CHS volleyball coach Cory Whitmore directs practice. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
One second, you’re the new guy. The next, you’re the grizzled vet.
Well, calling Coupeville High School volleyball coach Cory Whitmore a “grizzled vet” might be a bit extreme — the man is still pretty young.
But while the Wolf guru is only in his (very early) 30’s, he’s kicking off his seventh year at the helm of the CHS spiker program.
And he’s having quite a run.
The former three-sport high school athlete has posted six consecutive winning seasons, the longest active streak for a Coupeville coach.
Whitmore is one up on Wolf softball coach Kevin McGranahan, who has an ongoing five-year run of success.
Entering the 2022 season, CHS volleyball has recorded double-digit wins in five of the past six seasons, with only the pandemic throwing a wrench into things when the 2020 campaign was cut to just nine matches.
Whitmore’s run of success, which includes taking the 2017 squad to the state tourney:
2016: 11-6
2017: 13-5
2018: 11-5
2019: 14-5
2020: 6-3
2021: 11-6
That puts him at 66-30, which means he’s got some milestones coming up fast.
Barring any unforeseen suspensions for bouncing a clipboard off of an official’s noggin, Whitmore will hit 100 matches Sept. 13, when the Wolves travel to Bothell to face Cedar Park Christian.
Not counting appearances at tournaments — which are their own thing — Coupeville has 15 matches on the regular-season schedule.
Based on prior success, that should mean win #75 has a high probability of arriving this season as well.
Tell Whitmore any of this, however, and he’ll just quietly smile and deftly change the focus of the conversation back onto his players.
He’s built a strong program by focusing on team goals and is not one to toot his own horn.
Which is why I’m here to be Whitmore’s shameless hype man — I’ll go buy one of those horns that sounds like a semi-truck goin’ off, if necessary.
Consider yourself warned.
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