District I Pitchers Are Game-Ready

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In the all-important area of cohesiveness, Steve Van Ness’s District One Big League Team (16-18) can only be considered a step ahead of the pack. Indeed, unlike many all-star teams whose members come from a number of communities and who are together for only a short time, District One features a roster - almost entirely of players from Kahaluu - that has been together for five years.

“I like that they’ve played together for most of their lives - they know each other real well, and they love the game,” Van Ness said. “I’ve coached most of them for five years now, so they’ve been with me awhile. It’s a good group of kids, very respectful. Coming from Kalaheo, Castle and Pac-Five (among others), they’ve all played for good coaches at their schools, so my job is easy.”

While District One covers the area ranging from Kailua to Kahuku, Van Ness has been able to find enough talent right in Kahaluu, as the team proved last summer when it went 10-2 during its regular season. District One followed that with a riveting post-season run that saw them advance all the way to the state title game, where they were defeated by host Hilo. Unlike Hilo, which had a roster dominated by college players, District One had a lineup consisting entirely of high school players, making their playoff run all the more noteworthy.

“They were a step up above everyone else,” Van Ness said of Hilo.

This summer, Van Ness will have “four or five” college players of his own in the fold to go with a talented lineup of high school players. As of late last week, the team was still assembling for the summer, with several en route back from attending college on the Mainland. With a limited roster, District One had lost all three games, as only regulars Richard Preza-Haynes and Stevenj Van Ness have been regularly in a lineup supplemented by newcomers. Both players are among eight returning starters from last season.

“Richard is very fast - he could very well be our lead-off hitter - and he can play the infield or any of the outfield positions,” Van Ness said.

Both Preza-Haynes and Steven Van Ness are coming off of stellar seasons on the mound this spring with Kalaheo and Kahuku, respectively, and should contribute big for DI. They’ll add to an already deep staff that will also feature Ian Padeken (PAC-5), Bryan Raines (Castle), Royce Diaz (Castle ‘07) and

Bubba Ching (Kamehameha ‘07) among others.

“We have several pitchers, so we should always have someone game-ready,” Van Ness said. All of them can throw in the 80s, so pitching should be a strength.”

Kris Kahanu and Coby Agres are also returning starters for District One, having both finished solid seasons for Castle recently. Agres will be DI’s catcher as well as a part-time third baseman. R.J. Van Ness, the coach’s nephew and a First Team All-Conference selection for Kahuku this past spring, also returns to the team. District One will play a 12-game season in preparation for the state tournament, which will take place July 4-6 in Hilo. Because DI is the only team in its district, it automatically earns a berth to the state tourney. The winner of the Hawaii state tournament will earn a berth in the Western Regionals at a site most likely to be in Salem, Ore. Regional winners advance to the Little League World Series in Florida in August.

“Get off the island - that’s our first goal, to make the regionals in Oregon,” Van Ness said. “That would get us into the travel mode, and all kids love to travel.”