The heads of each of the nation's 51 prep sports associations will descend upon West Maui this week for the National Federation of State High School Association's 82nd annual Summer Meeting. National convention
for high school
directors on MauiBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency and Maui Marriott Resort and will give the association's executive directors a chance to address the major issues in high school athletics.
"It is a great opportunity to learn about how other states dealt with issues facing us in Hawaii," said Keith Amemiya, executive secretary for the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.
The conference officially opens tomorrow with meetings and workshops. The event closes Sunday night with the federation's Hall of Fame banquet.
Amemiya said a recent NCAA regulation allowing college football games to be held on Fridays will be among the hot topics of discussion at the conference. He said a number of high school officials around the nation have expressed concern over having high school contests competing with college games for fans on Friday nights.
This year's conference marks the first time since 1980 that Hawaii has hosted the event.
"It's a privilege to be selected to host a conference and we look forward to sharing our ideas with other 50 state associations," Amemiya said.
State increases pay for high school coaches
Gov. Ben Cayetano will sign a senate bill that will boost the pay for high school sports coaches over the next two years.Cayetano will sign SB 1362 on July 2. The measure raises the stipends of coaches employed by the Department of Education by 25 percent from 2001 to 2003. Non-DOE coaches' pay will increase 12.5 percent per year. The raises will amount to a 50-percent raise for DOE coaches and a 25-percent raise for non-DOE coaches by July 1, 2003.
"(Coaches) do so much for the children of Hawaii, we should compensate them for the work they do for kids," said McKinley athletic director Neal Takamori.
Sato to get scholarship in REWARDS program
Iolani's Audrey Sato will be among 10 female student-athletes honored today at a beach party in Santa Monica, Calif.Sato, who excelled in paddling for the Raiders, will receive a $5,000 scholarship as part of the inaugural Chevrolet/Michelle Kwan REWARDS Scholarship Program. The REWARDS program, which stands for "Recognizing Excellence of Women in Academics and Rewarding Dynamic Student-Athletes," honors outstanding college-bound female athletes.
Sato plans to attend either Stanford or Southern California.
The 10 winners will meet Olympic gold-medal figure skater Michelle Kwan at the party. They will also be recognized at an awards dinner at Disneyland.
Football teams to take off the pads in pass league
After all of the talk about classification over the past week, Interscholastic League of Honolulu and Oahu Interscholastic Association teams will finally meet on the football field next month -- but without the shoulder pads.The month-long Summer Pass League kicks off July 5 with 12 teams scheduled to participate. All six ILH teams -- Damien, Iolani, Kamehameha, Pac-Five, Punahou and St. Louis -- will be joined by Aiea, Campbell, Kaiser, Kalaheo, Moanalua and Nanakuli of the OIA.
The league runs through July 28. Weekday games will be held at school sites, and all Saturday games are set for the St. Louis football field. The four Saturday dates will feature six games between OIA and ILH teams.
Pass league contests are basically touch football games. Teams play seven to a side with backs and receivers taking on linebackers and defensive backs. Rushing the passer is not allowed. Quarterbacks must release the ball within an allotted time count and may not run for yardage.
Camp includes Smith, Furtado on coaching staff
Pete Smith, head coach of the state champion Kalaheo boys basketball team, will hold his fourth annual youth basketball camp July 30 to Aug. 3.The camp will be held at the Kalaheo High School gym and is geared for players ages 8 to 17.
The camp's coaching staff includes former University of Hawaii standout and current UH-Hilo assistant coach Alika Smith and Kalaheo girls basketball coach Chico Furtado. Local college and high school coaches and current high school players will also serve as instructors.
The camp fee is $115 per session with discounts available for families with more than one child participating.
For more information, call 597-8212.
Radford seeks teams for March 2002 tournament
Neighbor islands teams are needed to fill out the field of the 2002 Radford High Girls Basketball Classic. The tournament will be held March 7-9 at the Rams' gym.Interested teams can call David Lane at 256-2595 or the Radford athletic department at 421-4229.
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