Cory Whitmore | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Cory Whitmore’

Spiker program keeps it in the family

Posted in Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Cory Whitmore, new hire, Scout Smith, volleyball on May 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Scout Smith (center) was an assistant coach for a CHS volleyball team which had the best season in program history in 2024. (Sarah Stuurmans photo)

They know her name and her game.

Scout Smith, a 2020 Coupeville High School grad who led the Wolves to the state tournament as a player, will be the next varsity head coach of the spiker program.

The hire, which was confirmed by CHS Athletic Director Brad Sherman, will be official once approved by the school board.

Smith sets a teammate up for a kill. (Brian Vick photo)

Smith, a record-setting setter in her playing days, replaces the man who coached her, Cory Whitmore, who stepped down in April after nine seasons at the helm.

Under his leadership the Wolves won 106 matches (even with one season reduced in half by the pandemic) and went to state three times, earning a 4th place trophy this past fall.

Smith was a sophomore on Whitmore’s first state team in 2017 and also played basketball and softball for the Wolves.

Coming off of two stellar seasons of middle school sports, Smith had an immediate impact in her very first high school contest.

Taking the court as a volleyball player, she burnt Mount Vernon Christian to a crisp, reeling off 27 points on her serve, including 18 straight winners at one point.

The American Badass gave herself a black eye during one playoff match but stayed on the court until the final point. (Charlotte Young photo)

Smith eventually made it to state in two of her three sports, was a captain in all of them, captured several All-League honors and was voted a CHS Athlete of the Year winner as a senior.

After high school, she earned degrees from the University of Washington and Gonzaga and has been working as a substitute teacher in Coupeville.

Smith, whose dad Chris and brothers CJ and Hunter have all coached at CHS, was a volunteer assistant with the Wolf volleyball program and is the current girls’ basketball JV coach.

As she prepares for her debut as the varsity volleyball coach, the school will need to build her a staff, as Whitmore, high school JV coach Ashley Menges, and middle school spiker gurus Cris Matochi and Kristina Hooks all recently stepped down.

Read Full Post »

Spiker guru stepping away

Posted in Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Cory Whitmore, resignation, state tournament, volleyball on April 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Cory Whitmore led CHS volleyball on three trips to the state tourney. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s the end of a remarkable run.

Cory Whitmore, who posted nine consecutive winning seasons during his time as Coupeville High School varsity volleyball coach, has tendered his resignation.

It follows on the heels of JV volleyball coach Ashley Menges stepping down in November to move to Florida.

While the latest news hits on April Fool’s Day, it’s reality, and not a joke.

“Having held this role for the past ten years it has without a doubt been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Whitmore said.

“The memories made, and the relationships built will last a lifetime.

“I am so proud to have worked with incredible young adults, their parents/guardians, colleagues and community members, and I am so grateful to the support I received as we worked together to make the mission and vision possible.”

Whitmore, who teaches at Oak Harbor High School, was hired to coach Wolf volleyball in 2016 after Breanne Smedley left to accept a job with Columbia River.

Coupeville had won seven matches across the previous two seasons but promptly went 11-6 under its new coach.

Whitmore led the CHS spikers to the state tournament in 2017, their first appearance at the big dance since concluding a four-year run in 2004.

The Wolves made it back to the Yakima SunDome in both 2023 and 2024, with this past fall’s team breaking every record in program history.

In what proved to be Whitmore’s final run as its coach, Coupeville was undefeated until the final day of the season, went 18-2, and earned a fourth-place trophy at the 2B tourney.

That was the first state trophy garnered by a Wolf spiker crew.

“I will always be so proud of all that we accomplished, with our primary emphasis being to guide and develop young people into their best versions, successful on and off the court,” Whitmore said.

“I have given my heart and soul to the program, and even through the challenges, I remained determined to rise up and give more and more to reach the goals we set forth.”

Whitmore and husband Cris Matochi celebrate their union with former Wolf spiker star Valen (Trujillo) Printz, who shot their elopement pics.

Putting himself fully into volleyball has been essential to building success, but it has also left the eternally upbeat coach a bit burnt out.

“There have been areas in life that I have neglected a healthy balance,” Whitmore said. “And while I will deeply miss my role as head coach of the program, I do think that those neglected areas deserve as much of my attention.”

During his time at the helm of the CHS program, Whitmore, a top three-sport athlete back in his days in Ritzville, guided multiple Wolf spikers to awards and All-State appearances.

He also built a strong feeder program with the Wolf Pups program, ensuring prospective volleyball players would have a chance to embrace the game from a young age.

Before coming to Coupeville, Whitmore graduated from Washington State University, where he worked as an assistant volleyball coach at Colfax High School during a time when it won two state titles.

He teaches English at OHHS, and coached C-Team volleyball at that school, along with working with the Whidbey Fury club team before taking over the Wolf program.

Whitmore enjoys the All-State game with Wolf seniors Alita Blouin (2) and Maddie Georges. (Suzan Georges photo)

As he exits the CHS gym (or at least won’t live there on a regular basis), Whitmore looks back with pride.

“It was so difficult to come to this decision because I still have so much love for the current, past and potential future players and their families,” he said.

“I still love volleyball; I still believe in the mission and vision for the program.”

And while he won’t be at the head of the program, he will still be around, Coupeville volleyball’s #1 supporter.

“I think to anyone paying attention, you have come to know my passion for serving the young adults in this incredible community, and my love for building up a program we can share in,” Whitmore said.

“To those close to me and in need, don’t ever hesitate to reach out for support – I don’t plan on moving and will continue to enjoy the chance at helping those in my community.

“There is no way to adequately thank all those that have supported me and the program along the way, but I hold so much gratitude to so many in this community.

“Through my role as coach, I’ve also made life-long friends and I’m incredibly grateful to what this journey has given to me.

“Forever and always, Go Wolves!”

Whitmore’s CHS volleyball coaching record:

2016: 11-6
2017: 13-5 (State)
2018: 11-5
2019: 14-5
2020: 6-3 (Partial season – Covid)
2021: 11-6
2022: 10-6
2023: 12-7 (State)
2024: 18-2 (State – 4th)

Total: 106-45

Read Full Post »

Spiker ace captures coach’s big day

Posted in Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Cory Whitmore, Cris Matochi, elopement, marriage, Valen Trujillo, volleyball on January 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Valen (Trujillo) Printz joins Coupeville volleyball coaches Cory Whitmore (left) and Cris Matochi on their wedding day.

“The day was so special.”

When Coupeville volleyball gurus Cory Whitmore and Cris Matochi eloped last summer, the intimate affair included one of their former players.

Valen (Trujillo) Printz, who starred on the court for the Wolves from her libero position, is now dazzling folks as a photographer, and she and husband Hunter joined the Wolf coaches for their romantic getaway.

“The location was amazing, the weather was incredible, we were surrounded by our closest family and friends doing exactly what we enjoy doing,” Whitmore said.

“But it was made that much more special to have Valen there as a part of our big day!”

From chasing down wayward volleyballs to documenting her coach’s wedding day, the former Wolf ace has been indispensable.

“Valen and Hunter are so wildly talented and a blast to be around,” Whitmore said.

“I really love being able to say that we had our wedding photos taken by a former player of mine!

“She not only captured the moment in photographs but I’m telling you, she captured the feeling of being there.

“I am so very proud of her, finding a passion to make into a career, and she is damn good at what she does.”

To see more of Valen’s work, pop over to:

https://valenleephoto.com/

Read Full Post »

Spikers sending pack to All-State

Posted in Volleyball, tagged All-State, CHS Wolves, Cory Whitmore, Katie Marti, Lyla Stuurmans, Mia Farris, volleyball on November 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Cory Whitmore unleashes some strategy. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Cram the van.

Fresh off the most-successful season in program history, Coupeville High School volleyball will send four to the Senior All-State games.

The event goes down Sunday, Dec. 8 at Burlington-Edison High School.

The Wolves are sending veteran spikers Katie Marti, Mia Farris, and Lyla Stuurmans, as well as coach Cory Whitmore.

Coupeville’s standouts will join up with players from Adna, Forks, River View, and Okanogan to form Team Gray, which will play Team Purple in the 2B game.

Whitmore will square off with Marie Denny of Liberty (Spangle) in calling the shots.

There are four games, with 1B all-stars kicking things off at 10:30 AM.

The 2B clash is set for 12:30, with 1A/2A (2:30) and 3A/4A bouts (4:30) to follow.

Coupeville, which went 18-2, won league and bi-district crowns, and placed 4th at the state tourney, was undefeated until the final day of the season.

This continues a recent trend of sending Wolf spikers to the All-State games, with Grey Peabody, Maddie Georges, and Alita Blouin having played in recent years.

Mia Farris pounds a kill.

Katie Marti flicks the ball skyward.

Lyla Stuurmans denies you.

Read Full Post »

“I will treasure this season for a long time”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Cory Whitmore, state tournament, Stats, volleyball on November 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Madison McMillan rises up to deliver a winner. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Cory Whitmore took the advice of Letterkenney.

“I suggest you let that one marinate.”

Now, whether the Coupeville High School volleyball coach has ever seen the cult Canadian comedy about small town folks with unbelievably intricate vocabularies is not known.

But the Wolf spiker guru has smartly taken a few moments to let the state tournament experience wash over him.

Even several days after the bright lights of the Yakima SunDome have faded into the rear-view mirror, the buzz remains.

“I have struggled to find the right words to describe just how proud I am of this team, these families, community and coaching staff, for what we accomplished this past Wednesday/Thursday,” Whitmore said.

“Bringing home a 4th place trophy is very special and something the girls should be so incredibly proud of forever.

“But I know it will be the memories of how we did that, how together the group remained through all the challenges throughout, the fight they showed against very tough teams that will mean the most to me and this group for a long time to come.”

Jada Heaton mashes the volleyball.

The 2024 edition of the Wolves were undefeated until the final day of the season, went a program-best 18-2, won league and bi-district titles, and shone brightly in the spotlight of the big dance.

Capturing two wins for the first time in a single state tourney, the Wolves outplayed their #5 seed while toppling #12 Tonasket and #4 Mossyrock.

It was the first victory for a CHS volleyball team at state since 2004.

Looking back, Whitmore reflects on how it all played out from his perspective.

Day One:

The experience of being in the Dome last year was crucial to our success this year – it was an immediate and noticeable difference from last year to this year in our program’s comfortability in being in the environment, navigating the schedule, travel, hotels, all the details that go into tournament play and it felt significantly more smooth.

It was great to be on the exact same court to start as last year (Court 5) but this time the five seed against a #12, instead of the other way around.

Tonasket did not back down but our experience and senior-led group really took over to take care of business.

Against Mossyrock, it was this group’s ability to adjust that made the difference.

We were very strong from the service line, keeping us ahead on defense, but we had to find our way on offense and really adapt where we typically would run routes.

We had practiced this some, but the group really had to do this on the fly, taking quick and effective instructions from the bench.

We made a great push in the second set and almost made the comeback, but I believe that late-push was huge for our confidence to then take the next two sets and get the 3-1 win.

Although we did not see ourselves as the “underdogs”, it was fun to be the first lower-ranked team to beat a higher-ranked team in the tournament.

Day Two:

If things aren’t tight by the quarterfinals, they certainly are in the semis, and although we faced the #1 ranked team in the state (Adna), I was so proud of how this group never once showed fear or hesitation.

We took a bit to adjust to their faster style offense and locate their points of weakness; the girls should be so proud of how we fought and really pushed them, an experienced group of seniors as well.

Freeman had just lost a tough match to the eventual state champs (Manson), and we could feel their frustration – they came out swinging and again, we were a bit out-matched offense-for-offense.

But as with Adna, I am so incredibly proud of how we continued to fight and find our way.

As a coach, I was especially proud of how much the girls trusted our gameplan and just stuck with it.

They believed in where we were telling them to serve, they believed in where we were telling them to hit and how to defend against, and we had our strongest set to close out the match but came up a bit short.

We played to the very last day they would allow. This team did something our program has not done.

And through the wins, stats, accolades, records, success, this group (above all) was a pleasure to be around day-in and day-out.

It really is all about who you spend your time with and this team (and their families) made the ride so incredibly fulfilling.

This team may not be aware of how they have inspired future generations of Wolves to pick up the torch.

I’m very grateful to be able to coach in this community and will treasure this season for a long time to come.

Hear the Wolves roar.

State stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 13 digs
Teagan Calkins — 24 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces, 5 block assists
Mia Farris — 35 kills, 41 digs, 1 assist, 8 aces, 1 block assist
Jada Heaton — 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist, 1 solo block, 3 block assists
Katie Marti — 5 kills, 31 digs, 96 assists, 8 aces, 1 block assist
Madison McMillan — 9 kills, 35 digs, 5 assists, 4 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 35 kills, 24 digs, 3 assists, 4 aces, 4 solo blocks, 4 block assists
Tenley Stuurmans — 15 digs, 1 assist, 11 aces