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Above the rim!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Football, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, football, Good Burger, Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim, Smooth Criminal on June 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim (John Fisken photos)

Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim lines up a free throw during a game this past winter. (John Fisken photos)

“All your rebounds are mine!!”

Screw the basket supports in tight, just in case.

As he prepares to make the leap up to high school ball, Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim has set his sights on (eventually) playing above the rim.

The long, lanky hoop star, who will be a freshman at CHS in the fall, wants to one day go where few Wolves have gone, at least on a consistent basis.

“My goal as a freshman is to dunk a volleyball, and, by my senior year, dunk consistently,” Pacquette-Pilgrim said.

While playing for CMS, he was the team’s primary weapon in the paint, and, while he plans to play football as well, it’s hoops which earns his highest praise.

“Basketball, because I just have a passion for it that you can’t explain,” Pacquette-Pilgrim said. “I enjoy putting in the work and seeing the results.”

While he has raw talent for days, he’s also aware he won’t be able to just get by on that all the time, especially as the competition increases.

So, he listens to his coaches, and lets them guide him along the path.

“I think my strength as an athlete is that I have stuff that you can’t teach, but I could work on the fundamentals,” Pacquette-Pilgrim said. “Coach (Ryan) King has been the biggest impact on me.

“With both football and basketball he has showed me how to put in the work and he has pushed me to my goals.”

When he’s not working in the arena, Pacquette-Pilgrim enjoys collecting shoes and making music. A big fan of “Good Burger,” he has little problem picking a favorite class … sort of.

“My favorite class is lunch,” he said with a laugh. “If that doesn’t count, than it would be PE.”

Ask him for a favorite song, and he goes old school.

“It would always be “Smooth Criminal” by MJ!”

Cue the music, toss Pacquette-Pilgrim a basketball and let him go to work. The future is going to be a high-flying one.

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“We are all surviving!!”

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, Ema Smith, Maya Toomey-Stout, summer camp on June 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

JV players listen intently to Wolf coach David King during a timeout. (Amy King photos)

Each group of players have marked their room this week.

Still standing (even if some of them are sitting).

Senior Kailey Kellner (left) leads her group as they work on a basketball crossword during a team competition.

The Big, Bad Wolves get extra credit for their animal-drawing skills.

King takes his pep talk outside, proving the sun still shines outside the gym.

The team’s extremely snazzy camp t-shirt.

Pray for David King.

The Coupeville High School girls’ basketball coach is down in Ocean Shores for four days, one lone man adrift in a sea of 20 women.

Wife/assistant coach/team photographer Amy King and 19 Wolf hoops stars are his companions, as Coupeville takes part in their annual summer hoops camp.

Long hours are the norm, with Coupeville playing between 16-18 games this year.

Having an unusually large number of players making the commitment this time, the surging Wolves, two-time defending 1A Olympic League champs, are fielding both a varsity and JV squad.

Each team opened with two games Monday, another three Tuesday, play twice Wednesday (with some time set aside to hit the beach) and then close Thursday with at least one and possibly two more games.

With tons of teams in play, the earliest start time has been 7 AM, and the latest midnight, though (so far) the Wolves have not gone earlier than 8 AM or later than 10 PM.

Toss in injuries — two CHS players have gone down, one after having her head landed on, another with a tweaked finger, though both were able to return later — and the coaches are busy bees.

“It’s long days,” said David King,who plans to sleep for a month upon returning home. “Other than that, we are all surviving.”

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A winner? Every day, every way!!

Posted in Baseball, Football, Happy birthday, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, football, Happy birthday, JoJo, Julian Welling on June 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Julian Welling lays down the law: “There had better be cake! That’s all I’m saying…” (John Fisken photos)

“Wait, there is cake, right?”

"There is cake!!!!!!! It's mah birthday!!! Dance all day and party all night!!!"

“There’s cake!!! It’s mah birthday!!! Dance all day and party all night!!!” (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)

Julian Welling is one of the best athletes at Coupeville High School, hands down.

A slugger on the baseball diamond and a ferocious hitter on the gridiron, JoJo, who will be a junior in the fall, is the real deal, a talented guy with size, strength and a motor that runs hot and heavy.

But, if you want to know what separates him from the pack, what truly makes him special, you have to step back and watch him when he’s NOT playing.

Watch him when he’s in the stands, cheering on his lil’ sis, Melia, during her little league games.

Playing for the Venom, who went 13-3 this spring in Juniors action, Melia, who had very little experience coming in, made huge strides at the plate.

As her confidence built, boosted in large part by very vocal encouragement from her brother, she became much more aggressive at the plate and started ripping some liners.

The biggest blow came against South Whidbey, when she launched a game-busting two-run double to left that caused Julian to come unglued.

Bouncing on the top row of the stands, waving his blanket left and right, big bro bellowed “That just made my day, Melia!!”

The grin that split his sister’s face as she rocked back and forth while astride second base didn’t leave for the remainder of the game.

At which point Julian came flying around the side of the dugout to grab her in a bear hug and carry her off like a trophy he had just won.

It’s moments like that which make Welling, who celebrates a birthday today, one of the true bright spots in Wolf Nation.

He is as friendly and outgoing as anyone wearing the red and black these days, a fun-loving big kid who charges into battle with a grin on his face and light-hearted mischief in his heart.

Welling is also, though, a true standup guy, a young man who showed a lot with how he conducted himself during what could have been a negative time at the start of this year’s baseball season.

A person can complain when things don’t go their way or they can, day in and day out, show their coaches, in big ways and small ways, why they deserve to wear that uniform.

When Julian made his season debut, taking the ball in relief in his first game, he was being rewarded for not taking the easy way out.

For standing up and acting like a man when it mattered, even if that stung at times.

So, when I think of Welling, I absolutely acknowledge his talent.

But I really hail him for the person he is — the proud big brother who dotes on his sister, the fun-loving entertainer and the guy who admits mistakes, then turns them into positives.

A lot of people are good athletes.

Julian is much more than that, and as a Wolf fan, I am glad I can claim him as one of our guys.

Happy birthday, Mr. Welling.

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Knoblich had Wright mentor!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Basketball, Football, tagged Aaron Wright, baseball, Basketball, CHS Wolves, football, Gavin Knoblich on June 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Gavin Knoblich, well-dressed man about town. (Photos courtesy Mariah Knoblich)

“Hey, mom! Mom! MOM! Mom mommy mom mom mom!”

Aaron Wright no longer anchors the line for the Coupeville High School football squad, but his impact lingers long after he hung up the uniform.

As Gavin Knoblich prepares for his freshman year at CHS, one which will kick off with him taking his own place on the gridiron, Wright’s words and actions spur him on.

“Aaron, he set an example for me to push myself to be like,” Knoblich said. “He taught me how to do more than go through the motions.”

A strong player at the middle school level, Knoblich intends to be a three-sport athlete for the Wolves, playing football, basketball and baseball.

While he enjoys all three, spring will herald the return of his favorite pastime.

“Baseball (is my favorite), because it’s the first sport I took seriously,” Knoblich said. “And I found I had some athletic ability.”

He wants to make an impact right out of the gate (“I want to have a chance to be starting JV in any of my sports”), but knows there’s always room for growth.

“I enjoy the accomplishment of learning,” he said. “I like the time I spend with my friends working on something fun together.”

Knoblich loves to be in the thick of things, and fire up his teammates.

While that’s a huge plus, he also realizes he needs to know when to go loud and proud, and when to dial it back and keep a calm head.

“I’m always trying to think ahead. I’m always trying to be positive for my teammates,” he said. “My weakness is my composure – my inner voice in the back of my head.”

Helping him find his center is mom Mariah, who has a huge impact on his day-to-day life.

“My mom, she is always there to calm me,” Knoblich said. “She gets me where I need to go, and she always smiles for me.”

Whether it’s camping and hunting with his dad Clint or hanging out at the beach and riding dirt bikes with friends, he has a reliable support group.

Along with his mother, his grandparents step up big to help anchor things.

“My Grammy and Poppy. They make things so easy by always helping my mom,” Knoblich said. “Getting me places when my mom can’t, and they always have awesome dinners for us.”

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There’s a new 3-ball wizard in town!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Boys Tennis, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, Lauren Grove, Mason Grove, three-balls on June 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mason Grove (right) meets the president of his fan club. (Mindy Grove photo)

Grove, shakin’ ‘n bakin’ on the hardwood. (John Fisken photo)

There’s a little Steph Curry in Mason Grove.

During his days on the hardwood playing for Coupeville Middle School, Grove was a long-range sniper, capping his run at CMS with a 25-point explosion in a game at Sequim.

Now, he’ll take his skills to the next level, joining mega-talented older sister Lauren in high school this fall.

When he does, he plans to follow in her footsteps as a three-sport sensation, but with a twist to what sports he plays.

Grove will open with tennis in the fall — his goal will be to “play for the first time and be awesome at it!” — then shoot hoops in the winter.

The plan is to cap his freshman year with either baseball or track in the spring.

If he chooses the latter, he could help Lauren, a state meet veteran, christen the shiny new eight-lane track CHS is currently installing.

Whichever sport he picks in the spring, it’s the hardwood which captivates him the most, however.

“Basketball is my favorite because it is fast-paced and you are constantly moving,” he said. “And I love shooting threes!”

When he’s not dropping treys, Grove can often be found fishing or entertaining friends and family.

“I like to dance and be goofy or do anything at all to make people laugh,” he said.

Grove draws support from his family, both when in uniform and out.

“My mom and dad, they constantly push me to be better and encourage me,” he said. “My sister and little brother are OK, too.”

When he is competing, Grove draws on his natural talent to succeed, but is also aware he needs to put in the work if he wants to keep on improving.

“I think I have good hand/eye coordination and quick reflexes. And I’m good at timing,” he said. “As a freshman I plan on working on strength training and speed.”

Win or lose (and he plans on winning), Grove ultimately enjoys the life of an athlete because it is, in the end, enjoyable.

“You are always doing something and sports are fun!”

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