Maya Toomey-Stout unleashes the fury. (Brian Vick photo)
Sean Toomey-Stout rumbles. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
The wonder twins and their wonder moms — Beth Stout (left) and Lisa Toomey.
They came into the world together, born to be stars.
When we have the conversation about the best athletes I have written about, not just today, but all-time, Maya and Sean Toomey-Stout are among the first names I would raise.
The wonder twins, “The Gazelle” and “The Torpedo,” they are up there with Makana Stone, Hunter Smith, Madeline Strasburg, Nick Streubel, Breeanna Messner, and a few others.
So, while I normally wait until after graduation to induct Wolf athletes into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, what’s going to change in 3-4 months?
The Toomey-Stout’s are golden now, and they’ll be golden in June, so why prolong the inevitable?
Throw open the doors to our hallowed digital world o’ wonder, and let Maya and Sean join older brother Cameron in the Hall.
It’s time.
From this moment on, when you look at the Legends tab at the top of the blog, you’ll see all three Toomey-Stout siblings in residence.
While both Maya and Sean still have a final track and field season to go, a swan song hopefully full of record-busting and state title-chasing, the duo have already established themselves as the gold standard.
As athletes, and as people.
Moms Beth Stout and Lisa Toomey have raised three of the finest kids to grace Coupeville, and I would regard them that way even if none of the trio had been athletes.
But dang, they have been, and their impact is undeniable.
Maya’s eye-popping power on the volleyball court, Sean’s electric, game-changing plays on the football field and basketball court, their complete and utter command of any event they compete in during track season.
And that’s just the start.
Maya was a very good hoops player herself until she let the game go to focus on volleyball, and her skills as a base thief during her little league softball days were truly uncanny.
I really believe she and her twin brother would be among the best to ever wear a CHS uniform in any sport.
Toss a tennis racket their way, say, or a soccer ball, give them a couple of practices, and be amazed.
Great genes help, yes, but what sets Sean and Maya apart from almost everyone else on their campus is their work ethic.
To find another recent Wolf athlete who worked as hard, in season and out, as the Toomey-Stout twins, you’d have to look around until you spotted … Camtastic.
Cameron set the pace for the family, and his younger siblings have lived up to his legacy.
Scan the photos from off-season training sessions in the CHS weight room and the same three faces pop up in 99.2% of the photos.
Other Wolf athletes come and go, with some reappearing on a fairly-steady basis, but the Toomey-Stouts were there EVERY DANG DAY.
They took nothing for granted, they prepared for everything, and they played their hearts out from the first day of their middle school adventure to the final days of their high school journey.
It’s Sean, his arm injured, sneaking back on to the field late in the final game of his football career, intent on anchoring his defensive unit to the end, regardless of the score or the pain.
When CHS coach Marcus Carr noticed “The Torpedo” ready to blow up the Interlake QB, and intent on accomplishing the feat with only one good arm, the Wolf gridiron guru shook his head softly, then went to retrieve his wrecking ball, a look of pride and concern mingling on his face.
It’s Maya, pushed to the limit in the final moments of her prep volleyball career, physically exhausted, mentally drained, after back-to-back epic matches, yet still finding a way to elevate and abuse the ball, until there were no more shots to make.
“The Gazelle” would have played all night, if need be. Like her brothers, she has no quit button.
That the Toomey-Stouts are great athletes is a start.
That they are top-notch students intent on using their brains, and not their brawn, to get ahead in life after their high school days, is more.
That they are kind, and caring, that they treat those around them with compassion, that they greet life with a joy which radiates outwards and touches all those they meet, is the most.
When Beth Stout and Lisa Toomey, two of the loveliest human beings I know, brought their children into the world, they made that world a better place.
And now, Cameron, Maya, and Sean continue the work of their moms, spreading love, joy, and general awesomeness.
We, as a town, as Wolf fans, have been blessed to be a part of their story, and putting them in my lil’ Hall o’ Fame is one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made.
So why wait?
Read Full Post »
