Former Wolf teammates Aaron Trumbull (top) and Taylor Ebersole reunite during summer ball. (Shelli Trumbull photo)
Taylor Ebersole will play basketball in the Coupeville High School gym Friday night.
Two years ago, that wouldn’t have seemed like a big deal. Ebersole started as a freshman for the Wolves and was one of the bright spots in a winless season.
His older sister, Hayley, had been a strong contributor during her time playing basketball in the red and black, and his father, David, was an employee in good standing of the Coupeville School District.
But then, Taylor was gone, in a flash.
The family moved to La Conner, making their son fully eligible to suit up for a different school starting with his sophomore season. The Braves are a top 2B school, one rich in tradition and banners on their walls.
Now, Ebersole spent most of his first year sitting on the bench, seeing much of his playing time at the JV level. With the sophomore finishing 15th on the team in scoring, La Conner went 24-2 and placed fourth at the state tournament.
His former teammates in Coupeville won a single game, upending Mount Vernon Christian, as the 1A Wolves rebuild a program.
Graduation, injuries and the retirement of longtime coach Randy King have taken the Wolves from 16 wins in 2009-2010 to nine in 2010-2011, and then one win in the first two and a quarter seasons under Anthony Smith.
This is where it gets sticky.
Families move all the time, for many reasons. Their reasons for moving are their own.
But the overwhelming public perception is this: the Ebersoles moved so their son could play for a “better” program for the final three years of his high school career.
Since David Ebersole still commutes to Whidbey for his job as principal at Coupeville Elementary School — a job he handles with great skill — I have one question.
How, in good conscience, can you tell parents that the Coupeville School District is great for them and their children, when, by your own actions, it appears you don’t believe that to be true for your own child?
I have great respect for the players, and their families, who have remained committed to the Wolves during what has been an admittedly hard ride.
The ones who have shown up for early morning Saturday practices after being pounded on by much larger 2A schools on Friday night. The ones who have gotten on the bus twice a week for long trips late in a lost season.
The ones who didn’t run away at the first sign of struggle and have dug in for the long haul.
Everyone wants to win. That is human nature.
But there is something to be said for those who persevere. Who fight the good fight even when they are outnumbered, over-matched and slagged on by people who have never been to a game in the last three years.
The program is heading back uphill.
But to get back to where it once was, it needs commitment. From players, coaches, parents, administrators, fans alike.
The Wolves who graduate next year will know that they stayed loyal. That they gave their all to their school and put others before themselves and did not buckle and take the easy way out.
Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps I don’t understand the situation. It wouldn’t be the first time, or, likely, the last.
But Friday night, as I watch a player who could have been a key part of the rebuilding process play in a different uniform, that question will linger.
If you truly believe the Coupeville School District is worthy of your time, if you truly believe what you say when you sell your school and town to incoming parents and students, how do you square that with transporting your son down the highway to play for another school?
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