Coupeville Sports

   Hall o’ Fame inductees (clockwise, from bottom left) McKayla Bailey, Emily (Vracin) Kosderka, Dustin Van Velkinburgh and Mitch Aparicio.

Impact.

Real, solid, enduring impact.

It’s what the four members of the 12th class to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame all delivered.

They were athletes, they had their moments in the sun, but, after they had taken the uniform off for the final time, their legacies, their spirit, their lessons have lived on in the town they once represented.

It’s why they are true legends, and why you’ll now find their names at the top of this blog, enshrined under the tab marked … legends.

I give you, Mitch Aparicio, Emily (Vracin) Kosderka, Dustin Van Velkinburgh and McKayla Bailey.

We’ll kick if off with Coach V, who could have gone in as an athlete, but will get the call as a coach.

Dustin was a superb athlete (still is) who played multiple sports in his younger days, but he is also that rarity, a top-level stud who turned around and came back to coach at the school where he prospered.

He often talks about how much the coaches he had shaped his life, gave him hope and a purpose, and he has retained those lessons and passed them on in his work with CHS football and basketball players.

Young (and skilled) enough to still be able to break his players ankles on the court if necessary, but wise enough to know when to use that power and when to quietly impart wisdom and support, he has helped shape a generation of Wolves.

If they come out the same kind of man he is, what a boon for this community.

Joining him on the stage is Aparicio, an 11-time letter winner who put in work like no other.

A three-time Mr. Hustle award winner in basketball, who later married his coach’s daughter, Mitch was an all-star in football, basketball, baseball and track who could have a trophy room full of All-League honors — if that mattered to him.

Instead, the Class of 1987 alum, who carried his football squad to state three times, has always been content to focus on the small moments instead of the trophies.

“Looking back at it now, I believe the best memories I have are of living in a small town and being close to family,” he once told me. “Living in a small community was a great opportunity to be involved, to play everything and get recognized by your family and community.”

He’s given back, gifting CHS with talented daughters Sydney and Payton, and always being one of the school’s most visible boosters with wife Tami.

And while the high school ‘stache is gone, the huge grin is still there, lighting up the town he loves, which loves him right back.

Our third inductee is the single most cold-blooded killer I have ever covered in person.

Kosderka was Coupeville’s answer to Larry Bird on the basketball court, and I swear I never, ever saw her miss a shot at money time.

The Class of 1992 grad was a standout volleyball and softball star, as well, but it was on the hardwood that she truly excelled.

Need one shot to win? From anywhere on the court? With no time to even think or blink?

Boom. The ball would snap into her hands, fly out with a whisper and the small smile would play at the corner of her mouth as she was backpedaling before the ball hit nothing but the bottom of the net.

Post high school, she has devoted countless hours to helping other athletes as a trainer, and has two young children who may one day surpass their athletically-gifted parents (husband Matt is a college baseball Hall of Famer).

If so, one can only hope Emily brings them home to the town in which she scorched so many nets.

Our headliner, and the most recent athlete by far, is Miss Bailey, who departs for college this week.

A top-level softball player who also dazzled as a hoops star, a spiker and a booter, McKayla is going in to the Hall as a contributor, and it’s not meant as a slight on her athletic skills.

Girl could whip a fastball.

But, in McKayla’s case, her impact went so far beyond the diamond and I want to acknowledge her unique position.

It’s impossible to overstate how important The Photo Bomb Queen was to the growth of Coupeville Sports.

When she was a freshman, I called her a Diaper Dandy (after which I had to explain to mom Donna who Dick Vitale was and why the term was a GOOD THING, all while Donna chased me through the town waving the beatin’ stick).

For the final three years of her high school days — the first three years of this blog — McKayla was my absolute go-to gold standard for anything and everything.

She would pose for photos until the cows came home (and then corral the cows into some more photos), she perfected the art of photo-bombing like no other (yes, yes, lil’ sis McKenzie has mad skills too) and she would answer every stupid question I asked with style, wit and zing.

McKayla is a great athlete, but she is so much more.

She is smart, she is kind, she is graceful, a vibrant, good-hearted young woman who it was a genuine honor to write about.

I hope she goes out into the world and kicks an unholy amount of booty, whether on the field, in the classroom or just in every day life.

There have been a lot of talented athletes in Coupeville, past, present, and surely in the future. There are also a lot of very entertaining ones.

But McKayla, there will never, ever be another McKayla Bailey.

I am so glad I get the chance to honor you, even in this small way.

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