Rachael Arand fires up a shot while playing with Coupeville’s “fall ball” girls’ hoops squad. (John Fisken photo)
Arand
Need cookies? Rachael Arand is your go-to person.
“I think I spend an abnormal amount of time making cookies,” Arand said with a laugh. “I look for any reason to make them — birthdays, holidays, class meetings, the fact that it’s a Monday morning.
“There’s something about the rhythm of adding ingredients that is totally soothing to me.”
Making and baking cookies is a nice slow-down activity for the very-busy high school senior, a standout basketball player who spends much of her time bouncing between two off-Island high schools and her home on Whidbey.
Arand lives with her family in Langley, but attends the Seattle Waldorf School.
Since that school doesn’t have a basketball program, and the two-hour commute made it impossible to play with South Whidbey, Arand sat out two seasons before finding a school in the Seattle area that would allow her to play hoops.
That turned out to be Bush and Arand won both the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the Emerald City League last year as a junior.
“I can’t stress how grateful I am to coach Webb and administration at Bush for letting me do this,” Arand said.
Arand, who also plays Ultimate Frisbee and volleyball, has continued to work hard on her hoops skills, playing alongside Coupeville High School star Makana Stone on a traveling team this summer. It’s an experience she won’t forget.
“Traveling around the U.S. was a fantastic experience. I got to travel while doing something I love with a great team,” Arand said. “The whole trip was surreal; we played in a tournament in Chicago where there were 46 courts in one space. That’s a lot of games happening at the same time.
“We were seeing girls that were six-foot-nine, making me look short at 6-1.”
Playing conditions varied, with one stop in California making a big impact on the girls from the Pacific Northwest.
“We played in a facility in San Diego that I swear was a greenhouse with some courts set up inside,” Arand said. “Because of the heat and humidity teams were drained by just walking in and warming up.
“Playing there really showed where you were as a player. Many girls learned that they were very out of shape,” she added. “But overall it was a pleasure to play against the talent we saw at those tournaments.”
Now back home, she’s preparing for her senior season at Bush by playing with Coupeville’s “fall ball” team, reuniting her with Stone.
Led by the dazzling duo, the Wolves are 3-0.
“It’s a super welcoming team, like Bush, that took me in when I didn’t have anywhere to play,” Arand said. “So a giant thank you to them is owed as well!”
While she enjoys all her sports (“I really like the difference between the sports I play; I like that no matter how good you think you are at a sport, there is always someone better and you can constantly be trying to get better and learn new things”), Arand’s heart belongs to the hard-court.
“To someone who doesn’t play basketball it’s hard to explain what it feels like to sink the perfect three-pointer or free throw,” she said. “When the ball falls directly where you want and you can finally feel the thousands of shots you’ve taken pay off, the feeling is unparalleled.
“Basketball is a game of skill, it’s not something you can pick up in an afternoon,” Arand added. “Like anything else, putting in that hard work and effort is what makes it so special.”
On the court, Arand brings a mix of grit, hustle and good times. She can fill up the stat sheet, but she always keeps one eye on trying to help her teammates.
“I think as an athlete I’m very reliable. I show up to practice, I work hard while trying to crack jokes and keep the spirit of the team alive through intense workouts,” Arand said. “I try my best to be a leader. I spend a large chunk of my game assisting and trying to get my teammates to push themselves to do their best.
“Many see this as a fault — trying to set up my teammates, and I’ve been told on hundreds of occasions to be more selfish,” she added. “I can work on this aspect of my game as well as my athleticism; someday I hope to be able to keep up with my good friend, Makana.”
A veteran of the student council and yearbook editor, Arand balances books with ball, and would like to attend a college that allows her to keep that mix.
Away from the court, she enjoys hanging out with friends and family (“Whether it’s watching “Mulan” or eating whole tubs of coffee ice cream, we’re always together”) and entertaining them.
“I love singing, period, in the shower, in musicals, but especially in the car with my mom on long road trips,” Arand said. “I like going to Costco and looking for all the sample carts because I absolutely love eating!
“I also love telling stories. I love memories and reliving them through my stories is definitely one of my favorite pastimes,” she added. “Anyone close to me hates it when I meet new people because out come my favorite stories … again!”
When she meets people in her life, Arand is fond of pulling something from their experiences and using it to enrich her own life.
“I think that from the moment we’re born we are being imprinted with small bits from every person we meet,” Arand said. “In the realm of athletics I owe every bit of skill and determination to my dad.
“He is the one who has shown me how to have arc on my shot, how to pass, and most importantly, how to play defense,” she added. “He spends countless hours at the gym trying to teach me new things.”
But it’s more than just basketball skills which have been passed on from father to daughter.
“I think the most important thing I’ve learned from him, whether he was trying to teach it to me or not, is the notion of never giving up on a person,” Arand said. “He’s one of those few people who care too much.
“He puts everything he has into helping others. He changes people, whether he knows the impact he has or not.”
She also credits her teachers for helping shape her as a student and a human being.
“My teacher, Ms. Bowman. This is a woman who, no matter how disruptive a class can be, she comes to school with a smile,” Arand said. “She honestly tries harder than any other person I have ever met.
“She wins the hearts of students by truly caring in what they have to say, making me respect her on a level much higher than most people,” she added. “I hope someday I can attain this kind of respect from the people I love.”
Her African drumming teacher, a man “whose autobiography would possibly make the best movie of this lifetime,” has made a huge impact on her soul.
“Mr. Ryan has traveled following his passion throughout his entire life. He is so secure in who he is and what he is meant to do,” Arand said. “He tells stories of playing with great drummers in Africa that remember all the traditions and dances of the older generations. And here, thousands of miles away and years later, I am being taught how to pay respect to these phenomenal musicians.
“These are people that know how to have fun and how to believe very strongly in the healing of being together and doing something they love,” she added. “They are passionate, a quality we all need to have in our lives.”
