Veteran Falcons To Play Kailua
By Jack Danilewicz
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As Myles Arakawa and his Kalani girls soccer team prepare for a key Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East encounter with Kailua Saturday, one theme runs through the team - the need to start fast.
“I don’t believe in turning it on during a game,” said Arakawa, whose team tied Kaiser (1-1) and beat Kalaheo (4-0) to open league play.“Sometimes that switch is not there. You have to practice how you’re going to play, and you have to play like you practice. That’s the hardest thing for the kids, and they hear it and hear it from us.”
If anything, the Falcons’first two league encounters showed their dayto-day battle with playing with a sense of urgency.Against Kaiser,“it took us a full half for the kids to buy in,in terms of transferring what they learned in practice to the game,” Arakawa said.
“The Kalaheo game was a step toward that.We defended them well, and we were able to play everyone. It was a good game all-around.”
Arakawa is in his first year as the girls coach, having been the boys coach the past three seasons. He departs the boys program with work well done, having led them to a second-place finish in the state tour-ney last year. Having already been a coach at the school has helped to make for a smooth transition, he said.
“It’s definitely a lot easier than if I’d come in brand new,” said Arakawa, who led the Iolani boys team to state championships in 1997 and 2000. “It took the boys three years to get to where they’re at, and the girls are on the same course. Hopefully, it will take less than three years to get up to speed.”
Although early in the season, Saturday’s game with Kailua figures to be an important matchup for the Falcons. Under its coach Wil Kimura, Kailua has made the state tournament nine times.The current Surfriders are heavy with under-classmen,however,while the Falcons will counter with a veteran team.
“We’re a senior team - they’ve been through a lot during their time here - and we expect them to lead by example or vocally,“Arakawa said of his veterans.“Some days it’s one, and another day it’s a different girl, which is good. We’re still working on being a team. The most refreshing thing is that they learn and listen.”
In Arakawa’s view, the Falcons’ greater chore in the coming weeks will be to fine-tune their ability to think the game.
“We have to work more on the mental aspect of the game,” said Arakawa,who is assisted by Kari Ann Hata.“We’re not a physically imposing team; we won’t run by people. We want our players to be able to understand and read a situation a certain way, and we’re hoping all 11 players see it the same way.
“So far so good - we think we’re making progress.”
As the Falcons prepare for Kailua, much emphasis is on their conversion from offense to defense and from defense to offense.As was the case prior to their first two games.
“Our attitude is that when we have the ball, we want everyone on offense, and when we’re on defense, everyone is on defense,” Arakawa said.“Our fullbacks are actually some of our best offensive players.Against Kalaheo, we transitioned quickly. When we got the ball, we were on the attack quickly. No matter who we play, it is going to come down to how well we execute what we do.”
On the heels of the Kailua game, the Falcons will follow with road games against Castle Dec. 12 and Moanalua Dec. 15.
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