Hall of Fame | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Hall of Fame’

Legends, one and all!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged 1A Olympic League, Amy Briscoe, Ann Pettit, CHS Wolves, Dalton Engle, Hall of Fame, Mitch Pelroy, Tom Roehl on August 30, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Ann Pettit (top, left) joins her fellow inductees (bottom, l to r) Tom Roehl, Amy Briscoe, Dalton Engle and Mitch Pelroy.

Ann Pettit (top, left) joins fellow inductees (bottom, l to r) Tom Roehl (with son Virgil), Amy Briscoe, Dalton Engle (with dad Michael) and Mitch Pelroy.

The 2014-2015 CHS varsity girls’ hoops squad. (John Fisken photos)

The 2014-2015 Wolf JV squad, which went 9-0 in league play to match the varsity.

How do you choose who goes in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame?

Bribes. It’s all about the bribes. So start baking those chocolate chip cookies…

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time to welcome the 10th class into these hallowed digital walls, forever to live on at the top of the blog under the Legends tab.

Welcome to the stage Dalton Engle, Ann Pettit, Mitch Pelroy, Tom Roehl, Amy Briscoe and (no, it’s not too soon) the 2014-2015 Coupeville High School girls’ basketball team.

Leading us off is the most unsung of the group, the glue who helps hold Wolf athletics together, Mrs. Briscoe.

The ultimate den mother, Amy is the sort of indispensable, take no crap but love ’em all parent every school needs.

That CHS has her is a huge win.

She’s given the Wolves two talented daughters, Tiffany and Kyla, but she goes in to the Hall for the way she takes care of all of her daughters (and sons).

A fierce fighter and protector of every kid who crosses her path, Amy knows when to hug and when to put her foot between someone’s butt cheeks, and she does both with compassion and heart (and fresh baked brownies).

Wolf Nation, and its athletes, could have no finer force ‘o nature watching over them, day and night.

Joining her in entering the hall is another larger than life presence, the late Tom Roehl.

Like Amy, he spent countless hours helping the children of Coupeville.

From his years as Ron Bagby’s right-hand man with the CHS football program to the time he poured into keeping youth basketball hoppin’ in Cow Town, he gave his all.

And, while his passing left a huge hole, his family has kept his memory and his lessons alive over the years, giving out numerous scholarships in his name through their foundation.

Coach Roehl’s impact will filter down through generations to come, and it is an honor to add him to our little club.

The Wolf football program that he dedicated so much time to has produced a long list of stellar players, and two of the best in recent memory go into the Hall with him.

Engle, who followed the path set by his dad Michael, is on the school record board for the most career tackles, but it was his leadership which shone above all else.

A quiet, confident guy who led by example and never backed down on the field, he was a rock for the Wolves.

Pelroy was just as important, a zippy, highlight-reel-producing receiver and defensive back who excelled in the return game, a track star leaving would-be tacklers in his dust.

His speed, and his hard work, carried him to college, where he continues to shine for Montana Western while rockin’ the best hair in the biz.

Our fifth inductee is one of the best basketball players to ever rep the red and black. And it ain’t even close.

A two-time Offensive Player of the Year (1996, 1997) and the team’s MVP in 1998, Pettit scored in bursts and teamed with Zenovia Barron to form arguably the most dangerous one-two attack Wolf hoops has ever had.

How potent was she?

In her varsity debut as a sophomore, she entered the game in the third quarter … then ripped off 18 points.

CHS coach Willie Smith, in one of his many brilliant moves, started Pettit every game for the rest of her career.

Her brightest moment may have come during her senior season, when Coupeville upended Bellevue Christian to reach the state tourney, with Pettit shutting down BC’s Cathrine Kraayeveld (currently in her 11th season in the WNBA).

Shutting people down was the hallmark of our final inductee, last year’s Wolf girls’ basketball team.

Led by league MVP Makana Stone and a six-pack of skilled seniors, Coupeville romped to a title in the inaugural season of the 1A Olympic League, hanging the first new championship banner in the CHS gym in 13 years.

Young women who had not seen their school win a title in any sport since they were kindergartners made an epic statement, and they did it in style, winning all nine league games by 15 or more points.

Even more impressively, the Wolf JV also went 9-0, drilling Klahowya, Port Townsend and Chimacum and we are honoring the entire squad today.

For going 18-0 in league play. For sweeping away the past and kick-starting a new era, an era in which the howl of the Wolves sends shivers down the spines of other teams.

Inducted, together, as a team, the 2014-2015 CHS girls’ basketball squad:

David King (coach)
Amy King (coach)
McKenzie Bailey
Kyla Briscoe
Tiffany Briscoe
Lauren Grove
Hailey Hammer
Brisa Herrera
Kailey Kellner
Kacie Kiel
Skyler Lawrence
Mia Littlejohn
Mattea Miller
Julia Myers
Lauren Rose
Makana Stone
Madeline Strasburg
Wynter Thorne
Monica Vidoni
Allison Wenzel

Read Full Post »

And that’s the sound of your butt bein’ beat!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby, Brianne King, CHS Wolves, Hall of Fame, Jake Tumblin, Madison Tisa McPhee, Megan Smith on August 23, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Madison Tisa McPhee and Jake Tumblin (top) are joined by fellow inductees (l to r) Megan Smith, Ashley (Ellsworth-Bagby) He

Madison Tisa McPhee and Jake Tumblin (top) are joined by fellow inductees (l to r) Megan Smith, Ashley Heilig and Brianne King.

As dominant as you can imagine, and then some.

The 9th class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame features four female athletes who define athletic success in this town, and one guy who was pretty darn good, too.

Making the move to the top of the blog, where they’ll take up residence under the Legends tab, are Megan Smith, Madison Tisa McPhee, Brianne King, Ashley (Ellsworth-Bagby) Heilig and Jake Tumblin.

What connects these five?

Success, success and more success. Oh yeah, and raw talent, too. That’s always nice.

Tisa McPhee is the rare Wolf to have shined brightly as an athlete both in and out of school.

While wearing a CHS uniform, she was a dazzling volleyball and soccer player, one who was willing to sacrifice her nose if necessary to stop the other team from scoring.

Her biggest impact, though, came on the track oval, where she was a fleet-footed sprinter and hurdler, helping to set school relay records and hauling home multiple medals from the state meet.

Put her on a horse and Mad Dawg was just as likely to kick your rear, thundering through obstacles and becoming one with her trusty steed.

Before she exits the stage, we’ll let her deliver a speech for Tumblin, a standout football and baseball star who is now a two-time inductee (he was a key member of the 2010 Central Whidbey state championship little league squad).

Hi Mr. Svien! I just read about your new HOF deal and I have an extremely amazing athlete (I may be biased but I don’t care) for you to consider … Jake Tumblin!

Jake, for some reason I still can’t get my head around, was looked over as Athlete of the Year his senior year, when he was the starting catcher for about three years on the baseball team and starting in whatever position his football coach ever asked of him all through high school as well.

And, as you know he is going to play at Simon Fraser in the fall.

He is not only one of the best athletes Coupeville has and will ever see, they will not get a greater captain on any team or all around student.

Jake is one of the most modest, strong and considerate players/teammates etc. there has ever been on a field.

Why he was not Athlete of the Year when he was all of this and more I couldn’t flipping tell you.

He is the person that the school should idolize and hold a standard of for all the rest of student athletes to come.

And knowing him as well as I do he would make it seem like he could care less about what CHS staff and administration picks him for or not, but he is also deserving of recognition for the time/effort and sportsmanship he put forth during his four years.

JT is most definitely a worthy choice.

And with that, Rumblin’ Tumblin, Jake the Snake, zips into the Hall o’ Fame the same way he used to hurtle into the end zone — like a bat out of Hell.

Hot on his heels is the holy trinity, the three women who were the absolute pinnacle of sports excellence in Coupeville over the past 20 years.

Smith was a three-time Athlete of the Year winner who lettered 12 times (four each in volleyball, basketball and softball), the best athlete in a family that has already seen coach/dad Willie inducted into the Hall o’ Fame and brothers Ian and James dangerously close to joining them.

Megan is that rarity, a highly-accomplished athlete who led by example while rarely displaying any ego.

Her quiet confidence and her will to win were astonishing and if you have one game to win to save the world, in any sport, I want her front and center.

She was/is that good.

King and Heilig also had very successful siblings, a chunk of whom are currently in the Hall as we speak, but you can make a very strong argument Brianne and Ashley, like Megan, are the standard bearers for their families.

When it comes to CHS girls’ hoops, no player has ever scored as much as King did, and it’s not even close.

As far as we’ve been able to figure out, she owns the top three single-season efforts in program history and scored 1,549 points during her splendid career.

Her totals:

(1999-2000) — 275
(2000-2001) — 446
(2001-2002) — 386
(2002-2003) — 442

Without even taking into account her exploits as a track and cross country runner into consideration, Brianne is a slam dunk for the Hall.

Our final inductee is the one who I have the biggest personal connection to.

These days, Ashley is grown up and married, a mom to an adorable little girl who may one day be the next great Wolf superstar, but, to me, she’ll always be the girl with the pigtails and the extra-baggy shorts who also worked behind the counter with me at Videoville.

Off the court, one of those rare people who you just adore. She is as sweet and kind and smart and wonderful a human being as has ever existed.

On the court, be it volleyball or basketball, or on the softball field, Ashley was just as adored by her coaches.

A leader, a feisty lil’ warrior who would slice her foes off at the knees and leave them to bleed out, she was the linchpin of the most successful run of female sports teams CHS has ever known.

The biggest banner in the school’s gym is for a 3rd place finish at state by the 2002 Wolf softball squad, a team that, led by Heilig, won four of five games at the tourney.

Outscoring opponents 28-13, they lost only to eventual champ Adna, beating Cle Elum-Rosalyn, Royal, Okanogan and Napavine.

At some point, if I can track down a complete roster for that team, I will induct them all into the Hall.

For now, their leader goes in, for that moment and the ten million other times she would stride out to play whatever sport was in season, get mistaken for the ball girl, then kick unholy amounts of booty.

Read Full Post »

Dude? Dude. Dude?? Dude!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged Brad Sherman, Caleb Valko, CHS Wolves, Hall of Fame, Joe Kelley, Jon Chittim, Sean LeVine, Tyler King on August 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Caleb Valko (top) joins fellow Hall o’ Fame inductees (l t r) Jon Chittim, Tyler King, Sean LeVine, Brad Sherman and Joe Kelley.

We have a shortage of testosterone.

As we induct people into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame each week, it goes in weird fits and bursts.

Sometimes I know who and what is going in well in advance.

Sometimes I’m making changes up to a few hours before the announcement, as all three people who deeply care hang on the edge of their sofas.

With this haphazard approach, the ladies have surged to an 11-5 lead with seven classes having entered these hallowed digital halls to be enshrined under the Legends tab at the top of the blog.

So, in a concentrated effort, we’re going to level the playing field a bit this week, with all of our inductees (five athletes and a coach) being of the male persuasion.

The eighth class?

Say hello to Brad Sherman, Caleb Valko, Jon Chittim, Joe Kelley, Sean LeVine and Tyler King.

It’s a class that features a tackling machine, a guy who did something no other guy ever did in Coupeville High School history, a record-setting quarterback, and so much more.

We kick it off with King, since he was usually at the front of the pack.

Two state titles in track were a start but a state title in cross country (where he won by an astonishing 31 seconds) was unique. Natasha Bamberger is the only other Wolf to accomplish that feat.

Oh, and he was also a pretty good basketball player, where he was part of one of the biggest plays in school history.

Racing the clock and fighting a suffocating South Whidbey defense Jan. 25, 2011, King somehow managed to get the ball to Ian Smith, who banked home a three-pointer at the buzzer for a stunning 42-41 dethroning of the first-place Falcons on their home court.

Grace under pressure was a strong trait for Chittim, as well.

A superb track sprinter, he capped the 2006 season with three state titles at the 1A meet, winning the 200 and 400, before joining Kyle King, Chris Hutchinson and Steven McDonald to capture the 4 x 400.

“Back in high school, winning meant a lot,” Chittim told me in an interview years later. “Not only because it’s something few Coupeville athletes get to experience, but also it meant I would have a much better chance of getting better scholarships.

“I have always had a competitive spirit, so of course winning still means a lot to me, but in a different way. Now it is more internal and not for my name to be up on a wall.”

Well, it’s a digital wall, so we should be OK.

Valko didn’t get the chance to win a state title like our first two inductees, but he was a strong leader who worked his rear off during his time at CHS, while still finding time to talk smack and entertain the masses.

A team captain in football and basketball, he also was a thrower in track and became the Page Hit King thanks to his willingness to let his emotion and sense of humor come out, but not overwhelm, his drive and determination.

Truly an athlete who could walk away at the end of his high school career and say he had left it all on the field.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Mr. Valko was born to be a coach.

He’s gone down that path a bit, working with CMS football, and I hope it’s one he fully pursues at some point in his life, cause he’d be a natural.

Sherman and Kelley hit the stage next, since their careers as Wolf gridiron warriors overlap perfectly.

The 2002 grads were record busters whose exploits still tower.

Sherman is the career leader for passing yardage and touchdown passes (while also being a dominant athlete in other sports) and Kelley was the very definition of a game-changer for the CHS defense.

He’s on the record board with 103 tackles in 2000, but as I waded through a recently-uncovered treasure trove of stats, we documented he bested that in ’01, when he amassed 142 take-downs.

Kelley topped out with 20 tackles against Orcas, settling for “just” 19 in two other games that season.

Our sixth inductee fits today’s “trend,” of being male, though much of his work has come with female athletes. So LeVine is an equal opportunity legend.

A stellar soccer player in Oak Harbor during his high school days, LeVine has been a driving force in building girls’ soccer in Coupeville.

He’s done it both at the youth league level and as coach of various Whidbey Islanders select squads that have meshed players from Oak Harbor, South Whidbey and Cow Town.

Now that oldest daughter Micky “Two Fists” LeVine is off to college, he’s taking a momentary break from coaching the Islanders.

More time to focus on saving the world as an EMT and arguing with fellow Hall o’ Famer Chris Tumblin over who’s more stylish, but you know he’ll be back.

Coaches don’t retire. They just recharge the batteries.

And, like the other five inductees, LeVine’s battery always went off the charts.

Read Full Post »

Bow Down to a class like no other!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged CHS Wolves, Hall of Fame, Ian Barron, Mindy Horr, Oviedo, Phyllis Textor, Taniel Lamb on August 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Mindy (Horr) Sorenson and Taniel (Lamb) Proctor, back in the day.

Former CHS coach Phyllis Textor (top, blue shirt) and fellow inductees (l to r) Danny Savalza (Bow Down hat), Julia Sierra Castano, Ian Barron and Nick Streubel.

Best class … ever?

Each time I say it, I kind of think it’s true and then I go and put another class together, sit back and say, “Wow, this is the one!”

So, whether the seventh class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame is the best-ever or not (I’m leaning towards yes…), it is star-studded and memory-making.

The rushing king, a duo who made Coupeville’s biggest-ever splash at the state tennis tourney, another netter who went an entire regular season without dropping a set, and that’s just the start.

Without further ado, we welcome Ian Barron, Mindy (Horr) Sorenson, Taniel (Lamb) Proctor, Julia Sierra Castaño, Phyllis Textor, Danny Savalza and Nick Streubel to the Hall.

In the future, look at the Legends tab atop this blog and that’s where you’ll find them.

To get the crowd going, we open with Savalza, a CHS football/soccer player who is being inducted as a contributor.

While he played his tail off on the field for the Wolves, it was when he wasn’t playing that Danny made his biggest impact.

Donning a thrift store-bought dress and a “Bow Down” hat, he revved school spirit to an all-time high and made the student section bounce to his merry tune.

Never afraid to take the show on the road, outshouting South Whidbey in their own gym, Savalza was a master show man and, as he enters the Hall, we all bow down to his one-of-a-kind spirit and skills.

Joining him is Streubel, AKA The Big Hurt, a three-sport star who, for the moment at least, is being inducted for pulling off a truly memorable play.

It came at the end of a ferocious season-ending battle at Chimacum in a game played on a mud bog of a field that reeked all night like cow manure.

Late in the game, the Wolves were planning on running an offensive play for a lineman, and with senior captain Caleb Valko suddenly sidelined by a jerk of a ref, the ball went to Streubel.

Listed on the roster at six-foot-three and 300 pounds, The Big Hurt carried seven screaming Cowboys on his back as he barreled head-first into a sideline mud puddle that resembled a sink hole.

In the end, it was the mud, and not the tacklers, that finally brought him down, and, when Streubel finally re-emerged, he was covered helmet-to-cleats in muck.

Then he turned towards the sidelines, caught Valko’s eye and silently raised a thumb in salute to his line-mate.

Capping the play?

Coupeville had to run to catch the ferry, so the players didn’t have time to shower, and Streubel chased coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh all the way down the dock, begging for a hug. Several years later, Coach V is still running…

Our third inductee never stopped running, and now, finally, may be getting some long-overdue recognition for his achievements.

When his former teammates describe Barron’s playing style on the football field, they say things like “He was unstoppable. The other teams didn’t want to try and tackle him. They were scared he was going to hurt them.”

Over four years, he rushed for 4,713 yards, more than twice as many yards as any other Wolf running back ever. That he did that while only playing three games as a junior (he broke his foot) is amazing.

Just as eye-popping was Sierra Castaño’s run in 2010 after joining the CHS girls’ tennis squad as a foreign exchange student.

Not only did she go undefeated while playing #1 singles during the regular season, she didn’t drop a set.

Her first loss didn’t come until sub-districts, and she made it through three matches at the state tourney, only being derailed by private school players.

But, maybe even better was the way she embraced her short-time teammates.

A lot of dominant tennis players do what they do, then depart. Not Julia, who stayed until the end of every team match, cheering for the last girl on the roster as they finished their JV contests.

She was class personified, on and off the court, and it is a genuine pleasure to once again hail the Hard Court Assassin of Oviedo.

Our fifth inductee was one of the first coaches I worked with back in my Whidbey News-Times Sports Editor days, a woman who made a huge impact on generations of Wolf athletes and students.

During her run at CHS (1980-2005), Textor did just about everything, from coaching to teaching to being an Athletic Director to being first a vice principal then principal.

She wasn’t showy, never looking for the spotlight, but she was a rock.

Coupeville’s loss became Sehome’s gain, and she has spent the past decade there as a principal, recently announcing that her 35th year in education would be her final one.

I am sure they will honor her this year, but we’re going to get the jump on them. She was Coupeville’s first, and she’ll always have a spot in our hearts.

And then we come to our final inductees, and a twist.

Mindy and Taniel would both make the Hall as individuals, as the duo were superb multi-sport athletes, great leaders, and truly wonderful people. Both had, and still have, a glow that exudes from their inner souls that is breath-taking.

But, instead of breaking them up, we’re going to induct them as a pair, a tribute to 2005, when the dazzling duo came within a set of winning a state tennis title.

CHS has a string of state champions in track, and two in cross country, but jump away from running and the closest any Wolf has come to being a champ came when Sorenson and Proctor faced off with Aimee Silver and Erica Lawrence of Bush for the 1A doubles crown.

The Wolves took the first set 7-5, before the Bush duo rebounded to snatch 6-2 and 6-3 sets for the win.

It was an admirable battle against a juggernaut — Silver and Lawrence captured a second-straight title the next year, before Lawrence added a third title in 2007 with a new partner — and stands as one of the defining moments in Wolf sports history.

In the decade since, Mindy and Taniel have both gotten married and spread joy through the world. Their post-high school accomplishments are staggering, but hardly unexpected.

They have been winners, together and apart, two of the finest this town has ever produced.

Read Full Post »

Dance to your own beat!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged Christine Fields, CHS Wolves, Hall of Fame, Kristan Hurlburt, The Wobble, V.I.C., Willie Smith on August 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Two-time CHS Female Athlete of the Year Kristan Hurlburt. (Photo courtesy Sylvia Hurlburt)

Christine Fields had a pretty dang amazing run as a high school golfer. (John Fisken photo)

The forbidden dance, the Wobble, back in the olden days of 2012. (Melissa Losey photo)

Willie Smith: “Of course I can do The Wobble. I’m kind of a dance prodigy myself. Taught John Travolta and Patrick Swayze all their moves!” (Fisken photo)

A trinity of trailblazers and the day the dance died.

The sixth class inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame has a bit of everything, and then some.

We have two athletes who excelled in ways that were unique, a coach who was like no other and the hip-shaking sensation that swept the nation, then got banned from Mickey Clark Field.

Rising up and joining their brethren under the Legends tab at the top of the blog — Kristan Hurlburt, Christine Fields, Willie Smith and the Wobble.

Fields, a two-sport star (soccer, golf) who just graduated from Coupeville High School and is headed off to San Diego State, goes in to the Hall for her play on the links.

Which is not an easy feat, since CHS doesn’t have a golf team.

But Christine, along with older brother Austin, made the commitment to find a way to follow in the footsteps of dad Mike, a golf pro.

That meant getting themselves to another school with no help from CHS — first Oak Harbor, then South Whidbey — and competing as a lone Wolf.

The extra travel and hurdles never slowed her down, however, as Fields qualified for the 1A state tourney all four years of her high school career.

Once there, she finished 8th, 15th, 5th and 6th — one of the best runs of excellence any Wolf has thrown down, in any sport.

The Fields family combined to make seven trips to state, and while Christine’s top-tier finishes nabs her the Hall call first, you know Austin, a true devoted big bro, would be the first to congratulate her.

Hurlburt, who was brought to my attention by niece (and current cheer/track/ballet supernova) Sylvia Hurlburt, was one of the first female athletes to bust through and get a proper level of respect for their accomplishments.

Kristan’s justifiably proud niece had the following to say:

I nominate my aunt Kristan for the Hall of Fame.

She got Athlete of the Year twice. Her name is on both of the plaques that are on the wall in the gym.

She was the first female athlete to get her picture on the wall for Athlete of the Year.

She played basketball, softball and tennis. She went to state three times total, two in basketball and one in tennis.

They got no banners because girls sports weren’t that important back then.

Quoting her, “We were lucky if the school provided us with a bus to the game or match.”

And that is why I nominate my aunt.

The Wobble lives again thanks to the Hall, revived three years after its sudden death.

There was a run for a bit where every CHS home football game would be capped with a cheerleader-led hustle to a catchy, Cab Calloway-influenced rap song by Atlanta’s own V.I.C..

You can see the original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE_64SdD27w

With slightly toned-down lyrics for a high school audience, it was something every one could do, regardless of their dancing ability.

Invariably, it would pull in most of the remaining people in the stands and send everyone out the door with a smile on their face, win or loss.

But in October of 2012, after a complaint from ONE person, the dance was bounced and now Wolf football games just sort of lurch to an end, instead of closing on a communal, bouncy note.

But step into the air-conditioned digital world of the Hall o’ Fame, and the Wobble is playing on a never-ending loop. The way it was meant to be.

A man who could move to any beat, our final honoree hits the stage to the sound of AC/DC rippin’ into “Thunderstruck.”

Willie Smith once said, while laughing and rocking so far back in his chair he almost fell over, “I don’t need to be in any Hall of Fames, cause I’m in every Hall of Shame!!”

Most coaches, if they could manage to get that line out, accompanied by Smith’s impeccable timing, would walk away, satisfied they had hit quote nirvana.

For Willie, however, that was merely one small moment in a lifetime of solid gold quotes.

Epic win or epic loss, whether he was giddy or a half-second away from leaving his players on the side of the road and walking back to Whidbey by himself, Smith understood the necessary dance between coach and the ink-stained wretches of the press and he never half-assed his side of the “contract.”

He never dodged a question in his life and if he ever prints all of the stories he told us (especially the ones we couldn’t print) the man is headed to the best seller’s charts.

Smith deserves his spot in the Hall for revolutionizing the Wolf girls’ basketball program and becoming the first CHS coach in any sport to win a game at state.

And he deserves it for 19 years of building the school’s baseball program into one that was respected by other hardball gurus like Stan Taloff and Jim Waller, men who are enshrined in real Hall of Fames.

But he also gets in because he hit that field every day with a huge smile, tossing candy at rival players to throw them off stride for a moment.

He competed as hard as any coach I’ve ever covered, and he taught his players to never back down, never embarrass yourself or your teammates and to embrace the joy of the moment.

Willie Smith has been the gold standard around these parts for as long as I’ve been covering high school sports.

While his recent retirement (we’ll see if it sticks) deprives us, it just makes it that much more likely he’ll spend next baseball season camped out behind home plate, lobbing candy and good-natured insults at the umpires, sardonic grin stretched ear-to-ear.

You can take the man out of the game, but you can’t take the game out of the man.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »