Jakobi Baumann flies over the hurdles during a track meet last spring. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
The first time I met Jakobi Baumann, he was a young kid hanging out in the old, cruddy wood shack masquerading as the press box at Mickey Clark Field.
Over the course of a high school soccer game, he ran the scoreboard and we talked a bit as I scribbled a few notes about a game that was playing out to a less-than-thrilling tie.
Jakobi was smart, that was already obvious, but he was also funny and well-spoken.
This was a guy going places, and not just because his dad, Duane, ran the school.
My snap judgement that day was a simple one.
One day, I would probably still be occupied with slapping attack bees with my notebook (the old press box was a death trap…), trying to figure out how to make a scoreless stalemate sound halfway exciting.
Meanwhile, the young Mr. Baumann would be out in the world, impressing people of prestige and power.
And lo and behold, I was right.
Maybe not about the bees, as the school’s current press box — a huge improvement — has so far shielded my tender vittles from any kamikaze insects.
But about Jakobi hitting grand heights? I was dead on about that.
As he and twin brother Jaschon wound their way through their years at CHS, both were top-notch students, athletes, and people.
With no disrespect meant to Schon, who is off to study at the U-Dub, this article is about Kobi, though.
As he heads to Mexico to begin a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we want to send him on his way by recognizing everything he accomplished during his time in Cow Town.
So, we’re inducting Jakobi Baumann into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, honoring him for being a stellar tennis and track and field performer, as well as a standout in every other activity he tackled, from band to drama to Science Olympiad.
Baumann and fellow Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Famer Allison Wenzel could play a mean duet.
And, for being a really solid dude, a guy who was supportive of his teammates and classmates, and did it all with a genuine sense of class.
After this, while the real Baumann will be South of the border for awhile, he will also live on under the Legends tab at the top of the blog.
It’s a position he earned through hard work.
On the tennis court, Baumann rose from a middle-of-the-pack player in his early days to being solidly The Man, anchoring the lineup at #1 singles for the Wolves.
As he grew taller and more sure of himself, his power increased, his willingness to take the challenge directly at rival players revved up, and the wins came along with his growth as a player and person.
While his shot-making skills were strong, Baumann set himself apart from others by refusing to give in, regardless of the score.
Intensity, thy name is Jakobi.
Time and again, he fought back from deficits, pushed his rivals deep into matches, and never slowed down when chasing balls which seemed long gone.
Watching Jakobi play, it reminded me of a kid named Sonny Jelvik, who was on the Tumwater High School team when I played my own three years of high school tennis.
Time and again, I would pound shots against him in practice which had “winner” stamped on the ball (I thought), only to see Sonny run down the ball at the last second and flick it back into play.
It was frustrating beyond all belief, and made for long afternoons on the court, as we slugged away at each other for hours. But it made me better, something I see now.
Like Jelvik, Baumann had no off button, and his desire to win was matched by few.
That carried over to his time in the world of track and field, where he made it to bi-districts, a step away from the state meet, in three events as a senior.
Baumann put in a great deal of time as a distance runner, and was one of the few brave souls among the current crop of Wolf boys to attack the hurdles with great glee.
If we go back through eighth grade, he tried his hand at nearly everything, competing in 13 events during his time as a track star.
That he found the time to do two sports, when he was also occupied with so many academic activities as well, is pretty amazing.
While this is called Coupeville Sports, we have to take a second to note his single greatest accomplishment might have come in the world of music, where Baumann made the trombone thrill as he advanced to the state championships.
But, whether he was lettin’ loose with sweet sounds, flying over the hurdles, long legs churning, blinding people with science, or just goofing around with friends, he was always the real deal.
Jakobi was (and is) a genuinely nice guy, smart, witty, willing to stand up for what he believes in, but also able to do it with kindness for all.
He will go far in life, of that there is no doubt. More serious, highly-accredited Hall of Fames will be in play one day.
The kid with the jokes in the broken-down press box will be a man who makes the world a better place.
When Jakobi receives other honors, when the stories written about him land in bigger outlets than my blog, it will be really easy to be happy for him and his family.
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