Page 6
The Whidbey Examiner • Thursday, June 13, 2013
Island’s Dr. Soccer says good-bye By Jim Waller Staff Reporter
Jim Waller photo
Jake Tumblin runs through drills at spring football camp.
Wolves prepare for team camp The Coupeville High School spring football camp wraps up Friday just in time for the Wolves to take off Saturday for team camp at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Head coach Tony Maggio said this year’s spring camp attracted about 40 kids, and he and his staff set several goals. “Our first goal is to leave camp healthy,” he said, “Next we want to make sure our young kids are introduced into our system. “We also use spring camp and our team camp as a time for us to get to know each other and have some
fun.” Spring camp is also a time for evaluations. The staff checks out the new kids coming up, Maggio said, and “sees how our weight training and speed training program has impacted our returning athletes.” Camp is running smoothly, Maggio said. “We have a lot more seniors this year, that, and with a year in running our offense, they are miles ahead of where we were last year at this time.” Team camp runs Saturday through Tuesday, and Coupeville has 22 athletes making the trip.
It would be safe to say Dr. Jim Copenhaver is Coupeville’s Dr. Soccer. And while his touch has been felt greatest in Central Whidbey, his reach has covered the entire island. Unfortunately for Whidbey Island, the Copenhaver family is moving to the East Coast this month to be closer to family. Copenhaver’s love for soccer began as a child in south Seattle in the 1970s during the exciting first years of the Seattle Sounders. He played for a select BU-13 that won the state title in 1974 and went on to play varsity soccer at Enumclaw High School and was MVP and captain his junior and senior years. He went to the University of Washington on an academic scholarship to pursue a career in medicine. Copenhaver’s son, Jeremy, then 5, began playing soccer in Coupeville in 2001. Copenhaver was concerned that the parents and coaches were focused more on winning than the kids simply enjoying and learning the game, so he started coaching his son’s teams in 2003. He started attending Central Whidbey Soccer Club meetings (Central Whidbey Youth Athletic Association in those days) and joined the board in 2004. At that time Coupeville kids played only against each other and did not travel to other communities.
Patrick Kelley photo
A familiar sight at Coupeville soccer matches, Dr. Jim Copenhaver among the youth of Whidbey Island. Copenhaver is leaving Coupeville after serving youth soccer for 10 years. Copenhaver said, “Consequently by age 10 most players in Coupeville gave up soccer and moved onto to other sports. They simply got tired of playing the same old kids on the same field.” As a result, Copenhaver created a boys and girls team the played exhibition games against teams from Oak Harbor and South Whidbey. “The players from all three communities loved it,” Copenhaver said. “They wanted to play each other every weekend.” He then joined the Whidbey Island Youth Soccer Association, one of about 50 state associations to help develop local soccer play for young players. Over the past 10 years,
Copenhaver has coached over 40 Whidbey Island teams of all skill levels from U-7 to U-19. “The greatest part about teaching kids soccer is seeing and feeling the excitement they feel when they do something new and special for the first time,” he said. “The most difficult part of leaving is to not have the opportunity to continue to guide young players along that very exciting developmental pathway.” Parent Patrick Kelley said, “Coach Jim has worked with my son since Matthew started in soccer (six years ago). To say my son adores him is an understatement. I could not have asked for a better soccer coach.” Copenhaver said after he
Whidbey Island Worship Guide WELCOME TO
Pastor Jin Ming Ma • Will Strong, Youth Director 608 N. Main St. • 360-678-4256
in-the-Woods
Julie Spangler, Director of Christian Formation Nigel J. Taber-Hamilton, Rector
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church invites everyone to experience a casual evening of prayer, worship and friendship in Coupeville.
Sundays • 11:15 am & Thursday • Noon 207 N. Main St., Coupeville • www.staugustineoh.org
Summer Service 10:00 am Child care available
St. Augustine’s
Pacific Rim Institute St. Mary’s Church Sundays • 6:30pm
MASS SCHEDULE
Coupeville United Methodist Church
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH ON WHIDBEY ISLAND WELCOMES EVERYONE!
Sunday Eucharist 8 & 10:30 am
Child care available at 10 am Youth programs at 10:30 am Sept - June 5217 S. Honeymoon Bay Rd Freeland • 360-331-4887 www.staugustinesepiscopalchurch.org
Call 679-1561 for information.
simple
relational
relevant
ALWAYS a PLACE for YOU THE
COMMUNIT Y
CHURCH
Coupeville Oak Harbor Pac Rim Institute OH Senior Center 180 Parker Rd One Church . . . 2 locations 51 SE Jerome St Sunday 9:30 am www.ctkonline.com/whidbey Sunday 11:00 am
A Church, A Family
A Spiritual Home Grace By The Sea An Anglican Expression of Faith The Rev. Paul Orritt
SUNDAY SERVICE
8:00 AM TRADITIONAL WORSHIP SERVICE 9:15 AM SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:30 AM FAMILY WORSHIP SERVICE www.gracebythesea.org
•
Island Vineyard Community Church Pastor James Gallagher
9:15 AM SUNDAY SCHOOL 10:00 AM WORSHIP SERVICE www.islandvineyard.org
•
2 Churches - 1 Building 679-3431 555 SE Regatta Dr., Oak Harbor
ISLAND VINEYARD COMMUNITY CHURCH
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Come join us for Lutheran Worship Services in Coupeville!
GRACE BY THE SEA • AN ANGLICAN EXPRESSION OF FAITH
To advertise in this directory, call the Whidbey Examiner at 360-678-8060.
leaves he hopes island youth soccer continues to be “more about the freedom to create the beauty of the game and less, much less, about the need to get a win.” Copenhaver came to Coupeville in 1998 and split his time between family and emergency medicine. His wife’s entire family is in the Boston area, and the Copenhavers will be moving to Wolfeboro, N.H. Jeremy, now a junior, will attend Brewster Academy. In closing, Copenhaver said, “I would like to thank the many, many families that have volunteered over the years to help give kids the chance to play organized sports. I have been just one of a team of volunteers that enjoy creating interesting physical activities to get kids outside and having fun.”
Bayview Farmers Market
Saturdays 10 -2 @Bayview Corner Come to the market this week and
Visit, Meet, and Shop our New Vendors! HOT FOODS / PROCESSORS Primal Island Grain Free Foods Sweet Mona’s Tres Gringos Whidbey Rice
SR525 at Bayview Rd
www.bayviewfarmersmarket.com WSFMA Member; FMNP authorized