Pearl City Baseball’s New Coach
By Jack Danilewicz
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New Pearl City varsity baseball coach Gary Nakamoto likes to say that he’ll be a rookie next spring alongside his fellow Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division colleagues, but his success within the baseball community is well known.
A 26-year veteran of Little League coaching in the Pearl City area, and the Chargers’ junior varsity coach for the past 15 years, Nakamoto was the obvious choice when he was tapped by Pearl City to be its new coach recently. He succeeds Mel Seki, who retired in style after 15 seasons this past spring by leading Pearl City to the OIA title in addition to a runner-up finish to Punahou in the Wally Yonamine Foundation State Baseball Tournament.
“It’s a tough act to follow, but I’m excited,” said Nakamoto, who was brought in by Seki in 1993 to lead the Chargers’ JV program.“It’s a new challenge. Pearl City is definitely a baseball community. The competition is greater at the varsity level, so it will be a different challenge.”
While he will step up a level, Nakamoto already knows about the kind of pressure situations that come with coaching in the West, where little separates the first-place team from the last. In the summers of 2005 and 2006, he led Pearl City to back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Little League World Series in Bangor, Maine in the 15 to 16-year-old division. Many of the players from those teams were on Pearl City’s OIA title team last May.
“It’s hard to go one time,” said Nakamoto. “To go a second time was a real accomplishment.”
Nakamoto’s hiring will ensure a smooth transition for Pearl City’s varsity program, in light of his 15 years of experience at the junior varsity level.
“Most of the boys who went through the varsity program went through us first,” Nakamoto said. “I also coach a lot of these kids in outside leagues before they get to Pearl City. Some of them I’ve coached when they were in the sixth grade. It should (all) make for an easier transition for us.”
Assistant coaches Kyle Hirayama, Myron Tamura and Kawa Kawamura fill out Nakamoto’s staff. All three were on his staff when he was the Chargers’ JV coach.
At every level he has coached, “discipline” has been the base of Nakamoto’s philosophy.
“We try to stress it at all times,” he said.“We set rules for the boys no matter their ability - whether they’re the star (or not) ...”
In Nakamoto’s view, “pitching is the key in high school baseball.
“It makes a big difference,” he added.“Of course, you need good defense and some offense, but I’d rather be able to keep the score down.”
After the team’s success last spring, expectations have never been higher for the Chargers. Pearl City’s tradition has always been strong, with OIA titles in 1991 and ‘99 included on its resume.
“Our first goal is always to make the (OIA) playoffs,” said Nakamoto. “From there, we take it a step at a time.”
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