Can you talk about a season in the past that you remember the most from your time at HPA?
There’s a lot of them. It’s hard not to look at 2014 when we won the first state title. We had a couple of great teams before that too. But just having that final breakthrough group I still keep in touch with a lot of the girls now. We all have good memories of that but the 2014 team just kind of cracked through here.
Can you tell us a bit about how you became a coach at HPA?
Going way back, I came out of college as a math teacher and always loved athletics and wanted to get into coaching. I was the head baseball coach for about 10 years and assistant soccer coach from Day 1. We had a guy here, Frank Lawrence, and I learned a lot from him in the two years and after he retired when I took over in the boys program.
What should a new player expect before they walk on that field to be coached under you?
Hopefully, you have some fun. Soccer is a great sport and you have to have a passion for it. Girls work hard, which is rewarding as a coach. Just yesterday we got to practice very hard and the girls had a great attitude the whole time. Always being in good shape and working hard in the game is another expectation. Staying unselfish is important too. We try to incorporate everybody, from freshmen to seniors.
You’ve built a strong athletic program over your time here. After all those years of coaching and being an athletic director balancing that. What were some of the accomplishments of balancing that and all those championships would you say BIIF State Tournament?
As the saying goes, the journey is really the most rewarding part of our 14-week season we have every year. The group at the end of the year in February is usually a lot closer, a lot more friendships with girls that maybe they didn’t have a friendship with before which carries on over the years. It’s always the relationships that you get from being part of a team that are special.
What do you hope players take away from being the Ka Makani girls soccer team?
Friendship is truly a part of it. Whether it’s soccer or baseball, football or whatever really. In a sport you share a common period of time together, where you busted your butt for a common goal. Whether you reached it or not, just going into that battle is the memory they’re going to get. I’m sure a lot of the girls talk about this game or that game. Other times when they connect later in the years after they graduate. I’m sure they also talked about a practice or our traveling to Arizona or a trip down to Ka’u where we stayed over at Volcano for the night. It really is not the game. It’s just the relationships and the time together the girls spend.
Who do you draw inspiration from as a coach? Is there something that you look up to as a mentor?
I’ve done a lot of learning over the years. Anson Dorrance from North Carolina women’s soccer has his own little dynasty there. He won 20 titles in 30 years, which is insane to think about. I have a really good friend on Oahu, Chris McLachlin, who coached at Punahou for years. He’s a great sports psychologist type of person who helped a number of the teams, including us. Just going outside of just the X’s and O’s is how you connect with each other.
What is your favorite soccer team outside of HPA’s program?
The US Women probably. I’ve always enjoyed watching them come up and they’ve been one of the driving forces of women’s soccer in the world. One time, we went to British Columbia when the women made it to the final and we were all there at that final game. Then my wife and I went to the Olympics in Atlanta when the women won back in 1996. We went, I took a team — not an HPA team, but a Big Island team — to the Women’s World Cup final in 1999 when they won the first one. We were there in the stands for 8 hours and it was 95 degrees. It was a blast.
Can you tell us a little bit about your hopes and dreams for girls soccer at HPA?
Hopefully, continue the flow that we have. Not just winning state titles, but being competitive. That’s all I want — to be competitive for any game we walk on the field for.
And I may have a lot fewer days in the future than I have in the past here. So, eventually finding the right person to turn the reins over to would be great too.
What are some of the core values that you’ve instilled in your coaching to help your players improve?
We talked about not making excuses. Just being honest with yourself is the biggest thing. Questioning yourself. Were you on time today? Or did you have some excuse that you’re using to be late? Are you preparing yourself to get better? Every day, one of the things I say at every practice is “Let’s get better today.” I just try to keep it simple. Being honest with yourself helps the whole team. If we all do that, I know we’re getting better.
You have had four children go through HPA from kindergarten to graduation. For you as a coach and athletic director, what is the balance between sports and life off the field?
My kids definitely fell in love with their sports in their own way. I never pushed soccer on them, but they all ended up really enjoying soccer, as well as other sports. We never talk about soccer at home. Even though all three of the girls were captains at one time, we never talked about sports at home. We tried to separate that and I think that probably helped our relationship both in a father-daughter dynamic and coach-player.
HPA is a small school that has done historically well in girls soccer, winning seven state titles. Is there a secret to the success?
Just having good kids. I think continuity helps too, sometimes that it recruits itself and word of mouth of our programs. When the kids come up here, the first thing I always ask is, “Are you a good student?” Because they got to do the rigors of our classroom too.
Continuity is always good to me. If you look at the program — whether it be Mr. Wawner’s with basketball or Mr. Noetzel with swimming — it’s been a long time with the great programs here. It helps bring the kids in to know what to expect.
Do you ever miss being a math teacher?
Yes, I do. Just in the sense of not being able to see the students more during the day. I mean, I love what I do but being the athletic director takes up the majority of my day. But also just seeing other players in geometry was kind of fun. You get to connect with them in a different way.