Totally Coul

In the world of South Kitsap football, Jeff Coulon has been tabbed by one of his coaches as the bad cop. He’s the one who gets his hands dirty, says what no one else will say and does what others won’t.

And all of that helped him be named as one of the team’s captains for the upcoming season.

“These kids all work hard, but every kid will say he works harder than anyone they know,” assistant coach Jim Fairweather said. “They all work hard and they all give us their best effort, but Coulon is as intense a kid as anybody. When it comes to making himself better, whether you’re talking about the classroom or talking about the field of competition, he just goes 100 percent all the time.”

Coulon, like any other member of the team who wanted to be a captain, wrote a letter to his teammates explaining why he wanted the job.

“I thought we just needed to keep that strong work going, to just keep pushing forward as a team,” Coulon said. “That’s what I said in the letter. And if we do that, we’ll do fine this year.

“I just wrote my letter and waited to see what the other guys thought,” Coulon said. “I’m a pretty quiet guy, but I try to lead by example.”

It’s an example everyone — coaches and players alike — love to see.

“He’s never going to be the most talented,” South coach D.J. Sigurdson said. “He’s never going to be the biggest, never going to be the fastest. But he definitely gives himself ever chance by the way he plays and his approach to playing.”

That something that has rubbed off on others.

“The older kids know what he’s all about — they know he’s the kind of guy they can jump in behind every easily,” Fairweather said. “He’s not a rah-rah guy. But his example is so evident that that’s what the kids can jump in and follow. He’ll make plays and do things right and that’s an example the kids can follow.”

Coulon will co-captain the team with Dylan Pierce, the so-called good cop according to assistant coach Joey Dame.

Coulon, a linebacker and fullback who stands 5-9 and weighs 182 pounds, said he wants his teammates giving 100 percent all of the time.

“We need to be physical and be aggressive,” Coulon said. “That’s good football, that’s power football right there. We like to hit people. We need to do that all year.”

Coulon’s quiet intensity may be just what the defense needs after losing so many vocal players from last year.

“He never complains, he’s always even-keeled, always in a good mood,” Fairweather said. “He’s just a joy to coach. He’s just an awesome kid.”

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