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Posts Tagged ‘Girls Soccer’

With no CHS girls’ soccer program last year, Brynn Parker suited up and played with the Wolf boys. (Jackie Saia photo)

They were close.

Despite a late rally, not enough girls signed up for soccer to revive the shuttered Coupeville High School pitch program.

Even with 8th graders eligible to play, the Wolves narrowly missed out on hitting the figure administrators and coaches needed to see, and the program will go dormant for a second straight season.

All girls who wish to join the CHS boys’ program can do so, however, creating a co-ed team again.

Five of the seven schools in the Northwest 2B/1B League play boys’ soccer, with four other schools — Lopez Island, Providence Classical Christian, Grace Academy, and CPC-Lynnwood — joining the NWL for that one sport.

Coupeville likely won’t be the only co-ed team, as several of its rivals are in a similar place with no girls’ program and have featured mixed rosters in past years.

CHS, which originally sent players to join the Oak Harbor High School team in the ’90s, launched its own girls pitch program in 2004, and had played 19 consecutive seasons through 2022.

The Wolf booters survived the pandemic, but dwindling numbers curtailed the 2023 campaign before it began.

Now, a 16-game season which was set to begin Sept. 11 with a road game at Auburn Adventist Academy has been scrubbed as well.

Former Wolf booter Kimberly Kisch was hired to coach the Wolf girls prior to the 2023 season but has yet to get a chance to lead her own team onto the pitch.

She will once again join CHS boys’ coach Robert Wood to guide the co-ed squad.

That group travels to Auburn Sept. 11, then plays four of its next five games at home.

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Wolf soccer coach Kimberly Kisch is fighting to keep her program alive. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

This is a key moment in time for girls’ soccer at Coupeville High School.

With the first day of practice arriving this coming Monday, Aug. 26, the Wolves have eight players signed up but need at least five more to be able to field a full team.

Last year, Coupeville broke a 19-year run when it was unable to pull together a complete roster for a girls’ team.

Several female booters played with the CHS boys’ team, which would be an option again, if necessary, but it’s not the first choice for Wolf coaches.

One potential huge help for soccer is that 8th graders are eligible to play varsity high school sports where there is a need.

Other fall sports in Coupeville such as cross country and volleyball have middle school programs, and neither CHS program is short on girls.

But soccer is not played at the middle school, making the sport a perfect gateway for any CMS 8th grade girl looking to get an extra year of playing time.

As she preps for the start of practice, Wolf girls’ soccer coach Kimberly Kisch is ready for any option.

“We have a fantastic group of girls rostered,” she said. “Many of them live and breathe soccer.

“No matter how the season ends up, (boys’ coach) Rob (Wood) and I will be vigilant in making sure it is an enjoyable experience for anyone playing Coupeville soccer.”

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Coupeville soccer girls are kickin’ goals and takin’ names. (Photos courtesy Kimberly Kisch)

The Wolves are on the prowl, conquering one soccer pitch after another.

Four young Coupeville booters were shining brightly in Tukwila alongside their teammates with Deception FC.

Sparked by Lucy Youderian, Elaina Grose, Scotlyn Helm, and Lilly Hestbeck, the GU11 squad wrapped up play Monday at the Surf Invitational in Tukwila with a second-place finish in its class.

Coming off stellar play at the Rush Cup earlier this month, Deception FC received a special invitation from the Surf Invitational director.

“I wear #1, because I am #1, skippy!”

Two Whidbey teams made the trek off-Island, with both of them reaching the final.

Of course, the one featuring Coupeville athletes, led by coaches Will Tellez and Matthew Hutchinson, is the one which gets the biggest buzz in a blog called … Coupeville Sports.

For the other Deception FC players, it’s time to convince your parents to move to Cow Town, is all I’m sayin’…

Anyways, the trip to Tukwila was a boon for all involved, said proud Wolf Mom (and CHS girls’ soccer head coach) Kimberly Kisch.

“We were so excited to have the opportunity to compete at this skill level,” she said. “No matter the outcome, the experience was invaluable.”

Along with the games on the field, the girls also got to watch the pros at work, viewing a scrimmage between the Seattle Reign and Portland Thorns.

All your medals belong to us.

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Adeline Maynes (left) and Mary Western were high school softball sensations while still attending middle school classes. (Bailey Thule photo)

Claim your destiny, young guns.

With the start of a new school year rumbling into sight, thoughts turn to the first days of practice for fall sports.

Coupeville High School offers volleyball, cross country, cheer, football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, and boys’ tennis — if enough athletes turn out.

In the case of soccer and tennis, participation numbers are a concern, and coaches and admins are pushing a push on getting enough players to be able to offer full programs.

Last year low numbers among female booters caused the school’s soccer programs to be compressed into one co-ed one, as the Northwest 2B/1B League allows girls to play on boys’ pitch teams if their school can’t field a full girls program.

That snapped a 20-year-plus run of Wolf girls’ soccer teams at CHS, and coach Kimberly Kisch and Athletic Director Brad Sherman are hopeful to revive the girls’ team as its own thing this time around.

Coupeville boys’ soccer coach Robert Wood is putting his own push on when it comes to building a solid roster and would be thrilled to see a packed field on day #1 of practice, which is set for August 26.

With boys’ tennis, low numbers put the program on hiatus several seasons back, but new coaches Tim Stelling and Starla Seal would like to revive the net squad.

With CHS boasting brand new tennis courts which were just finished, it would be a perfect way to kick things off without having to wait until the Wolf girls take the court next spring.

One thing to keep in mind is that Coupeville, as a 2B school, can use 8th graders on high school teams — varsity or JV — where there is a legitimate need.

So, while middle school students have their own volleyball and cross country programs — and the state doesn’t allow 8th graders to play high school football — you can attend CMS yet play soccer or tennis for CHS this fall.

Multiple Wolves have taken advantage of that recently in sports such as girls’ tennis, softball, baseball, and girls’ basketball.

That includes Tenley Stuurmans, who advanced to the state tourney in tennis this past spring as just an 8th grader.

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“We win, son, we win.” (Lindsey Helm photos)

You will not pass!

Well, you might pass the ball once or twice, but you certainly won’t score on the Red Rebels.

Throwing down four straight shutouts, the U10 girls’ soccer squad, coached by Coupeville High School pitch guru Kimberly Kisch, rampaged to a tourney title this weekend.

The event was the 3rd annual Matt Mikos Memorial Tournament, hosted by the North Whidbey Soccer Club.

With tons of teams and multiple titles in play, action was hopping, but the spotlight, at least for the moment, falls on the pride of the prairie.

Coupeville’s young booters, sponsored by Callen’s Restaurant, are coming for all your trophies.

All of them, I said.

Pride of the prairie.

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