High-school spring sports begin the 2011 season Monday, Feb. 28, and when the Coupeville fastpitch players jog unto the field, they will be under the direction of a new coach.

Jackie Calkins will guide the Wolves this year.

Calkins, who played for Olympic Community College and Western Washington University, has been out of the game for a few years and felt the urge to jump back in.

She said, “I miss the game. I would like to get back into touch with that side of my personality.”

This will be Calkins’ first high-school varsity coaching position. A veteran of 12 years of teaching, Calkins was the softball coach for a year at Mukilteo’s Olympic View Middle School, an assistant track coach and a student-coach at WWU after graduation.

Calkins will be assisted by Denny Zylstra, who was the head coach at Coupeville last year. Zylstra has also led the Skagit Valley Community College and Oak Harbor High School programs.

Calkins said, “I am looking forward to having him back.”

She is also looking forward to working with students outside of the classroom: “It will be nice to see students in a different light, to see a different side of their personalities.”

Coupeville struggled to win games last year and Calkins hopes to start “building more of a foundation” within the program. She is excited that so far nine freshmen have signed up to play.

Calkins, who is in her first year of teaching at Coupeville, grew up in Quilcene. Her husband is in the Navy, and she enjoys being back in Western Washington after five years in California.

She said, “This is the community I want to settle down in.”