Coupeville Sports

Chelsea Prescott will terminate you. (John Fisken photo)

She is the future, and the future looks pretty dang impressive.

When you look at middle school athletes and try and forecast how they will do at the high school level, it’s always a bit tricky.

A million little things can change, and the kid who was a star at one level never hits it as big at the next, or the kid you never saw coming grows into a superstar.

But let me say this — I’m betting the farm on Chelsea Prescott.

The Coupeville Middle School 8th grader, who hits the big 1-4 today, reminds me a lot of Lindsey Roberts, who, as a CHS sophomore, is currently on target to earn the maximum 12 athletic letters.

Having watched Chelsea play volleyball and basketball at CMS, and both baseball and softball with Central Whidbey Little League, she’s the real deal.

As a spiker, she lashed one serve that (literally) exploded a rival player’s face, sending blood spraying and ensuring no one on the other team will ever want to come back to Coupeville.

Fear the Wolf. That’s a good thing, I say.

On the hard wood, Prescott is a scoring machine who already has a confidence rare at the middle school level, and on the diamond, she’s the complete package, whether pitching or playing short stop.

Chelsea has power, speed, hits with a rare aggression and, again, possesses quiet confidence.

And that is why I think she will be successful at whatever sports she plays at the next level, because she is confident, yet not egotistical, plays to win and is quick to work with her teammates and even quicker to listen to her coaches.

She’s also 14 years old, and I don’t want to put too much pressure on her.

I hope she has a phenomenal prep career (makes for better stories for me) but I hope, more importantly, that Chelsea continues to enjoy herself.

That she gets out of sports what she wants, but that she is also successful in every other part of her life.

From the stands, she comes across as a low-key, friendly young woman, one with a strong, supportive family. I think that bodes well for her future, as an athlete, a student, and a person.

As she celebrates her birthday today, I just want to chime in with my own well wishes.

It has been a treat to watch you play so far, and I look forward to watching your future successes unfold, whether they be on or off the athletic stage.

Happy birthday, Miss Prescott.

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