Mustangs Are Kicking It Like Crazy
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usWith the OIA boys soccer schedule more akin to a sprint than a marathon, Mustang head coach John Nakagawa scheduled his preseason accordingly with eight games packed into a short period of time.
Simulating how the OIA Red slate will be for his players wasn’t his only consideration, however.
“It’s a new team,” said Nakagawa, whose team’s regular season will be completed by Jan. 29. “I would-n’t say it is a rebuilding year, but more of a transition year for us. Of our 25 players, 15 are underclassmen - freshmen or sophomores - and among the upperclassmen, we also have a lot of first-year players. It’s going to take a number of games to find out our team’s identity.
“We scheduled more pre-season games than usual because we thought it would be good for this year’s team to get on the field and learn to play with each other. We’re progressing nicely.”
Nakagawa is hoping his holistic approach will pay dividends down the road as well. At the beginning, Kalaheo hosted a players’ clinic for community youths through the Kailua section of AYSO, where the varsity team tutored 10-12-year olds. Nakagawa called the clinic “one of the building blocks for this year’s team.”
“It was a hands-on clinic - our boys were doing the coaching, and they were running things. We always tell our boys that when you’re a varsity soccer player, you don’t just represent yourselves, but the school, which is part of the community. We want them to serve the community they represent. We think that’s so important.”
Another by-product of the clinic was the promotion of team unity in the process, according to Nakagawa.
The early returns from on-field investments have also been positive, as Nakagawa’s team opened its OIA season with a work-manlike 2-0 win over Kalani last week. On the heels of that contest, it was to play Moanalua over the weekend before a Wednesday road game at 7:15 p.m. against neighboring Kailua. The Surfriders were promoted to Division I this season following a noteworthy run in DII the past two years. (The Mustangs and the Surfriders also will meet Jan. 15 at Kalaheo as part of the home-and-home format in the Red.)
While keeping an eye on its rivals, Kalaheo is taking care of its own business, given its unique makeup of under- and upperclassmen.
“Our strength right now is the ability of players to learn what we’re trying to put into place,” said Nakagawa, whose staff includes assistant coaches Blair Hannah and Jack Cornell. “As we’ve been going through our preseason and the beginning of the regular season, that’s starting to kick in. Our coaches and players are learning what works for us.
“Team play will be important for us. We’ll depend on everybody this year. We mention to the kids all the time how essential the reserves are to the team. They’re vital. Being a young team, we have a lot of players to bring along. Our training session and practices are important.”
Kalaheo follows up Wednesday’s game at Kailua with a home game versus Kaiser at 4 p.m. Saturday.
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