Snohomish County sports
There's plenty to say about player

By Greg Bishop
Times Snohomish County reporter

	MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES Lynnwood High School athlete Molly Hunsinger is "the most humble person ever," a teammate says.

LYNNWOOD — For the sake of time, don't let Coach get started on Molly Hunsinger.

Or at least let Jean Kellogg take a deep breath. Grab a cup of coffee. Notify your next of kin. Are you sitting down?

Quite simply, the Lynnwood senior is a coach's dream. The 3.8 grade-point average culled from honors and advanced-placement classes. The constant flashing of those pearly whites. The letters in volleyball (first-team All-WesCo), basketball (second team) and tennis.

But please, watch yourself on this one. Everybody loves talking about Hunsinger except, well, Hunsinger. Don't let Kellogg get started. One question prompted a 392-second, 616-word monologue the other day. No joke. Here are the best parts:

"Molly is the perfect scholar-athlete," the Lynnwood volleyball coach starts. "It's very hard to start trying to describe her, to be honest with you."

Give us your best shot, coach.

"She's a rock. She's the foundation of our team. I've coached for 17 years, and she's the most complete player I've ever coached. She's very humble. She's a leader. She's just Molly."

Anything else?

"She does everything to keep the attention off of her. She's the first to high-five, the first to pick somebody up. They always say there's no 'I' in team. I keep thinking if they could put the word 'team' in 'Molly,' they should. She means as much to this team as Steve Largent meant to the Seahawks."

But coach ...

"She does a camp at the Alderwood Boys & Girls Club. They idolize her, they emulate her, they want to be just like her. When I told the team that the newspaper was coming today, two of the freshman said, 'Before Molly leaves here, we should get her autograph.' And they were serious."

Really?

"It's so important for kids to identify. Here, there's no one better for them to identify with. You like to say you made the player, but this player made herself. I've had coaches come up to me and ask me if they could trade for Molly. Absolutely not."

Pause. Kellogg takes a deep breath. She smiles.

"I guess there's plenty to say about Molly after all."

Hunsinger could make everyone sick to their stomachs. That she doesn't is part of her charm.

"You can't get mad at Molly," teammate Kelsey Ayres says. "She's the most humble person ever."

Hunsinger hates all of this. Her face reddens with each question. "Molly's bashful look," Kellogg calls it. Hunsinger compliments her teammates. She begs off questions about herself.

But we have to know: When was the last time somebody got mad at her?

"Do my parents count?" Hunsinger asks, still smiling.

There's Kellogg again, spinning Hunsinger stories. There was the time a couple weeks ago when they got together to film a video for colleges, and Hunsinger nailed every segment in one take. Kellogg wanted her to make a mistake so it wouldn't look rehearsed.

There's the aunt who is dying of cancer, the second in her family with a brain tumor, the cousin who Hunsinger befriended during this trying time and the extra responsibilities she covers in the household while her mother tends to the aunt's health.

"I'm just amazed at how well she's doing," Kellogg says before reconsidering. "But then again, it's Molly. So nothing should surprise me anymore."