GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Campbell senior Shauncey-Blaine Saito (top) has his head into the game as he and his teammates prepared for this week's matchups against Pearl City and Leilehua.

The Sabers’ brain trust

Shauncey-Blaine Saito learns to be
more confident in his teammates

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By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

Shauncey-Blaine Saito has already shown he has the experience and skills to rate among the top prep soccer players in the state. The trait he's working on now is trust.

Saito entered his senior season as Campbell's sweeper with two All-State seasons under his belt. But with a new goalkeeper and inexperienced defenders surrounding him, he has had to fight the urge to shoulder more than his share of the burden for the Sabers this season.

"Coach (Frank Marotti) tells me not to try to do everything," Saito said. "I have to trust them and they're producing a lot in the preseason games and they've improved a lot from when they first stepped on this field. I believe in them."

Said Marotti: "That's the thing he has to do the most. The kids around him are getting better and if he tries to do more than what we're asking of him, he's going to wind up making a mistake."

Campbell opened a challenging Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division schedule with a 5-0 shutout of Waialua last Friday.

Saito's defensive play throughout his career at Campbell has helped the Sabers rise to prominence in the state's soccer hierarchy. Campbell qualified for the state tournament for the first time two years ago and repeated the feat last season, raising expectations for a program that previously wasn't regarded among the island's most feared.

"(Qualifying for the state tournament in 2000) was a big step and last year we came in seventh in the state and that was another big step, so that's motivating us for this year," Saito said.

Saito started playing soccer and baseball in Ewa Beach's community leagues at age 5 and began playing football in the sixth grade. He continues to play all three sports in high school, but his heart belongs to soccer.

"I love coming out here, kicking the ball around and playing with all of my friends," he said. "It's just what I love to do. When I'm old I'll probably want to do this. It's just the love I have for it."

Saito is among the few Campbell players who have soccer experience outside of the high-school team. Most are football players who are just now picking up the intricacies of the sport.

But Marotti has guided Campbell to the last two state tournaments by taking gifted athletes who lack soccer experience and putting them in a position to excel.

"A lot of players are first-timers from football, but they're improving a lot and they're fitting right into the team," Saito said. "Coach makes it seem so simple and they catch on fast and they're athletes."

"If you look around, there are more people who are not bonafide 'soccer people' that are playing the game, because they're athletic," Marotti said. "It's just that they have to get their feet untangled."

Saito takes pride in tangling up opposing attackers as the team's top defender and Marotti believes he has the skills to play at the college level, especially if he decides to concentrate on soccer.

"He is a legitimate Division I player. His problem is he doesn't play soccer 365 days a year," Marotti said. "This is the only summer he's actually played outside soccer and it shows, he's just that much better."

Saito's mission on the soccer field is to prevent scores, but he spent the fall putting up points faster than anyone in the OIA West Red Conference with the Campbell football team.

Saito led the conference in scoring with 72 total points as a running back and kicker (nine touchdowns, two field goals and 12 extra points). He helped the Sabers finish the regular season with the OIA's top rushing attack, contributing 510 yards to the team's 2,012.

But Campbell was eliminated from the OIA playoffs in the quarterfinals, falling 28-25 to eventual league champion and state runner-up Castle.

In that game, Saito had a chance to tie the game in the final minute. But his 33-yard field-goal attempt drifted wide left.

"Sometimes me and my friends joke about it, but looking back and watching all the other games, it was kind of hard," Saito said. "We're only human ... but it was just a hard loss for us."

Saito said he put the disappointment of the loss behind him as he prepared for soccer season and is now focused on finishing his high-school career on an up note. He is among six four-year players on the Campbell roster, along with Donovan Gaboya, Rocky Otsuka, Kenji Lee, Brian Leano and Stephen Garrett.

The Sabers are greener in some key positions as they lost their top scorer of a year ago in all-state forward Michael Ryman to graduation, and junior John Taitin, a member of the school's volleyball team, is learning the ropes as a goalkeeper.

But Saito has learned that part of being a team player means knowing when to back off.

"He has to take care of his position, plus he has to be the captain back there," Marotti said. "That's all I'm asking him to do.

"I really believe he doesn't feel he has to carry the load anymore. That's trusting the other guys."

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