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Posts Tagged ‘Starla Seal’

The courts will be abuzz with aces and backhands again this summer.

Coupeville High School tennis coaches Starla Seal and Tim Stelling are back to host a skills camp for young netters, with slots open to girls and boys entering grades 3-8.

The event plays out July 21-25 and a lot of the info you need can be found in the photo above.

Though, one update.

While that flier says the preregister deadline is June 14, it’s been pushed out to June 20.

So, get crackin’. To sign up your child, pop over to:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTL30yKAyv6s2PZQKOkj4Pavey_LH-tPeBqITPqL_Q9qaJUg/viewform?pli=1

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Learn the game today, play the game the rest of your life. (Starla Seal photo)

The courts call to you.

Coupeville High School tennis coaches Tim Stelling and Starla Seal are launching a tennis club in October.

It’s free and will run each Wednesday from 3:00-5:00 PM at the CHS courts next to the gym.

The club is open to boys in grades 3-12 and girls in grades 3-7.

Since there is an active CHS girls’ tennis program, girls in grades 8-12 are barred from participating due to off-season restrictions set by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

If you have questions, contact sseal@coupeville.k12.wa.us or timstelling@gmail.com.

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One basket of balls for each season of high school tennis I played back in the day at Tumwater. Who wants to relaunch the sport in Cow Town? (Starla Seal photo)

There are brand new tennis courts next to the Coupeville High School gym, but it remains questionable when they will be used by a Wolf team.

The CHS girls, who played an all road-trip season this past spring while the courts were built, will be ready to claim the area in 2025.

But Coupeville boys could go first this fall … if they can get some players.

There is currently one player signed up with the start of fall sports practices set for Monday, and the program needs more like a minimum of six to be viable.

CMS 8th graders are eligible to play for the high school team, which could help if middle schoolers seize the chance to play.

Be brave and get rewarded! You’re not going to be sitting on the bench, that’s for sure.

The CHS boys’ tennis program has been AWOL since 2019, when Coupeville and South Whidbey competed in the Emerald City League against a bunch of ultra-rich Seattle private schools.

After that, the netters got shut down by the pandemic, then hurt by the school’s reclassification from 1A to 2B.

Boys’ soccer, which is played in the spring in 1A, competes in the fall in 2B, creating a logjam with football, tennis, and cross country also competing for male athletes.

Coupeville was the only school in its current home — the seven-team Northwest 2B/1B League — to try and field four male sports programs in the same season.

Someone was going to lose the numbers battle, and so far, it’s been tennis.

While the program has been shuttered through the past four seasons, new CHS tennis coaches Tim Stelling and Starla Seal, who made their debut with the girls in the spring, still have hopes of relaunching things.

Now, it’s just a question of whether potential players show up starting Monday.

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Young tennis players take a snack break during a recent skills camp. (Photos courtesy Starla Seal)

Tennis balls were flying, and water balloons as well.

Coupeville High School tennis coaches welcomed 22 young players to the courts recently for a summer skills camp, boding well for the future.

“It was a success!” said CHS net guru Starla Seal.

“I was impressed at how eager the kids were to learn the game; many of them couldn’t wait to show off their new skills and play with their families and friends.”

Seal and fellow CHS coach Tim Stelling led their young charges through fun sessions which covered topics such as hand/eye coordination, speed and agility, and the basic swings used by netters.

Capping things off, the young players learned the ins and outs of keeping score on the court, and proper tennis etiquette.

Plus, the aforementioned water balloon break, to help take the edge off of the hot-for-Whidbey weather.

Seal and Stelling, who recently completed their first season as CHS coaches, came away pleased with what they saw.

Building interest in tennis at a young age will likely pay off down the road, as the Wolves hope to see a steady turnout of players at the high school level.

But, even if these young athletes ultimately choose other sports later in life, the tennis coaches are happy to be part of the process.

“I am so proud of all the kids and the effort and attitude they brought to the court!” Seal said.

“It’s so nice to get these kids outside and play a good sport that will stay with them for a lifetime!

“I’m already looking forward to planning out our next skills camp!”


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The wall calls you. (Starla Seal photos)

If you build it, they will play.

At least that’s the plan, as Coupeville High School tennis coaches are reaching out to the next generation of racquet stars.

Wolf net guru Starla Seal got permission to transform two wooden walls at the elementary school into perfect training equipment for Cow Town’s future Iga Swiatek’s and Carlos Alcaraz’s.

Seal, who is a CES paraeducator, painted the walls, which are located on the playground, to make them perfect for simulating a tennis net.

She then collected some junior racquets, and kids have started pounding away.

“Wimbledon, here I come!”

“Our 3rd-5th graders are getting some tennis time in and loving it!” Seal said. “The goal was to make use of the equipment we have while incorporating tennis to our youth!”

And it’s not the only opportunity for Coupeville youngsters to get an appreciation for the sport.

Friday is the deadline to sign up for Coupeville’s first annual youth tennis camp, which goes down July 8-12.

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