Coaching Both Water Polo And Swim Teams Paying Off
By Jack Danilewicz
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Hurricanes water polo girls (pictured) go up against
Moanalua and Mililani this week. Photo from Dexter
Lee.
If the Kapolei girls water polo team closely resembles its swim team, it’s definitely by design, to hear Hurricanes coach Dexter Lee tell it.
“Most of the girls swim (for the girls swim team) too,and that’s huge for us,” said Lee, who is also Kapolei’s girls swim coach.“Unlike most coaches, I don’t have to worry about conditioning the first two months of the season. We’re able to work on our water polo skills. I have a big advantage over guys who don’t (coach both sports at their school).”
In Oahu Interscholastic Association circles, Lee’s current team is regarded as among those “on the rise,“along with Mililani and Castle. Kapolei went 12-4 against OIA competition last year and qualified for the state tournament for the first time in the program’s history. Kahuku and Roosevelt have dominated the league since the sport’s official inception in 2001, finishing first and second, respectively, each of the past four years.
“Kahuku and Roosevelt are the cream of the crop, but this year, the third spot is wide open,” said Lee. “We’re looking forward to playing the better teams. Last year, we had our highest finish - we hadn’t been to the state tournament before - but I think this is the best team we’ve had here. Hopefully, we can make more of a dent in the state tournament this year.”
For the present, the Hurricanes enter the more critical portion of their OIA schedule this week with games against Moanalua on Wednesday and Mililani on Friday at Central Oahu Regional Park.Both encounters begin at 4:45 p.m. and could go a long way in determining the Hurricanes’ fate this spring. Kapolei took a 3-1 record into the weekend, with its only loss coming from Roosevelt.
To date, the Hurricanes’ rotation has centered around four key returnees - Ashlei Salas-Selem, Nicole Hagi, Shantel Chong and Alexandria Jamora.
“Ashlei and Nicole have been playing together for three years now, so they’re in tune with each other’s movements,” Lee said. “In the water, they’re like sisters. At crunch time, it’s your leaders in the water that make a difference, and our two stack up pretty well (against the competition).
“Shantel is one of those ‘life success stories,‘“he said.“Two years go, she weighed over 200 pounds and couldn’t swim. Now she’s in two sports (swimming and polo), and she’s one of our better swimmers and better players.”
Lee has been preaching day-today progress. The state tournament is set for May 10-12 at Central Oahu Regional Park,giving the Hurricanes about five weeks to hit their stride.
“Everyone has to improve on their skills,” he said. “Our leadership needs to improve, too, but I think we’re on the right track. Our strength is the swimming part.We’re pretty quick, and we can beat people back (down the pool) on defense. Our girls get in and out of positions really quick. We still have our lapses, but if we can keep playing defense like we have been, we can shut most people down.”
Although the Hurricanes are without their own pool, the program has benefited from the generosity of Hawaiian Adventures Water Park, which allows the team to practice at the facility daily. Lee’s assistant coach, Jason Fife, is operations director at the park.
“The support they’ve given us is unprecedented,“said Lee,whose staff also includes Krislin Young. “Without them, we probably could-n’t even field a team.”
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