Young, Naive And Eager To Win A State Tournament
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usIf anything, a little naivete can only serve the Kapolei girls soccer team well this season, figures first-year head coach Brian Beck.
“We’re a young team, so they don’t know any better,” said Beck. “They figure they can beat anybody. They’re just excited to play and very confident.”
The Hurricanes women’s soccer program has never made a state tournament, something they’d like to change this time around. Should Beck’s team realize that goal at season’s end, his program will be well-positioned for the future with one of the youngest rosters in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Western Division. Only three-year letterman Chyanne Alejado is well-seasoned at the varsity level. A senior mid-fielder, she is also the team’s captain.
“Her vision is her strength,“Beck said of Alejado. “On the field, she has the ability to make the girls around her better. We’re a faith-based team, and her leadership on and off of the field is something we’re banking on.”
“Opportunistic” might be the best way to describe the Hurricanes when on the attack.
“Our ability to score quickly is something we hope will separate us from some other teams,” Beck said.“We run a quick offense.We’re definitely not a ‘long-ball team.‘We want the quick strike. We’re good at making that ‘killer last pass.’ “
Kapolei beat Leilehua in its regular-season opener Dec. 1 and was to play Waianae last Friday. This Friday, the Hurricanes host Pearl City (5:30 p.m.) - a game that could significantly impact the West race. As was the case in their win over Leilehua, Beck is hoping the Hurricanes can continue to finish strong on their scoring rushes. He sees Kapolei’s defense as the key to the Hurricanes’ offense.
“Our overall team defense and team speed is something we’ve been working on mostly as well as spreading out in transition.We have some good individual talent.We’re trying to make sure we’re playing together as a team. We’re hoping we can come together as a whole unit. Getting to states is our goal.”
Last season, Kapolei finished third in the West (at 8-2) behind both Pearl City and Mililani and advanced to the OIA’s post-season where they were defeated by Kalani in the first round. Beck was the Hurricanes’junior varsity coach the last four years, making for a smooth transition to the varsity level in that he coached most of the current Kapolei varsity team members the past few years. If he has his way, the Hurricanes will fly largely under the radar this year and be something of a mystery team within their OIA format.
“We want to be the unassuming team (in the West),” he said. “We don’t want to call too much attention to ourselves.”
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