Our crack research team celebrates Coupeville Sports publishing for the 300th straight day. (Image property Mike Judge)
Day in, day out.
WordPress likes to count things, and it informs me that this article means I have published at least once a day, every day, for 300 consecutive days.
With summer, and a lack of school sports, upon us, it’ll be interesting to see if I can make it to a complete year, with day 365 set to be September 3.
Of course, since we live on an island, a storm that knocks out power for a day and breaks the run is always possible. Knock on wood (or my head).
But 300 straight days is nothing to sneeze at.
Whether it’s eight articles in one day — my high during this run — or one story published at 11:27 PM to keep the streak alive, I have assured readers there will almost always be something new to read every time they look at the blog.
Overall, I’m pushing 12 years, with that anniversary set for August 15, and with 11,336 articles currently published.
Whether you love Coupeville Sports or you’re a tired old whiner like South Whidbey political gadabout David Freed — who is “too busy” to actually read the articles but has plenty of time to bitch about them — the blog is making an impact.
How far will it go? Who knows?
There are days where I think about disappearing into the woods and going off the grid, and days where I think I can still be doing this when the current kindergarteners are high school seniors.
It’s a crapshoot.
For now, I am fully committing to another year, to documenting the final run of the Coupeville Class of 2025, which is headlined by an exceptionally strong group of Wolf female athletes.
For those who wish I would “stay in my lane” and write just about athletics, you’re probably not going to be happy.
Yes, the blog is called Coupeville Sports, and that’s the primary focus, but since day one, readers have continually been willing to push me to write about other things when it’s something they want discussed.
Be it robotics, academics, theater, or a million other topics, the requests come in, and I usually respond with a yes.
Not always, but mostly.
So, if I write about movies once in a while, dredging up memories from my video store days, deal with it.
And as ongoing budget issues affect schools across the state, that has a considerable impact on the sports world, and will be written about.
Again, deal with it. Or don’t read. Your choice.
The success, or failure, of Coupeville Sports, will always hinge on whether people are reading it.
I’m the only one with any say about what I write here, as I’m the only one doing said writing.
But you, the reader, ultimately dictate things.
I can see my readership and engagement numbers. I know what works, and what doesn’t.
Sometimes, I even listen to that.
Sometimes.
Moving forward, I promise to make some people happy. And others probably not so much.
With new leadership in the district, my hope is that the incoming administration comprehends how this works a little better than the outgoing one did at times.
I publish 100 percent of my articles here, on this blog.
Not on Facebook. Not on Twitter. Not on Instagram.
I post links to my stories on social media sites, in an effort to drive readers here, and when I post those links, people are able to make comments.
Those comments are their own opinions. They are not the story.
Be like Willie Smith, who recently departed after a long stint as Coupeville’s Athletic Director.
Read the story. The real story. Not just the social media comments.
Then, if you want to have a discussion of what I actually wrote, and not just a third-hand report of what some parent said in response, so be it.
I hope the new administration embraces a little more openness, as well.
I understand you will never tell me certain things, and that there are areas we can’t discuss, or at least areas you will tell me we can’t discuss.
Also understand, that’s not likely to stop me.
The more open the administration is in sending out information, the better it is for all involved.
I would also say this is a great time to discuss how the district gets info to the community. You know, the taxpayers who are, ultimately, your bosses.
Coupeville streams its regular monthly board meetings, but not workshops or side events. You need to rethink that.
Make it as easy as possible for people to see you make the sausage.
And why not follow South Whidbey’s lead, on one small thing, and record those meetings and put them on YouTube where they can be viewed later?
Right now, words and images from school board meetings vanish into the night as soon as they’re streamed. Why?
Embrace openness, with the taxpayers and the bloggers.
District officials and board members are putting in the good fight, and righting the financial ship as we sail out of troubled pandemic times.
Give people a better way to appreciate the work you’re doing.
Ultimately, I believe most regular readers of Coupeville Sports would say the coverage here is 99 percent positive.
I’m very much a “homer,” promoting Wolf Nation and its occupants. I accept that assessment.
I’m not sitting in my mom’s basement, grinding an axe and venting my spleen. Most days at least.
But there will be some “negative” coverage at times — it’s called news, and it’s called life.
If you have a problem with something I write, tell me, not school officials.
I don’t work for them. They don’t pay me. Not a single penny.
And it has been ever so.
Want to support the blog? You can donate in person, by mail at 165 Sherman, Coupeville, WA, 98239, or online at:
Venmo — David-Svien
PayPal — https://paypal.me/DavidSvien?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US
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