Jon Atkins is Coupeville’s fourth head football coach in the last seven years. (John Fisken photo)
CHS football assistant coaches Ryan King, Jonathan Martin and Brad Sherman all had strong high school careers of their own.
New boss, not the same as the old boss.
As Jon Atkins prepares for his first season at the helm of the Coupeville High School football squad — he’s the school’s fourth head coach in the last seven years — he’s busy putting together a staff to help his transition.
Longtime assistant (and former Wolf player) Ryan King returns, while Brad Sherman and Jonathan Martin have joined the cause.
Martin, dad of Wolf senior running back Jacob Martin, is helping King work with the linemen, while Sherman, arguably the most successful quarterback in school history, is passing on his wisdom to his successors.
The 2003 CHS grad, who holds the school season and career record for most passing yards (don’t believe the “record” board in the school gym hallway) is tutoring Coupeville’s quarterbacks and defensive backs.
Sherman has already had an impact on junior Hunter Downes, who was the team’s starting quarterback last year until an injury sidelined him.
Healthy and raring to go, the young gunslinger is listening intently to what the old-school legend has to say.
“I actually really like him after only working with him for a couple of days,” Downes said. “He really knows what he’s talking about and all of his drills and everything that he has us do just makes sense and really helps.
“It is really cool to have someone to coach QB’s who was also a great QB himself,” he added. “I think he will be a great contributor to our success down the line.”
Martin was a standout athlete at Lind High School, where he played football for three seasons and basketball all four.
A 1991 grad, he averaged 19 points a game his senior year on the hard-court and was named to the All Bi-County squad.
He coached youth football in Oak Harbor for five seasons and is looking forward to the transition of working with older players.
“I thought it was time to increase my knowledge of the game and I thought working with Jon Atkins was a good opportunity to do just that,” Martin said. “Youth football is great, but I really want a more in-depth knowledge of a whole program.”
King, who anchored the Wolf line when Coupeville had its last winning season, back in 2005, connects the program’s past with its future.
He played for Ron Bagby, who spent 26 years running the Wolf gridiron program, and is entering his sixth season as a Coupeville coach.
King started at the middle school level in 2011, working as an assistant to Bob Martin, then joined the high school staff under head coach Tony Maggio in 2013.
For this year’s seniors, players like Clay Reilly and Mitchell Carroll, Atkins will be their third head coach.
They were there for the final two campaigns of Maggio’s three-season run, then had Brett Smedley for their junior year.
The one thing connecting them together for their entire four-year run as Wolves is King, the rock on which the Wolf program is built.
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