Tuesday, May 1, 2001
[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
Play ball! Let the games begin ... again.
Public schools jump back into
action after a long breakBy Jason Kaneshiro
Star-BulletinAfter being sidelined for three weeks by the Hawaii State Teachers Association strike, Oahu Interscholastic Association athletes return to the field and the court today with a full slate of baseball and girls basketball games.
"(The players) are very excited," said Aiea baseball coach Ryan Kato, whose team will face Campbell today in a showdown between two of the OIA West's title contenders. "I guess it built up, from not knowing when the strike would end, if they were even practicing for a reason. And since they see the light at the end of the tunnel ... I think they're all just revved up and ready to go. They're really excited about getting back on the field."
Today's action kicks off a frantic two weeks for Oahu's public schools as they scramble to complete their regular seasons. A total of 54 baseball and 59 girls basketball games will be played over the next 11 days. The eight-team baseball playoffs open May 11, while the girls basketball tournament starts May 12. Baseball teams that had a bye before the strike will end up playing six of the next eight days, and some girls basketball teams will play each of the next four nights.
The track and field season resumes with the OIA West trials tomorrow and Thursday. The OIA division championships are set for Saturday at Kaiser and Mililani. The tennis team championships are tomorrow and the individual championships will be decided May 14.
The athletes returned to practice April 25, the day after the strike was settled and 20 days after their last game. And the highly compressed schedule will put a premium on depth and conditioning.
"Physically you can only do so much in a short period of time," said Castle baseball coach Joe Tom Jr. "But you have to get their mind, their focus and their skills back in shape. Hopefully, we can play longer than two weeks and go to playoffs. And if you can make it to states then hopefully you start re-peaking."
Kato said his team got some help from the community during the strike, as little league coaches and parents went to the field to hit ground balls for the players and organize their workouts.
Having gone the duration of the strike without supervised workouts, the teams' return to practice last week showed the coaches which players took it upon themselves to stay in shape and who decided to take a three-week vacation. McKinley girls basketball coach Jesse Victorino credits his freshman class for organizing voluntary workouts during the strike and keeping the team together in his absence."I think they're back in game shape, they should be ready to go," said Victorino, whose team travels to Moanalua tonight, then takes on Kaiser, Kailua and Kaimuki over the next three nights.
"My younger girls organized everything, and the team rallied around them. They grew up real quick so the team is pretty much together and they look pretty good."
Leilehua coach Buz Vasper said his team also returned to practice united and energized by the resumption of the season. The Mules hit the court tonight as they host Aiea in a matchup of undefeated teams.
"I'm glad we're starting off this way, going right at each other," Vasper said.
"This is pretty exciting to jump in like this. We wouldn't want to do it any other way. This is a great way to get started."
Vasper said his team's preseason schedule, which included three tournaments in a span of a couple of weeks, prepared the Mules for the hectic schedule that awaits them.
"Hopefully that philosophy will be a factor for us in this long stretch," Vasper said. "The depth and the girls being used to being in competition will help us out."
With just eight teams advancing to the postseason instead of the usual 12, and three state tournament berths available to the OIA, the coaches expect the intensity of the regular season to kick up a notch.
"I hurt for the Aieas, the Roosevelts, the Kalaheos who have the senior-laden teams," Victorino said. "My team is young, we'll be around for another two or three years ... I hurt a lot more for a Roosevelt, who's a senior team and they might not be able to make it with that lost seed. It's going to be a real battle, but in a sense it makes it more exciting when you have to work a lot harder to get that seed."
While the strike kept the students out of classes for three weeks, the student-athletes who dedicated themselves to staying in shape learned lessons which will extend beyond sports or schoolwork.
"They understood that at some time in your life you're not going to have people telling you what to do, you have to go out and do it on your own," Kato said.
"And those who took the initiative to do those things, they'll benefit from this for many years to come. Hopefully they learn from this and take the positive stuff out of this crummy situation."
OIA standings
Baseball
East W L T Kaiser 3 0 1 Kailua 3 1 0 Kalaheo 3 1 0 Castle 3 1 1 Roosevelt 3 2 0 Moanalua 3 2 0 Kahuku 2 3 0 Kalani 2 3 0 Kaimuki 2 3 0 McKinley 0 4 0 Farrington 0 4 0 WEST W L T Aiea 3 0 0 Mililani 4 1 0 Campbell 3 1 0 Pearl City 3 1 0 Waianae 3 1 0 Radford 1 2 0 Nanakuli 1 3 0 Leilehua 1 3 0 Waipahu 1 4 0 Waialua 0 4 0
Girls basketball
EAST W L Farrington 4 0 Kalaheo 4 0 McKinley 3 1 Moanalua 2 1 Kahuku 2 2 Roosevelt 2 2 Kaimuki 2 3 Castle 1 2 Kaiser 1 2 Kalani 0 3 Kailua 0 5 WEST W L Leilehua 4 0 Nanakuli 4 0 Aiea 3 0 Radford 3 1 Mililani 3 2 Pearl City 2 2 Campbell 2 3 Waianae 0 4 Waipahu 0 4 Waialua 0 5
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