach Amy King was trying to make sure every girl on her roster had reached the scoring column, and she tried to feed the ball to Felici.
The first couple of times failed, as Felici dished the ball to an open teammate, playing smart, unselfish basketball.
And then, out of nowhere, came the moment.
Felici caught the ball, started to pass and instead spun, and, channeling Kobe Bryant for a moment, pump-faked her defender out of her shoes and drained a sweet fall-away jumper from the top of the key.
King’s jaw hit the ground, the people in the stands went bonkers and Felici, shy smile flickering across her face, merely turned and charged back down court to pick up her man on defense.
The second moment, however, might have been the sweetest.
That came when Julia baked me a batch of mind-melting chocolate chip cookies to “bribe” me into running a story about a middle school dance she was putting on as part of her regular community service.
I still dream about those cookies. Epic, technicolor dreams of cookies running and jumping in the clouds and then splashing down into my mouth.
Well, yes… Moving on.
Now, as she heads off to college and further adventures in being awesome, let’s take a moment to wish Julia the best.
And, if she ever finds herself with too many cookies just sittin’ around the house, possibly going to waste, um, you know where I live and may I remind you, I have a VERY big mailbox.
Just sayin’.
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