Hurricanes Keep Competitive Edge In Soccer Preseason
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usThe Kapolei boys soccer team won’t have to wait until its OIA West Conference season to enter an ultra-competitive environment. The Hurricanes are being put to the test - individually and collectively - every day in practice, to hear coach Bryce Kaneshiro tell it.
“It will be very competitive within our own team. There’s competition to wear a jersey, competition to get playing time, and competition to be a starter. It all helps us to be competitive on the field.”
Depth also helps, and the Hurricanes figure to have plenty of that with 34 boys currently on its varsity roster. Kaneshiro attributed the large turnout to a growing Kapolei community as well as the extra interest generated by the Hurricanes’ OIA title run in 2006. Of the 34 players, eight are freshmen.
“We’ve learned in the past that if the freshmen stay in the program for a year, even if they’re not playing (a lot), they get accustomed to varsity soccer. We see a lot of talent in the freshmen. They just lack size, speed and (game) experience right now.”
As the Hurricanes prepare for the 2007-08 season, they’ll nevertheless be calling on veterans to lead the way. In four-year starter Justin Malvar and senior transfer Micah Uehara Kapolei figures to have two of the better players around, in Kaneshiro’s view.
“I think they’re two of the top five players in the state, individual talent-wise,“said Kaneshiro, whose team finished 3-5-3 last year in its follow-up season to the 2006 OIA title. “Micah will give us the 1-2 punch we haven’t had here in a couple of years. They grew up playing together.
“Justin will play anywhere that we need him. He’s experienced at playing at different levels. He has vast knowledge of the game, and he’s well-known and respected. He’s seen by other teams as a threat.”
As was the case last year, the Hurricanes will put their stock in the defense early on. Kaneshiro also is expecting a big year from junior defender William Wren, who transferred from Punahou between his freshman and sophomore years.
“He was our sweeper last year, and now he’s a lot more experienced,” he said. “He’ll be counted on to anchor the defense along with Justin. We’ll have to have a very good defensive corps this year. We have a lot of juniors and seniors there, and we have guys who can step in on the defensive side.”
Kaneshiro also sees sophomore mid-fielder Kainoa Ke’a as an impact player. “He’s another guy like Micah and Justin. He has a good feel for the game - good sense and good vision. He puts himself in the right places at the right time.”
Among Kapolei’s offensive priorities this early season is to finish plays. Indeed, Kapolei gave up 17 goals last year in OIA play, but was hard-pressed to produce, offensively, tallying just 13 times.
“That was our problem last year - we had a hard time scoring. With the addition of Micah, we assume that’s going to change. He cannot only score himself, but he can create a lot of opportunities for others, and we have a lot of others who are goal-hungry.”
One of the by-products of “rebuilding years,” such as Kapolei endured last season, is that the game experience accumulated pays off the following year. Kaneshiro is hoping that’s the case this season.
“Because we were rebuilding, these guys had significant playing time. They know how it is to be on the field. We talk about last year only as motivation to strive for bigger and better things.
“We all feel we can get back there,” he added, referring to the OIA title. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work and team chemistry.”
Kapolei continues its preseason schedule at 6 p.m. Friday with a home date against Farrington. Saturday, the Hurricanes will host Kauai High at 10 a.m.
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