Coupeville Sports

   Half of the most successful high school hoops squad on Whidbey Island. (John Fisken photo)

Overcoming adversity by banding together as a team.

The Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad has done just that season, overcoming a brutal schedule (11 of 13 on the road), illness and injuries to sit at 10-3 overall, 5-0 in Olympic League play.

Carrying a six-game winning streak, and sitting just one victory from clinching a third straight conference title, the Wolves also cracked the top 10 Sunday in the state RPI rankings for 1A teams.

The key?

Unity, as CHS round-ball guru David King expounds upon in this week’s visit to the Coaches Corner:

Five years ago when Amy and I took over the program, our goal was to change the culture of the basketball program.

The team had talent, but we needed to learn how to battle every day and win consistently.

That first year we made some good strides, but after year two things were really starting to change. You could see players starting to believe that we could compete against each opponent we played.

Years 3-4, we kept the culture moving in the right direction, but emphasized ‘One Team, One Goal, Family’.

The team really took that to heart and played well with one goal in mind. First in league and then make it to districts and advance.

Returning players knew the system, helped lead the younger players as they were starting their high school basketball careers.

This year we added Unity (the state of being one) to what we have going on with our culture as a program and playing as a family.

Our last ferry ride home after our Port Townsend game, the state of Unity rang so true for the team.

They may or may not have realized it, but it was front and center during their post game spotlighting (a carry over from the Greg Oldham years we still do).

During the game I wasn’t able to make the substitutions like I had hoped for after a very strong first quarter.

This meant less playing time for some players. This can be frustrating, however the ultimate goal is to get a win.

What I witnessed as a coach was what every coach would want. The unity and unselfishness with the players is outstanding.

The way teammates talked about each other is what makes us as successful as we are.

Multiple teammates talked about their teammates who may not have played much, but still brought energy, encouragement and a calmness to those playing.

Those are the players I want on my team each and every day.

We have one goal we are working towards and when you have players/teammates that play for each other and as a unit, it keeps us competitive and a team that puts team goals over personal ones.

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