Kahuku Coach Faced With ‘Problem’ Of 120 Eager To Play

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The Kailua Gold AYSO U10 Boys Select team won the Kirk Banks tournament for their age group this year. They are (from left) little sister Jhordan Felipe, coach George Felipe, Ryan Bullard, Bryson Soares, Jagyr Catobus, Colin Kubota, Jhonah Felipe, referee Dale Jensen, Allen Brown, Makani Stormont and Chad Sanehira. Photo from Lee Stormont.

For all the collective athleticism on its rosters through the years, Kahuku’s football teams have always thrived on toughness. With that in mind, coach Reggie Torres more than welcomed last week’s spring workouts, which enabled his team to go with full contact drills.

“You get to see their true colors,” Torres said. “They can look good in shorts and a T-shirt, but you have to see them hit, and you have to see who can move in pads. It’s about football speed.”

The Red Raiders were to close out spring practice Monday night with their annual spring scrimmage, having conducted 10 sessions over the last two weeks as allotted by the OIA. Spring sessions lead into the 7-on-7 pass leagues and summer conditioning and weight training with fall camp officially set to open July 29. At Kahuku, the five days of spring drills in which the OIA allows contact take on added importance in that the staff has so many kids to evaluate. In all, 120 players went through spring drills, making for an ultra-competitive atmosphere during practices.

“We’re having battles for playing time at every position, so we’re excited,” said Torres, whose team finished 6-3 last year. “Nothing is handed to you here. You have to show you can play.”

Among the positions far from settled coming out of spring is quarterback, where Torres is looking to replace last year’s starter, Jray Galeai. A senior-to-be, and one of the top recruits in the state’s class of 2009, Galeai is moving more exclusively to safety this spring - the position he’s most likely to play in college - although he will remain a return specialist for punts and kickoffs.

Last week, Galeai was named one of four Hawaii finalists who could possibly receive an invite to the Army All-American Bowl East-West All-Star game in San Antonio, Texas, next January. The list of players, which hail from all over the country, was recently trimmed from 4,000 to 400, with Galeai making the cut. The final 84 will be invited to play in the All-Star game, based on their senior seasons this fall.

“Now all he needs is a great (senior) season,” joked Torres, who led Kahuku to a state championship in his first year as head coach in 2006.

Kahuku opened spring with seniors Allen Kubota and Siatima Tapusoa expected to take most of the repetitions behind center, but junior Sage Kaka also has entered the mix in the past few weeks, making it a three-way battle for starter.

“It’s a tight battle - it will depend on the summer (workouts and camp),” Torres said. “Both Allen and Tima have some of the same qualities. They’re both picking up their reads. Allen is a little faster, and Tima has a little stronger arm. One thing we always look for (in a quarterback) is a person who wants the ball in his hand when we’re in the fourth quarter and we have to have a drive, and both of them have that.

“Sage is a little taller (at 6-foot) than the other two, and he has shown some grace under pressure - he’s shown poise in the pocket.”

With a host of returnees on offense, the team hopes to be more diverse than in past years, according to their coach.“We’ve tweaked the offense (in spring) and added some wrinkles, and the kids are adapting to it. We’re able to try some different things, which is exciting, and they’ve done a better job of focusing.

“We’re progressing well - maybe better than expected,” he added.“Our kids are getting a better understanding of what’s required as a program, and we’re seeing them buy in now.”