Talking Softball With Veteran Coach Howard Okita

Del.icio.us

Coach Howard Okita on the field for weekly maintenance. Photo from HPU Sports Information Office.

When HPU brought home the Division II National Championship in women’s softball , no one was more elated than longtime head coach and current assistant Howard Okita.

After 17 years with the program, Okita is the face of the Sea Warriors, having compiled a sparkling 633-279-3 record, including three seasons at Hawaii Loa College from 1988-‘91. (Okita’s Kailua High teams also won five state softball titles in the 1980s.)

A lifelong Kailua resident, he recently took time away from sports and family to talk with MidWeek‘s Windward Islander.

How has it been the last few weeks since winning the national championship? Has it sunk in yet? It’s been a really fun ride for us as well as the team. The girls performed really well up there. We had a lot of freshmen, and we felt like it would take us some time (to develop), but they surprised everyone. We’re very proud of them.

Most people know that HPU’s home field in Kaneohe bears your name. What many might not realize is that you literally built the field with friends. What are your recollections of that project? (Then-athletic director) Albert Minn more or less recruited me in 1988 to coach at Hawaii Loa (which merged with HPU five years later). We had less than 500 students then, I think. I always told him he would have to build me a field first. With the help of his contacts and my contacts, and with money from Mr. (Chatt) Wright (HPU president), we finally got it laid out in 1991 and finished in the summer of ‘92. We had a lot of help from volunteers - Hawaiian Dredging was one of the companies that helped. Our players also helped, pulling weeds, removing rocks ... We planted 220 Norfolk pine trees behind and around the field then. They started in one-gallon cans, and now they are over 40 feet high.

What’s more difficult - building a softball field or winning a national title? Both were a great experience. Winning a national championship is something that doesn’t come around that often. We won one in 1991 (at the NAIA level as Hawaii Loa College), and it took another 19 years to win another one.

When did you know you wanted to be a coach? I’d say after I started coaching in Kailua American Little League in 1963. I coached there for 12 years before moving on (to the prep and college levels).

Who do you consider to be your mentor in coaching? I’d say (retired longtime Kailua High head coach) Bernard Victor. We played a lot of fast-pitch softball together right after the war. He’s the softball master or guru here.

What’s your earliest sports-related memory? Growing up in Kailua, we didn’t really have many organized youth sports then. We played basketball in church leagues, and we had touch football at Kailua Intermediate. We used to play against Kaneohe and Waimanalo (intermediate schools). Football was one of the big sports we had.

Who has had the biggest impact on your life? My wife Nina. She allowed me to coach all of these years. We have three daughters and five grandchildren.

How do you spend your off-field time? With family. It’s why I stepped down two years ago to let Bryan (Nakasone) be the head man. I also wanted to watch my granddaughter (former Kamehameha standout and current East Carolina player Charina Sumner) finish up her (prep) career.

What is the one thing you cannot live without in your daily life? Probably watching my grandchildren grow up. The youngest is 8, and the oldest is 21.

If you could have only one TV channel, what would it be? I watch every channel almost every night - especially the sports. I always watch Kanoa Leahey on (KHON) 2. He used to be our announcer (for HPU softball).