Not completely lost during this election season has been the successes of our Oak Harbor High School sports programs. Our kids have been nothing short of amazing across the board. Success after success, we can be proud of the extraordinary efforts we are seeing from so many of our student athletes.

From football, volleyball to cross country, we are seeing a level of achievement that is normally reserved for those higher profile, bigger money programs. I just want to point out this no fluke. This isn’t one of those passing eras where we just happen to have talented kids in the right place at the right time.

At the epicenter of this shift is a dedicated couple who call Oak Harbor home, Bill and Catie Rodeheffer. Bill and Catie run and coach the Whidbey Island Running Club; a club that allows young kids to meet, play games, train and grow. Operating on a minuscule budget out of our city pool, Bill and Catie dedicate hours and hours of their own time to ensure our kids have opportunities many other kids do not.

For a very reasonable cost, Coach Bill and Catie are able to be with our kids up to six days a week teaching them the finer points of proper running and training techniques. They cater individual programs that address individual kids’ needs as well as team concepts. Granted, coach Peterson has done an incredible job leading these kids to state, but I’m sure even he would say the Rodeheffers have played a vital role in the development of or kids. It’s no coincidence the Oak Harbor High School cross country teams are headed to state … again! Many of the kids are past or current members of the WIRC. Thanks to Bill and Catie, many of our kids have had the opportunity to participate in Junior Olympics all the way up to the national level. The selfless nature of the Rodeheffers has been nothing short of amazing and has taught my kids some valuable life lessons that stretch well beyond sports!

Thanks to the Rodeheffers and their relentless dedication, we have many quality years of athletic success ahead of us. But more importantly, we have the opportunity to have our kids’ lives enriched by this dedicated couple.

Patrick Horn
Oak Harbo