Birthday girl Kyla Briscoe will be in uniform Saturday and playing in a tourney in South Whidbey. (John Fisken photos)
That time when Briscoe and Lauren Rose gave me a cupcake. It was a good day.
The Battlin’ Briscoes, Kyla and Tiffany. (Amy Briscoe photo)
She probably doesn’t want me to do this.
Tough.
Kyla Briscoe, a three-sport star at Coupeville High School who also happens to be one of the most genuinely sweet, kind-hearted, full of life people you’re ever likely to meet, celebrates a birthday today.
And, while she might like to slide under the radar and go unnoticed, it ain’t happenin’.
Kyla is too extraordinary of a young woman to not be recognized.
We can hail her for her athletic skills, which are vast and deep.
From the first moment Kyla stepped onto the CHS campus, she made an impact on the sporting scene.
She started for the Wolf varsity volleyball and softball squads as a mere freshman, and was a scrappy, defensive-minded hustler for a JV basketball team that went 9-0 in league play.
Now, as a sophomore, she’s right back at it, holding down a starting slot with the Wolf spikers, who are playing in the South Whidbey Invitational on her birthday.
But, like most people we celebrate around here, she is far, far more than just a mere athlete.
I have known Miss Briscoe for a good chunk of her young life, and seen her and older sister Tiffany grow into confident, smart, deeply caring young women.
Like all sisters, they go after each other from time to time, but both of them would drop-kick you through a door and over a fence if you dared to mess with their sibling.
Loyalty, both to their sister by blood and their sisters by choice (their teammates and friends) runs miles deep in the Briscoe clan.
Kyla can be shy from time to time, and I kinda get the feeling that the moments when she gets shoved into the spotlight, like this, are a bit of a pain in her rear.
Well, sometimes every one thinks so highly of you, that you have to endure for a bit.
And Kyla?
You are amazing. You are awesome. You are a bright, vivacious young woman who just happens to be chock full of talent, gumption and sunshine.
You are going to go far and accomplish much. I, like everyone who meets you, think the world of you.
Happy birthday, Miss Briscoe!! May your day shine as brightly as you do.
