Fall sports practices kick off in two weeks, with a registration event set for Aug. 20. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The first step towards a new school sports year happens two weeks from today.
Coupeville High School hosts a sports and activities registration event Tuesday, August 20 in the CHS commons.
The event, which is for high school and middle school students, runs from 12-6:00 and is for turning in paperwork and getting signed up either for fall activities or for the entire year.
While all CHS/CMS athletes need a current physical on file before beginning practice, that’s something you need to take care of separately.
The first day for CHS football practice is Aug. 21, with boys tennis, volleyball, cross country, cheer, and girls soccer kicking off a new season Aug. 26.
Middle school sports teams, which include cross country, volleyball, and boys soccer, begin practice Sept. 9.
Coupeville Middle School cross country coach Elizabeth Bitting, winner of the “CHS/CMS Top Fall Coach” poll.
Bitting (back, second from right) has always been a pro at hitting the tape first.
I love it when a plan comes together.
In a blatant bid to spike my page views, Coupeville Sports launched the “CHS/CMS Top Fall Coach” poll Saturday morning, a battle royal in which the winner would get a warm glow in their chest, and not much more.
Spoiler alert: it worked. It worked really, really well.
The 48-hour poll-tacular gave me a strong Saturday, then carried me Sunday to the single-biggest day in the history of the blog.
Yep, you pound out 6,405 articles across six years and two months, and all it takes is a poll to break my little corner of the internet…
So, a big thank you to the 21 Coupeville coaches, and their rabid fan-bases, who went toe-to-toe for 48 hours. My page view counter appreciates you all!
And in the end, who was the other winner, you ask?
After a back-and-forth brawl in which at least five different coaches made sustained runs, the final hours turned into a showdown between CHS cheer coach BreAnna Boon and CMS cross country guru Elizabeth Bitting.
First one was ahead, then the other, then back to the first, then back to the second, as the war raged on across time and space.
In the end, as the 9 AM Monday deadline clicked past, it was Bitting who triumphed, finishing with 7,987 votes to her friendly rival’s 7,295.
She joins football assistant coach Ryan King and track head coach Randy King, both winners in polls from previous school years, in the pantheon of coaching poll champs.
Rounding out the top five this time around were three CHS assistant coaches — football’s Bennett Richter (4,036) and Tyson Boon (1,891) and cheer’s Hailey Bell (1,652).
And hey, while only one coach could be the big champ (of a prestigious, but totally non-existent award), they all helped Coupeville Sports’s bottom line.
L to r, top to bottom, it’s Natasha Bamberger, Hailey Bell, Nathan Bellamy, BreAnna Boon, Tyson Boon, Kwamane Bowens, Bobby Carr, Marcus Carr, Kyle Nelson, Bennett Richter, Gabe Shaw, Chris Smith, Ken Stange, Cory Whitmore and Robert Wood.
CMS coaches join the fracas. L to r, top to bottom, are Casie Greve, Elizabeth Bitting, Michael Davidson, Junior Scroggins, Sarah Lyngra and Brett Casey.
Let’s get ready to rumble, one more time!
Nothing sends a jolt through the crowd quite like dropping a hot ‘n spicy poll in the midst of an otherwise sleepy morning, then giving everyone limited time (but unlimited votes) to decide the very fate of the universe.
Instead of waiting until the end of the school year, and having way too many people involved, I’m jumping the gun on my annual Coach of the Year poll and turning it into a Fall Sports Coach of the Season event.
Even then, we’re looking at 21 men and women entering the arena, covering six high school squads and three middle school programs.
If this goes over well, I’ll be back to drop separate Winter and Spring versions of the poll.
And, if not, well, I’ll get a lot of page hits in the next two days. So, I’m fine either way.
If you haven’t been involved in a Coupeville Sports poll, or haven’t been paying attention during previous battle royals, here’s the rules:
There are none.
From the moment the poll drops, at around 9 AM Saturday, Oct. 13, until it closes 48 hours later, at 9 AM, Monday, Oct. 14, you can vote as many times as your little fingers desire.
Whip up your fan base. Fight for the glory of being the “CHS/CMS Top Coach of the Fall.” Just don’t expect an actual trophy when you win.
Or completely ignore my poll, go about your daily business and roll your eyes at me the next time we cross paths.
Completely your call.
But, like I said, it’s Wild West rules, pretty much.
I’m not going to stop you from mashing the keys on whatever device(s) you have, and if WordPress itself tries to slow down your voting (which it has on very rare occasions), you can usually beat it by jumping to a different device.
Wolf cheerleader Julie Bucio leads off a collection of fall sports portraits. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Jacob Burke
Megan Behan
Kyle Burnett
Abby Meyers
Isaiah Bittner
Kim Castro
So many portraits, so little time.
Back when fall sports was just kicking off, photo whiz kid John Fisken snapped head shots of almost everyone on a Wolf team.
As the season plays out, I’m sprinkling those portraits on top of stories, but, every once in awhile, it doesn’t hurt to toss out a chunk of them all at once.
By the time we wrap up fall and head inside for basketball, the goal is to have used every one of those shots.
Zach Ginnings kicks off our look at Wolf netters. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Harris Sinclair
The net crew at rest.
James Wood
Thane Peterson
They’re ready to swing into action.
The first boys tennis match of the fall is a week away, and Coupeville’s netters are hard at work prepping for that royal rumble in Langley.
In between sharpening their serves and honing their net games, the Wolves stopped long enough to let a wanderin’ photo clicker snap their pics, immortalizing the start of another season on the prairie courts.
Coupeville Sports 