Aiea Volleyball Coach Follows In Her Father’s Footsteps
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usThe impact the late Richard “Longy"Okamoto had on the local volleyball community is never more visible than perhaps during the prep post-season.
With the New City Nissan boys volleyball state championships set to take place this week, it’s easily a time of reflection for his daughter, Aiea coach Erin Okamoto Coker.
Between the girls state tournament last week, and this week’s event, a number of Longy Okamoto’s former players took teams deep into the post-season, including Lee Ann Satele (Word of Life girls), Blythe Yamamoto (Aiea girls) and Stephanie Shota (Pearl City girls), among others.
Nowhere is his presence stronger than within Aiea’s born-again boys program. Na Ali’i, which captured their first league title in 33 years when they won the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Western Division title in 2005, are making a second straight appearance in the state tournament, and much of Okamoto Coker’s approach to leading her team comes from the concepts she learned from her father.
“We still leave a seat open for him - there’s always an open seat to the right of me (during matches),” said Coker of her father, who passed away in 1995. “If a boy comes out of the game and sits there, hopefully he (her late father) is giving a little something extra to them to get through,” she added with a laugh. “Although a lot of these guys aren’t old enough to remember my dad.”
Longy Okamoto was a longtime coach at McKinley, as well as the founder and leader of the Kamali’i Manaloa Volleyball Club. His defensive mind-set and insistence that his players learn all of the positions remains a staple for Coker and the Aiea boys program.
“Our offense is always something that comes around later (than the defense),” Coker said. “If you can’t dig the ball (on defense first), then you can’t run your offense.
“(Additionally,) we’ve never had people to work with,” she added on the subject of her defense-first approach.
Aiea’s ability to use varying lineups should aid their cause this week, as academic issues will sideline three of Coker’s players, leaving Na Ali’i to dress just eight players.Aiea was to face Konawaena in Monday’s first-round game, with the outcome of that encounter to determine whether they’ll be in the winners’ or losers’ bracket this week.
The state title game is set for 7;30 p.m. Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii campus.
“Our strength is our versatility,” Coker said.“Because they can play all over, we can move them to wherever we need them. (With three girls missing this week) it’s a good thing the kids are so versatile, and it’s good we’ve had a week off (since the last match) to iron out the glitches, since we’ll have a new lineup.”
Na Ali’i are led by seniors Pili Taitin and Keali’i Aleaga. Both represent the only members of Aiea’s 2005 team that finished third in the state tournament.
“We’re asking a lot more of them this time,” Coker said of the pair. “I’ve told them they need to come out ready to play, and let’s hope it’s this week. They have a lot of responsibility - we need leadership from them because the others are first-year players.”
Na Ali’i also boast Norton Jae Bolibol, Daniel Oshiro, Derrick Rabaino, Ryan Santiago, Randy Bautista and Henry Jarman.
As was the case before the Waianae game for the DII OIA Championship Nov. 1, Na Ali’i had several days off before Monday’s state tournament opener for some “fine tuning.”
Pairings for the tournament weren’t announced until late last week, but Coker downplayed the fact that she had little time to prepare her team specifically for Konawaena’s tendencies.
“It’s up to the boys now,” she said. “We’ve taught them all we know. On the court, it’s all about what they’ve learned. They’re maturing, and that’s all we need. Sooner or later, they start thinking the way you want them to.”
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