Klahowya’s Amber Bumbalough honors her brother by following her dream on the softball diamond. (Photo courtesy Bumbalough)
“When I don’t get something, I keep going until I get it. I hate failure. I will push and push myself until I succeed.”
There is little doubt Amber Bumbalough is one of the top athletes in the Olympic League, and the Klahowya junior, who has lettered in swimming, basketball and softball every season she has played, has gotten there by refusing to surrender.
Through fatigue, injury and personal and family heartbreak, she keeps coming, relentless and committed in the pursuit of excellence.
“I want to make a name for myself,” Bumbalough said. “I don’t wanna be just another girl on the team.
“I want to stand out in the crowd.”
For outsiders, such as those of us here in Coupeville, we’ve witnessed her athletic excellence — she’s already a two-time league MVP in softball, where she excels at third base, shortstop and pitcher.
But while we’ve seen her stalk the pitcher’s circle and thump base hits to all fields or swish three-balls on the hardwood, what we’ve seen is the surface.
Go below and you find a young woman who is driven to excellence because every moment she crafts, every high she achieves, is a silent testament to her brother William, whom she deeply loves.
A brother who can’t be here with us in the stands to watch Amber soar. But one who will always be with her in spirit.
William Bumbalough passed away in 2012, but he walks out onto the field with his sister every time she charges out to play.
“He’s had the biggest impact on my life,” Amber Bumbalough said. “When he was killed in a car accident I thought everything was gone; I felt like I couldn’t do anything, going days on days without eating.
“He wasn’t the type who loved sports, but he wanted nothing but the best for me,” she added. “He always told me to go big and go to the top; he wants me to get there.”
Bumbalough has already attracted interest from college teams, both for her play at the high school level and with her select squad, and she is firmly committed to strive for the peak of her sport.
“My dream is to go Division 1 (in college) and I’m going to keep working my butt off until my dreams come true, or my dreams give up on me,” she said. “I play every game for William, knowing he’s watching.”
She’s 7-for-7 in lettering as a high school athlete (a broken finger kept her from swimming this fall), and draws something valuable from every one of her seasons.
“I enjoy getting to spend time with my teammates and creating a sisterly bond with them,” Bumbalough said.
But there is little doubt which sport claims her heart.
“Favorite sport is my softball,” she said. “This is my favorite because I have put so much time into it; I only wanna become bigger and better.”
Her pursuit of diamond excellence has taken Bumbalough to Eastern Washington, where she suited up with USA Explosion, and Puyallup, where she reps the Washington Ladyhawks.
Both teams, and their coaches, helped fine-tune her skill-set and love for the game.
“Steve Farrington (USA Explosion) made me see the real side of softball that I didn’t ever see,” Bumbalough said. “When I wanted to give up, he showed me the side of the sport that made it so I couldn’t.
“Wayne Miller (Ladyhawks) pushes me and gives me the opportunity to play the best of the best softball and helps me understand the game that much more.”
In the few moments when she’s not practicing or playing a sport, Bumbalough enjoys “listening to my music up loud” with little sister Hannah.
Hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd, rapper Russ and country stars Brett Eldridge and Keith Urban lead off the sister’s play list.
Bumbalough used to show pigs through 4-H, but has had to take a break recently as softball carves away more of her time.
Regardless of where she is, or what she’s doing, the Klahowya star draws inspiration from both her family and her community.
“I have a few people who have really impacted my life,” Bumbalough said. “Obviously my parents, for getting me where I am and supporting me with everything I do and always going to my sports events.
“Something that makes my school so special to me is the kids and teachers around me,” she added. “We are one big family; we’ve all been through the worst and the best of times.
“With the amount of losses we have had with students, it has hit us all very very hard, but we have helped each other get through it and it really makes me happy to see how strong we are for one another.”
Her own experiences dealing with loss continue to shape Bumbalough’s future plans, and she is working towards a goal of being a grief counselor.
“I want to help others who have gone through what I’ve gone through,” she said. “Losing a loved one is hard and it doesn’t get better; you just start to cope with not seeing them every day, hoping maybe they will come through the door.
“Everyone deals with grieving differently,” Bumbalough added. “But if I could help just even one person, I would feel like I have reached one of my biggest goals.”
Amber in action:
Coupeville Sports 