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Know Your Foe: Port Townsend’s Malia Henderson!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, Olympic League, Softball, tagged 1A Olympic League, Malia Henderson, Port Townsend, Redhawks, Soccer, Softball on August 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Malia Henderson

With Coupeville leaving the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and joining Port Townsend, Chimacum and Klahowya in the 1A Olympic League this fall, now is a great time to learn a bit about some of the players who will face off with the Wolves in the future.

Malia Henderson doesn’t mind being in the crossfire.

The Port Townsend senior anchors both of her teams, playing goalie for the girls’ soccer squad and catcher for the Redhawk softball team. Both positions put her in the heart of the action, something she openly craves.

“I like positions that involve strategy and quick responses,” Henderson said. “I like the strategic aspects of playing team sports; it’s amazing to watch the cohesiveness of the team come together throughout the season.”

While she enjoys both of her sports, it’s soccer, where Coupeville will see her for the first time, that ultimately captures her heart.

“Soccer is my favorite sport,” Henderson said. “I like how physically demanding being a goalkeeper is; the position requires a great deal of focus and I love the adrenalin rush I get when the other team is shooting at me.”

When she steps into the net, Henderson goes in expecting to be at her best, and a large part of that is based on the hard work she and her teammates put in between games.

“I am a good leader and have a good work ethic and take practices seriously,” she said. “I am a strong strategic player; I’m always thinking a play ahead.

“I like to size up each team we play and know the other teams strengths and weaknesses,” Henderson added. “I play very aggressively and go into each game thinking we are going to win.”

A big fan of backpacking and mountaineering (she and her dad climbed Mt. Rainier this summer), Henderson splits time between PTHS and Peninsula College, where she participates in the Running Start program.

As she prepares for her final year at Port Townsend — she moved to town in the 3rd grade — Henderson will face new challenges, from different league foes (“I have never played against Coupeville before, but I am ready to see them on the field”) to a school mascot change.

After 88 years as the Redskins, Port Townsend students voted to retire that mascot and become the Redhawks starting with the 2014-2015 season.

“I fully support the change of the mascot, and I am looking forward to becoming a Redhawk for my last year at Port Townsend High School,” Henderson said. “My goal for my last year is to play my absolute hardest and leave it all out on the field.

“I want to enjoy my last year at the high school and my first year as a Redhawk!”

During her final months as a high school athlete, Henderson will continue to turn to the people closest to her for support.

Her family and a string of coaches have been a reliable rooting section, helping guide her into becoming a successful young woman.

“My parents have always been huge supports with my interests,” Henderson said. “When I first came to Port Townsend, Liz and Kevin Coker were my first soccer and baseball coaches. They have always been my biggest supports in my extended family.

“Steve Shively gave me one-on-one coaching during my first two years at the high school,” she added. “I have two wonderful coaches in Colin Foden and Tom Gambill, and I love all my teammates. I couldn’t do any of this without them!”

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Know Your Foe: Port Townsend’s Luke Flanigan!!

Posted in Football, tagged 1A Olympic League, football, Luke Flanigan, Port Townsend, Redhawks on August 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Luke Flanigan

Luke Flanigan wants to hit you.

Don’t take it personally. The Port Townsend senior is probably a really nice guy off the football field, but on it he’s a rampaging force of nature who is just waiting to rattle the teeth in the back of your head.

“What I enjoy about football is the hitting,” Flanigan said. “I love football because of the physicality of hitting and the brothers you make along the way.”

He’s got the imposing frame of a lineman, but knows size alone isn’t enough to guarantee success. That’s where hard work on the practice field and the weight room come in.

“I’m an experienced ball player, so I know what to do on the field,” Flanigan said. “I can always get better.

“My goals this year, from a team stand point, is league champions,” he added. “From a personal stand point, I want to make the all-star team this year.”

Flanigan and his teammates have experience playing Coupeville, having met in non-conference games the past three seasons.

Port Townsend has won two of three during his gridiron career, but things will go up a notch as the Redhawks and Wolves now meet twice a season as league rivals.

While football is a big part of his life, Flanigan enjoys his time away from the field (“I love hanging out with my friends and family”) and picks “Forrest Gump” and “The Longest Yard” as favorite movies.

Whether on the gridiron or off, he knows he has a strong support group of fans pulling for him to succeed and that helps to drive him forward.

“All of my coaches have made a huge impact in my life, as well as my parents.”

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Know Your Foe: Eggs-actly!!

Posted in Olympic League, tagged 1A Olympic League, Chimacum, Klahowya, Ma and Pa Kettle, Port Townsend on July 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Chimacum’s most famous export.

Small talk. It’s a big game.

As Coupeville prepares to move into a new league this fall, you may find yourself face-to-face with fans from new schools, trying to find a common ground.

Of course, you want to be prepared, ready to pepper your conversation with little tidbits of info that make the person on the other side think you know their town inside out.

You might be bluffing, but they’ll never know.

So, here we go, some meaningless facts on the three towns which will send schools into the new 1A Olympic League to vie with your Wolves for athletic supremacy.

You’re welcome.

Chimacum:

*Despite the town being named for the American Indians who once occupied the land (the Chimakum tribe) the school mascot is … the Cowboys. Awkward.

*Author Betty MacDonald grew up on a local chicken farm and turned her childhood into a best-selling book, “The Egg and I.” Later, the book was transformed into an Oscar-nominated film in 1947 starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert.

Ma and Pa Kettle, who were supporting characters in the original film, spun off into their own series. Nine movies were produced starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride, and the series was so popular it saved Universal Studios from bankruptcy.

Given second life, the studio went on to release “Jaws,” “E.T.” and “Jurassic Park” in later years and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012.

*’70s folk singer Linda Perhacs, who worked with Daft Punk on their 2006 film “Electroma,” recorded a song called “Chimacum Rain.” You can listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb59WCJTs_Q

Port Townsend:

*Forget about Cowboys. The school nickname for 88 years was the Redskins, until a change (amid much heated debate on both sides) this year.

During the search for a new nickname, one of the finalists was Sasquatch, but it wasn’t to be, as the more mundane Redhawks won out.

*Legendary sci-fi writer Frank Herbert (“Dune“) and mountain climber Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mt. Everest, both called the town home at one point.

*Glass, a progressive rock trio that played in the ’60s and ’70s, including at the first Jimi Hendrix Memorial Concert, consists of three PTHS grads (Jeff Sherman, Greg Sherman, Jerry Cook).

After being bumped out by disco and punk, they vanished for a bit, then resurfaced in time for Y2K and are back at it again.

To sample some of their recent work, which has a “Twin Peaks” goes to church vibe, try: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su_5AEpSuy0

Klahowya:

*Officially known as the Klahowya Secondary School, and servicing grades 7-12 in Silverdale, the school was a 2A school up through last year, and just slid under the cutoff to drop to 1A when the new counts were taken in the spring.

*The youngest of the four schools which will call the Olympic League home, KSS was opened for the 1996-1997 school year, and claimed a 2A state title in girls’ soccer in 1999.

*”Klahowya” is Chinook for “Greetings” and the name is currently plastered on an 800-passenger, 87-car ferry that plies the waters in the San Juans. It also graced a sternwheel steamer that operated on the Columbia River from 1910-1915.

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Know Your Foe: Port Townsend’s Crystal Crump!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Softball, Swim, tagged 1A Olympic League, CHS Wolves, Crystal Crump, Port Townsend on June 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Crystal Crump

Crystal Crump is a three-sport athlete, but Coupeville will only see her in two.

The Port Townsend High School senior-to-be swims, plays basketball and wraps the school year with her favorite sport, softball.

Since the Wolves don’t field a swim squad, though, they’ll have to wait until the winter to go toe-to-toe with the busy, talented Redhawk.

When they do meet her, CHS players and fans will find a young woman with a positive, make-it-happen personality.

“As an athlete, I think some of my greatest strengths are working hard and pushing through when things are challenging,” Crump said. “I always work to keep a positive attitude and motivate others to do the same.

“Being that I will be a senior next year I want to work on becoming even more of a leader to the younger kids.”

Crump has set a goal of qualifying for districts during her swim season, a sport in which you largely compete as an individual, especially during the postseason.

When she picks up her basketball and, later, her softball gear, she hopes to write a beautiful swan song to her final year of high school life.

“In basketball, I want to maintain a positive attitude and have fun,” Crump said. “For softball, I also want to have fun, but I want to play to the best of my ability.

“Softball is by far my favorite sport because I love being outside,” she added. “I also enjoy the technique that is required, and, of course, the sunflower seeds are the best!”

Playing three sports enables Crump to grow as an individual, while also building friendships with her teammates.

She then passes on some of those lessons when she works in Building Futures, her school’s mentoring program for young children.

“I like the feeling of belonging to a team and the relationships that are built through them,” she said. “I also like to challenge myself to keep getting better.”

While she plays sports year-round, there is far more to Crump than just athletics.

She loves to hike, is teaching herself the guitar and works for Dogspaw, a dog grooming business in Port Townsend. At school, Crump enjoys her language (English and Spanish) and science classes.

Before the new school year starts up, she will travel to Eugene for a five-week trail restoration program, which will allow her to enjoy her love of hiking and backpacking while helping to clean up trails in national parks.

Through it all, she treasures her family and friends, who provide her with the support necessary to pull off a busy, successful life. One person, in particular, is near and dear to her.

“My guardian, Shannon, has been a great support to me,” Crump said. “I wouldn’t be where I am at today without her. She is amazing!”

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No Sasquatch for you!!

Posted in nicknames, tagged CHS Wolves, nicknames, Port Townsend, Red Hawks, Sasquatch on June 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CHS tennis coach Ken Stange does his best Sasquatch dance to no avail. (Wendy McCormick photo)

Well, I’m kind of disappointed.

With Coupeville moving out of the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and into the 1A Olympic League in the fall, they’ll bid adieu to King’s and ATM and find new rivals in Port Townsend, Chimacum and Klahowya.

While Chimacum will remain the Cowboys and Klahowya reps the Eagles, Port Townsend ended an 88-year run as the Redskins recently and set about finding a new nickname and mascot.

Personally, I (and CHS tennis coach Ken Stange) were pulling for Sasquatch to win out when the PTHS students voted.

So was the Port Townsend football coach, who lobbied for the name on Facebook.

But it wasn’t to be, as the more mainstream Red Hawks easily won the vote, beating Sasquatch 256-106. Riptide was a distant third, with 41 votes.

So, Wolves, meet your new foes, same as the old foes, just with a new nickname.

It could have been cooler, but we’ll have to deal with the sense of loss for something we never had to enjoy in the first place.

Maybe Coupeville can step in and take over the cool factor from the Sasquatch-deniers by bouncing the Wolf name — since there hasn’t been a Wolf sighting on Whidbey since probably 1803 — and go with something like … the Chupacabras.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller … Bueller?

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