Mustangs Engage In Team-building Community Service
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usFor Kalaheo boys soccer coach John Nakagawa, the road to on-field success begins off the field.
The Mustangs’ on-field accomplishments were certainly of note last season, but the second-year coach’s holistic approach is firmly in place this pre-season. With that in mind, Kalaheo spent the first Saturday of its busy pre-season volunteering at the American Youth Soccer Association’s Sportsmanship Festival, which was held recently at Kailua District Park.
“We saw it as a good opportunity to provide community service and to serve as mentors to the younger kids,” said Nakagawa. “We were proud of our boys.”
Last season, when the Mustangs completed an unbeaten regular season (7-0-3), there was plenty to be proud of within the boys soccer program. The end result was a healthy turnout at the Mustangs’ recent try-outs. Twenty-seven players will dress for Kalaheo this weekend when they take part in the Moanalua Thanksgiving Pre-Season Tournament. The pre-requisite for the making of the Mustang team was, first and foremost, a commitment to being a solid citizen.
“We don’t look at success just in terms of wins,” Nakagawa said. “Are we playing together? Are we improving? Are we working hard? Do we have team players?
We wanted to instill that in our team last year because it was our first year here. This year, we want to build on that. Although it’s early, already this year elements of that (mind-set) are in place, and we hope that can grow.”
Kalaheo returned just four seniors from last year’s team, but “we have a real solid core group of sophomores and juniors,” according to Nakagawa. The Mustangs also figure to benefit from their coaching staff, having come out of the transition year that always goes hand-in-hand with any coaching change. Nakagawa’s staff, which includes assistants Ian Onizuka, Eric Carter and Ona and Kalei Byers, has remained intact.
“It’s impossible to do anything without help, and their commitment and dedication have been wonderful,” Nakagawa said. “We’re a lot more comfortable (as a staff) here. Things are easier. The returnees are familiar with our style of play and our coaching staff now.”
The fact that there is no junior varsity boys soccer program in the OIA also prompted Nakagawa to keep a large roster for the upcoming season.
“We kept more than usual with the intent of having them develop,” he said. “We see a lot of potential in our younger players. It looks like we’ll have a hardworking dedicated group of student-athletes that want to do their best. We’ll play a lot of pre-season games. We’re working on team chemistry, which is a priority. On the soccer side, playing a lot of (pre-season) games will give us a good opportunity to find the right combinations.”
Kalaheo will meet Campbell at noon on Friday at Waipio Soccer Park in the first round of the aforementioned Moanalua Tournament. The Mustangs’ opponents for Saturday and Sunday will be determined by the outcome of the Campbell encounter. Kalaheo opens its regular season Dec. 8, when the Mustangs play host to the Kaiser High School Cougars.
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