spring training | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘spring training’

Wonder Twins conquer the world!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged CHS Wolves, Happy birthday, Joey Lippo, salmon fishing, Skyy Lippo, spring training, The Nutcracker on August 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Skyy Lippo, talented ballerina and car enthusiast. (submitted photo)

Joey Lippo is one of the few baseball players on the Island to have played for teams in Coupeville, Oak Harbor and South Whidbey. (John Fisken photo)

Rabbit rescuers, and the closest Joey will come to smiling for the camera ... ever. (Joe Lippo photo)

Rabbit rescuers, and maybe the closest Joey will come to smiling for the camera … ever. (Joe Lippo photo)

Is there any down time in Lippo Land?

I ask because it seems at times that twins Skyy and Joey Lippo, Coupeville High School sophomore sensations who celebrate a joint birthday Sunday, are always busy.

Joey is a three-sport athlete at CHS, one of the few to uphold the old tradition, and plays tennis, basketball and baseball for the Wolves.

His sister owns most of the family’s battle scars, however, competing in the much-more cutthroat world of dance.

A ballet star, Skyy was recently named as the youngest company captain in Whidbey Island Dance Theatre history, and has already performed in productions of The Nutcracker and Giselle.

Both have hit the road for their loves, with Joey attending national spring training for athletes in his age bracket, while Skyy went to Texas to study ballet.

And, both have a yen for projects out of the spotlight as well, with Joey doing time as an accomplished salmon fisher and Skyy having recently acquired a ’72 Charger that she and dad Joe will be working on.

Now, at this point we could go on and on with a very long list of their other accomplishments, but we do have to leave their proud papa with something to put on his Twitter.

From the outside looking in, my perspective on the Lippo twins is this — they’re good people.

Both Skyy and Joey are personable (though getting the Zen-like Joey to smile for the camera is lodged firmly on the list of hardest things for a professional photographer to accomplish) and excel in a quiet, do your job manner.

They accomplish a lot, but don’t spend much time boasting about their exploits or unnecessarily thumping themselves on the chests.

Runway ego doesn’t seem to be a problem for them, and the duo are happy to let others rant and rave about their awesomeness.

So, having elbowed their dad out of the way for a moment (it’s easy when he’s looking down at his fingers while tweeting), I’m here to do just that.

Take my word for it, the Lippo twins are among the brightest lights we have shining in Coupeville right now.

As they go forward and stack those accomplishments to the ceiling in the years to come, I look forward to writing much more about them.

Cause, first and foremost, unlike fellow Wolf twin terrors Jake and Josh Lord or Ana and Ivy Luvera, I can actually tell Skyy and Joey apart, which is HUGE for a somewhat lazy reporter.

But, most of all, it’s always so much easier to write about people you genuinely like.

And the Lippo twins? They’re killin’ it on the likability charts.

So, happy birthday, Skyy. Happy birthday, Joey.

Keep on keepin’ on, cause what you’re doin’? It’s working.

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Feb. 22 — when a man’s fancy turns to baseball!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged baseball, Central Whidbey Little League, Detroit Red WIngs, Joe Lippo, spring training on February 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Central Whidbey Little League sluggers wielded big bats last season. (Joe Lippo photos)

Spring approaches.

Are you ready to swing into action?

Joe Lippo is a little excited.

Taking a break from possibly agonizing over the loss to injury of Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg (he’s a huge hockey and Red Wings fan), Lippo is already mentally planning for the upcoming youth baseball seasons.

He recently fired off this note and the photos above.

Wanna know whats going to start soon? Baseball.

Wanna know something else?

8th graders are showing up at the high school open gym in growing numbers.

Seen at this morning’s practice were Joey Lippo, Nick Etzell, and rumor has it that Julian Welling has been making appearances.

If all goes right, Coupeville Juniors should have a pretty solid team this year, provided they can grab some of the younger 9th graders from the mix.

Add some Kyle Rockwell, a dash of Jake Pease, a couple of Ecks, and mash it all up with some Clay Reilly, and the team looks mighty fine…

No one tell him that’s it supposed to start snowing today.

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One final swing for Joey Lippo!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CMS, Joey Lippo, spring training on January 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Joey Lippo at national baseball spring training. (Joe Lippo photos)

Coupeville Middle School eighth-grader Joey Lippo spent three days at national baseball spring training, the only player in his age group from Washington state.

The following is dad Joe Lippo’s first hand account of the adventure:

Final Day in Mesa.

Only a morning warmup today and the coaches were in “game mode” from the beginning of the day.

They called everyone by their first names, or their new nicknames.

The only Coupeville player present, Joey, AKA “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” warmed up with his bat. He was slotted third in the lineup.

He earned his nickname because he lives on an island, and likes sports teams from Washington and Michigan and none from California.

Then it was time for the 2-0 Black team to face the 0-2 Navy team.

This time, the Navy team brought their ace pitcher to the mound.

Joey, like the two batters before him, struck out swinging.

So began a pitcher’s duel so intense that a “long” inning consisted of four batters. Speed, accuracy, and a variety of curves, breaks, and other assorted cheese frustrated batters from both sides.

Joey didn’t see the plate again until late in the third, and the score was 3-1 in favor of the Navy team.

This time, he hit a short looper just over the pitcher’s head that the second baseman missed catching by a whisker.

The second baseman had an awkward throw to first, so he threw to second, leaving Lippo safe at first on the fielders choice.

He wouldn’t see the plate again, but he played good defense all over the field, including second base and left field. He threw two batters out from the second base position.

Ultimately, the Black team could not match the few hits of the Navy team, and the game ended 5-1 in favor of the Navy team.

Final stats for Joey — .400 batting average (4-10), .500 on-base percentage, two steals, two RBI, one strikeout, no walks and one error.

Spring training is over, but Lippo will bring a little more knowledge, a little more skill, and a whole lot of new drills back to Coupeville to pass on to the teams here.

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Hits keep coming for Joey Lippo!!

Posted in Baseball, Middle School, tagged baseball, Coupeville Middle School, Joey Lippo, spring training on January 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Joey Lippo (back row, far left), during the summer little league season. (Joe Lippo photo)

Coupeville Middle School eighth-grader Joey Lippo is at national baseball spring training, the only player in his age group from Washington state.

The following is dad Joe Lippo’s first hand account of the adventure:

Live from Mesa, Arizona, it’s 73 degrees and partly cloudy.

By “partly cloudy”, I mean “somebody might have seen a cloud. Maybe.”

Since the drills, conditioning, and education were similar or the same as yesterday (https://coupevillesports.com/2014/01/19/and-then-joey-lippo-got-a-hit-off-a-major-leaguer/), we can get right to the Main Event — Joey’s Black team vs. the Navy team.

He was put in to bat in the #3 slot, and his first at-bat resulted in a single into right field, just past the outstretched glove of a diving second baseman.

He advanced to second on a walk, and stole third on a passed ball (which scored a run), but a pick-off and a couple fly balls later stranded him there. The inning ended 1-0 in favor of the Black team.

The next time Joey saw the plate was in the third inning and the score was 3-1.

This at-bat was a little more stressful as the Navy pitcher was finding his groove. The count ran up to 2-2, and Joey stayed alive by fouling off two more pitches, then drove a single into shallow left field.

He was again stranded, on second base this time, but another run scored, and the inning ended with the Black team up 4-1.

On defense, Joey played shortstop, soaking up whatever was hit in his direction, throwing runners out at first and second, helping preserve his team’s lead.

On one particularly hairy play, a hard hit ball took a hard skip off the grass and Joey was just barely able to get a free hand up and bat the ball away before it rearranged his face.

Even so, the trainer was up and on her feet, and the spectators were cringing before everyone realized that he was OK, and had escaped with a slightly stinging hand.

His last at-bat was a hit that the pitcher knocked down and threw to first for the out, but also resulted in an RBI, running the final score to 7-1.

Joey’s stats through two days: .500 batting average (3 for 6), one stolen base, one RBI.

Not too shabby, considering the level of competition.

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And then Joey Lippo got a hit off a major leaguer!!

Posted in Baseball, Middle School, tagged baseball, CMS, Ernie Young, Joey Lippo, spring training on January 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Joey Lippo (right) during the fall ball season. (Teresa Besaw photo)

Joey Lippo (right) during the fall ball season in Oak Harbor. (Teresa Besaw photo)

Coupeville Middle School eighth-grader Joey Lippo is at national baseball spring training this weekend, the only player in his age group from Washington state.

The following is dad Joe Lippo’s first hand account of the adventure:

Mesa, Arizona. 0700.

That’s 7 AM to you civilian types.

24 kids aged 12-14, including Coupeville’s own Joey Lippo, dragged themselves out of bed, showered, ate, and then climbed on the bus to engage in national level spring training.

They arrived at the athletic compound, in the middle of an active orange grove, and were immediately in awe.

This was, after all, a professional field. The Los Angeles Angels do spring training here.

Dead center field boasts a sign that reads “420”, a distance that kids dream about hitting. There’s little comfort looking left or right, as those signs indicate an only slightly more reachable 369.

To make matters a little more intimidating, they were greeted by professional coaches and players as they got to the dugout.

The hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies. The catchers coach from the New York Yankees. An outfielder from the Detroit Tigers. The list would go on.

But it was time, and these coaches wait for no one.

At 9 AM (sharp!) basic warmups commenced. Catching, throwing, base-running, fielding, batting, stretching, agility and distance laps.

For three hours.

Then after a Jimmy Johns delivered lunch, the drills began again, with no let up. Kids were starting to wonder just what they had gotten themselves into.

Then, at 3:30, they were called in from various stations, and the inter-squad scrimmage began.

Navy vs Black, and the pitcher was none other than former Detroit Tiger Ernie Young, an eight-year MLB veteran. This was a “coach pitch” scrimmage, so he pitched from behind the net to every player.

Joey cracked Young’s first offering to him past the second baseman on his first at bat, then on a subsequent play, beat a throw to home for the score.

In his second and third at bats, two solid hits were flagged down by speedy infielders, preventing him from reaching base again.

All in all, this is not what these kids are used to. They are used to hitting a ball to the shortstop and beating the double play throw to first, or hitting to shallow right and getting a base hit.

Not here.

A double play ball is going to be a double play about 95% of the time. There are very, very few dropped fly balls.

It’s 10 hours a day of constant physical and mental challenges. We shall see if Joey survives the weekend…

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