Kassie O’Neil, legendary human being. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Kassie O’Neil was a great basketball player, and the lessons she learned helped her transition into being one of the best coaches Coupeville High School has employed.
But she has always been about much more than just putting a ball in a basket.
Sister. Daughter. Mom. Wife. Businesswoman. Craftswoman. Speaker of truth.
Kassie is one of the rare ones, a radiant ray of sunshine and a boon to every place she calls home.
So, while Coupeville is losing her (at least for now), someplace else is about to welcome one of the most genuine people on the planet, and the boys she and husband Kevin are raising to be the same way.
Be grateful she graced us with her presence and envy those who will get to call her one of their own in the near future.
As she exits the CHS sideline, a few thoughts from the tartly transcendent one:
The last three years coaching at Coupeville has been a wild ride.
It’s been exhausting, mentally and physically demanding, and incredibly rewarding.
Getting to guide these young girls through some of their most formative years has been a task I didn’t take lightly.
For me, coaching became more than just basketball.
These kids need role models who are willing to hear them, see them, and listen without judgment and I think I tried my very best to be that for them.
And as much as I have loved this job, my life feels to be pulling me in a different direction.
I know that I was hired on the premise that I would be in it for the long haul. And at the time, I really meant that.
Although, I did know I was going to have to figure out how to swing over and coach the boys with Brad (Sherman) when my boys got to that age. But I digress.
Heading into this position, I was ready to watch these kids go from start to finish, from middle schoolers to graduates.
But as they say, life happens when you’re busy making plans.
And while I thought I would be content with our small-town life here on this slow island where I grew up, I feel called to do other things and dream a bit bigger.
So, with all of that said, I am withdrawing from my position as assistant coach and our family is moving off island come summer.
I’m not quite sure where we will land or what the future will look like, but I’m a ‘leap first and hopefully the stairway will appear’ kinda person.
I trust that we will end up right where we are supposed to be.
As for the girls, I hope they feel like they can call me whenever they need me.
And I’ll make it back to step into practice to see how they’re doing.
I’ll also make sure to catch all of their away games over in Skagit Valley.
I’m really not going that far, just across the water, but I know it feels like an ending.
I hope these girls know how much I care about them.
I am a boy mom through and through, but for the last three years I got to bond with these girls as if they were my own daughters.
Well, more like younger sisters because I’m really not THAT old … even though being around these kids make me feel like it.
Anyway, it’s been fun, and it’s been real, and I will never forget all that I learned about myself through coaching.
Coupeville will always be home, and this team will always be family to me.
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