SHOP AND SCORE!
Thanks to Times, Kraft and Adidas, school athletic programs get a boost in these tough economic times. In recent years it seems we have watched some of our biggest sports stars fall from grace, and with them our belief in the magic of sports fell as well.
By Chad Pata
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last year - and Star had stores on Maui and Kauai - and now that we are on three islands, we felt it was appropriate to bring Shop and Score to all three islands,” says Shintaku.
Because of the Neighbor Islands’ smaller population size and being it’s their first time in the program, the base amount a school will receive was bumped from the $500 Oahu schools start with to $1,000.
The amount of cash the top schools receive is definitely worth the effort. Last year’s top prize went to Castle High School, which took $11,750 into its athletic coffers.
“It helped us out big time,” says Laynie Sueyasu, second-year interim athletic director at Castle. “It allowed us to buy uniforms we otherwise could not have gotten for track and field, tennis and bowling.”
Castle is always among the top point earners in the SAS program, which Sueyasu attributes to its getting the word out to parents and its secret weapon: sending its cheerleaders to the kickoff event at Times.
While Castle takes this proactive approach, Kaimuki took advantage of its geographic location last year to land itself in third place with $6,422.
“We are fortunate we have a few stores in our area, so we do get some points from all of them,” says Fred Lee, Kaimuki athletic director since 2002, who has been coaching there dating back to 1987. “It has allowed us to buy all our volleyball uniforms for girls and boys.”
But it is not just the top earners for which this program makes a difference. In an environment where athletic budgets have been cut by close to 50 percent, every little bit helps.
“Big time, the budget is very limited, especially in the past couple years when the budget has been cut,” says Takamori. “We are all on uniform rotation: Every four years we try to get new uniforms for the sports, and the money we get from Times and Kraft frees up money for other things for the program.”
No matter what their methodology for acquiring points, all the ADs involved steadfastly believe in the importance of athletics to the overall betterment of their students.
“Athletics and academics go hand-in-hand, they need both,” says Lee. “I encourage them to be students first, but in sports they learn teamwork, responsibility, dealing with victory and defeat, learning to be humble in all situations. I think we need more of that.”
As a former high school softball player at Waimea High on Kauai, Castle’s Sueyasu learned firsthand the important impact that sports can have on a young life.
“For the whole well-roundedness of a person, it’s another avenue to learn life skills; it’s a place to excel outside the classroom,” says Sueyasu. “I believe in it because I was a product of it, and it will be sad when the sports aren’t there anymore. I hope it will never happen, but due to our geographic situation, you never know.”
As one of the senior guys around the business, Takamori’s views, while still as passionate, have taken on an almost scientific view of athletics in kids’ lives.
“It’s a lab for teaching of values that help the athletes grow and develop as individuals,” says Takamori, who played football and baseball as a student. “It’s really using academic skills and human relationships, and you are practicing it live on the court and the field - the lessons they learn about teamwork, discipline, don’t-give-up, that sort of thing.”
The program began last Wednesday and runs through Oct. 5. All the details are available at Times, where you’ll find full lists of all the products that will help you earn money toward your school’s athletic goals. And with $200,000 on the line this year, the impact could be huge.
So, as we watch professional athletes and their foibles, let’s not get discouraged at where they got lost, but look back to their roots, where they learned to do things the right way. For the lessons the kids learn on the gridiron or hard court aren’t just how to play a game, but how to live a life.
“Without sports I think we would get more delinquency, kids experimenting with more things because they would not have the guidance that the coaches provide,” says Takamori. “Too much loose time and they will find something to fill up that time. But mostly it is that individual guidance coaches provide that they would be lacking.
“I was just at a 30-year reunion, and those students still remember the lessons they learned here and are using them to raise their kids. It’s a trickle effect.”
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