Willie Smith teaches the game to the heir to his throne. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
New office, new year, same straight shooter.
Willie Smith, who has been working in Cow Town since popping over from Sequim in the ’90s, is back in full bloom this year as Coupeville High School/Middle School Athletic Director.
It’s a return to a gig he’s held several times before, and he arrives back in the post full of his usual vim and vigor.
With the first contest of the 2026-2027 school year set for this Friday, with Wolf football hosting Klahowya, Smith has taken a moment to offer his expectations for athletes and fans.
Hello, most of you know me but I wanted to re-introduce myself and go over some changes and expectations in regard to athletics and spectator expectations.
My name is Willie Smith and my family and I have been part of this Island community since 1993.
We have raised our family of six here with all four kids graduating from Coupeville schools and we are eternally grateful for the education and community that they all felt while here.
Each of our kids was different and had different paths to their successes and yes, sometimes failures, but each was unconditionally supported by our community in both instances.
I can proudly say that it was a time of great success and support in our schools, both academically and athletically and I want that for all our kids and programs.
We have had great participation, playoff appearances, academic team state championships and vocal and supportive crowds that made coming to Coupeville a tough trip for opposing schools and represented what a student-athlete truly should be.
Our community has always been a special place that shows up and supports all of our kids.
The goal now is to reignite that energy: getting back to loud, energetic crowds, school-first focus, and positive engagement in all practice and game environments.
So, what’s the process and expectations?
First: School expectations for our students and student-athletes, and as you are reading these, please understand that the goal of these is to help our kids develop lifelong skills and expectations and are not meant to punish or prevent our kids from participation.
Attendance: If a student-athlete misses part of a day of school due to any medical/counseling/dental appointment, they are required to come with a signed note from their appointment signed from that office.
This is written in the athletic code that each parent and student signs before being allowed to participate in athletics.
This allows them to fully participate in practice or games that day. Without this note they will sit out of practice or the game that day.
This note is only handled/seen by our attendance secretaries and they clear the athlete.
A simple process but one that needs to happen.
We also are very aware that there are emergencies, Drivers Education drive test, etc. that occur throughout the school year, and we only ask that when those occur, you contact the school and let us know.
Tardies: Students showing up late to class has become a major issue at both the middle and high school.
Students are expected to be in the classroom by the time the tardy bell rings.
Student-athletes are expected to show up to practice on time, which they invariably do, and the same expectations apply to the school day.
An accumulation of two unexcused tardies in a day or week will result in a lunch detention.
Further accumulation will result in after school detention which can and will impact practices or games.
Academics: We run a grade check every three weeks.
The goal of this is to help our student-athletes stay on track in their classes and maintain their academic eligibility and path to graduation.
If a student is below 70% in any of their classes the teacher, student and coach create an academic contract to help them get back on track and above the 70% threshold.
This is not a punitive measure (though if the student does not follow through, it could result in them being held out from participating in games) but is designed to assist the student to get back on track.
It is student-led and student centered and has proven very effective.
Crowd Behavior: Simply, attendance at games or an event are a privilege and not a right.
All of our games, practices, and events are an extension of the educational school day and behavior at these, both by participants, coaches, and spectators should reflect that.
The Northwest 2B/1B League athletic directors, coaches, and administrators believe sportsmanship means respecting yourself, your opponent(s), coaching staffs, officials, and the community.
It means competing as hard as possible until the final whistle and then accepting the results of the competition with grace and dignity.
ACCEPTABLE:
We cheer for OUR TEAMS.
We cheer for OUTSTANDING PLAYS — you can even cheer for an outstanding play from the other team … just a little quieter. 🙂
We applaud BOTH TEAMS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE GAME/EVENT
We applaud DISPLAYS OF SPORTSMANHIP (and heavily ENCOURAGE it).
We are PRESENT AND ENGAGED (Joining our amazing cheer squad in their cheers is heavily appreciated and encouraged).
We APPRECIATE, RESPECT, AND ACKNOWLEDGE the DIFFICULTY of being an official (average age of officials in the State of Washington: 60+!!!)
We APPRECIATE, RESPECT, AND ACKNOWLEDGE the TIME AND EFFORT of our coaching and advisors (drama, choir, band, etc.) staff.
NOT ACCEPTABLE:
Ridicule, harass, use expletives, use noise makers (other than our voices), degrade, or confront players, coaches, officials or other spectators.
These behaviors, if continued, may result in immediate dismissal from the current game/event as well as the prohibition of attendance at future events.
It is our goal (game supervisors, managers, administrators, coaches, players) that when visiting teams/spectators/officials come to play us at Coupeville that they leave having experienced a loud, energetic, positive, student-centered venue that was tough to play not because it was hostile but because the positive energy our crowd created for Coupeville was beyond anything they have experienced.
It is our goal (coaches and administrators) to provide our students with a focused, team first, positive, and goal-oriented environment for all, regardless of skill or ability.
It is our goal (administration) to have positive interactions with all and if there is a need for a redirection it is simple, direct and respected.
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