Low-key Summer Soccer Perfect Formula For Kailua

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In the Hawaii High School Summer Soccer League, a relaxed air prevails.

No official score-books are kept, there are no standings recorded, and good sportsmanship is a given.

“We’re very low key in this league,” said Kailua High girls soccer coach Wil Kimura, whose Surfriders are among the 30 teams taking part islandwide.“It’s not too competitive. We just want to have fun with the kids. It’s fun letting players play. We look at it as an instructional league. We want the coaches to be able to work with the players, and it’s in a nice atmosphere. It brings out the spirit of good sportsmanship.”

Such is the charm of the league, which was established 12 years ago by long-time Pearl City coach Frank Baumholtz and which operates under the American Youth Soccer Association banner.

In Kailua’s case, the league also is serving another purpose this summer. It gives Kailua High School’s incoming freshman class the opportunity to get a feel for varsity competition largely without the pressure of performing.

“It’s a good experience for the eighth-graders who are playing high school soccer for the first time to not have the pressure of winning,“Kimura said. “It can be intimidating for them. Playing against Punahou and Iolani is a real eye-opener for them to see the way they move the ball around. It’s important for schools like us that have to play freshman right away so they’re not afraid later. They also get to play with some juniors and seniors.”

Kimura has five incoming freshmen on his summer league roster at present. The Surfriders will be welcoming back a handful of key returnees from last year’s OIA Division II championship team in the late fall, but not all are with the team this summer, allowing plenty of extra playing time for underclassmen.

“It’s really good for the younger players, our freshman, sophomores and juniors. Summer league gives them a lead into next season.”

While not close to the intensity of the regular prep soccer season, the HHSSSL nevertheless provides a glimpse of some of the state’s top programs. The Surfriders had already played Punahou, Iolani, Mid-Pacific, Aiea and Waialua by last weekend.

Kailua finished 11-2 last season, including an appearance at the State Soccer Championships. Among the key returnees expected to be in the lineup are all-conference players Ashley Kanoho, Halissia Luhan-Hanawahine, Taylor Mihara, Sierra Kadooka, Cheyenne Kadooka and Tiffany Nakata, the OIA’s DII Player of the Year last winter.

Nakata and Luhan-Hanawahine are both taking a break this summer, while Mihara, Kanoho and both Kadooka sisters are in the fold.

Kailua plays at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at home.

The Surfriders meet Leilehua this Thursday. Because some schools don’t have a field for “home” use, all 10 of Kailua’s games will be played under the lights of their own field, which is fine with Kimura and his players.

“The field is in great shape, and the kids love playing at night,” he said. “It’s surprising how much the sun takes out of you.”