CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM The Senas family, from left: Chasity, Ciera, Chustin and Charity Senas.

Ties that bind

A little family support has gone
a long way for the athletic Senases

When sisters Ciera and Chasity Senas look into the eyes of Charity long enough, they crack up.

Ciera and Chasity, softball players at Mililani, literally look up to their 5-foot-5 cousin. The better to enjoy the moment rather than dwell on things. While the sisters enjoy another successful season as Trojans, Charity Senas counts her blessings, and at 19, they are many.

Keevan Inouye: "Like any kid, she (Charity) made some bad choices."

A stellar career at Mililani led to a scholarship to play softball for the University of Hawaii at Hilo. A posterior cruciate ligament injury has healed enough for her to prepare for her first season of college softball. Most of all, she has siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have managed to find light in the midst of some stormy weather.

HOPE Senas was a standout catcher at Leilehua High School 20 years ago, an All-State player with a promising future. And then her life changed when she became hapai with Charity. A couple of years later, a baby brother, Chustin, was born. Soon after that, Testiny arrived.

By the time Charity was able to run, she was on the softball diamond in Wahiawa, following in Hope's footsteps.

"My mom got me into Mini Sox," she said. "We played for my grandpa."

Grandpa is Randall Senas, who coached Hope, Charity and a remarkable tribe of Senas grandchildren in softball and soccer. That Mini Sox team, Eleu, was named after the family dog.

Grandpa's presence, as well as that of their grandmother, Lorraine, eventually extended well beyond the playing fields.

When Charity was 12, the family split. With their mother unable to care for them, Charity went to live with her grandma, while Chustin and the younger siblings stayed with an aunt.

There were two more younger siblings. For the first time, Charity found herself not looking after them. She was also in a new neighborhood, Mililani. "I wasn't into school, and she was strict," Charity recalled. "I was really hard, and I was behind in school."

Grandma Lorraine, and step-grandpa Keevan Inouye -- "My uncle," Charity says -- didn't back down when she insisted on taking school lightly. "He's always on me, even now. He's like my dad," she said.

"Like any kid, she made some bad choices," Inouye said. "But that's what being a kid is about."

At 14, Charity was making progress on and off the field. "I wasn't even thinking about college," she said. "My uncle pushed me more with softball. I guess he saw something in me."

Randall Senas: Expects his grandchildren to be home by midnight

HE SHRUGS, and so does she. There's no other answer when Charity and Chustin are asked who their dad is. Chustin may have immense talent and accolades, but he's at an age when boys become men. And men, of course, don't like questions they have no answers for.

There's academics, and the dip in grades between middle school and high school. Occasionally, the annoying thought that someone out there doesn't care and won't fill the void. Maybe it doesn't hurt, but it is certainly baffling.

Charity learned to deal with it by focusing on athletics and her baby siblings and cousins. And she uses humor to lighten the load.

"I thought I was going to become a veterinarian," she recalled. "But then I became allergic to animals. Anything with fur.

"Then I wanted to become a flight attendant. Traveling would've been nice. Then 9/11 happened."

That didn't stop her from accepting a scholarship to play for the Vulcans. The flying issue is moot now. She's in the best shape of her life, at least in the weight room. As a Trojan, she was part of Mililani's outstanding 4x100 relay team. "But I hate to run. That's why I stopped playing soccer," she noted.

Chustin dreamt of becoming a professional soccer player. In time, maybe it will still happen. But the soccer career won't begin this year, despite the encouragement of Leilehua's soccer coach.

"I told him I lost my touch," he said. "But I'm lazy."

Truth is, he's just tired after a long football season as a key receiver in Leilehua's prolific passing attack. Senas landed on the first team in the All-Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West selections as Leilehua stunned most by reaching the state tournament finals. A junior, he now lives with grandpa, who has consistent, unrelenting rules.

Randall Senas doesn't ask for miracles. He just expects his grandchildren home by midnight. Chustin, ever the rebellious teen, doesn't understand why. He stifles a yawn. It's past noon, and a pillow crease is still embedded on his face.

"Grandpa helps him out a lot," Charity said. "He's Grandpa's favorite."

Chasity agreed. "Grandpa spoils him," she echoed.

And yet, Chustin knows he tries to get away with a bit too much. "What can I say? I'm a stubborn Mule," he said.

A HEART won't break, at least not right away, when it's too busy working, laughing, even talking. When Charity returns home, Ciera and Chasity have another buddy to hang with. "We're always together," Ciera said.

Testiny, now a sophomore, plays soccer for Leilehua. Ciera and Charity played together for the Trojans last year, but coach Mike Okimoto says they're different kinds of players. Charity, the shortstop, hits for power. Ciera, a speedy outfielder, switched and became a lefty hitter as a freshman three years ago. Last year, as a junior, she hit over .600 during the regular season. So far this season, Mililani is unbeaten in OIA Red West play.

She's learning to "power slap," which will take time to master. A scholarship to Hawaii Pacific is already in hand, and learning to drive the ball instead of just "tippy-tapping" will help her future.

Chasity, a junior outfielder, considers herself the slowest among the three. Like Charity and Chustin, they got their start in sports at a very young age. Soccer. Softball. Even baseball. But perhaps because their home life was more stable, Ciera and Chasity have been good students all along. Ciera carries a 3.0 grade-point average, while Chasity has a 3.3. "Charity always pushes us, and we push each other," Chasity said.

The benefits? Well, when the cousins are hanging out together, their grandparents allow a later curfew. Chustin doesn't drive, and when he needs a ride, his cousins are a phone call away. "That way, we know where he is," Charity said.

SHUTTLING THROUGH traffic from one field to another, for practices and games, has a way of sapping a man's battery. Every Sunday, Randall Senas and his tribe of grandchildren march into Waipio Grace Brethren Church.

Grandpa sits in the pews and gets recharged.

He worries about his grandkids, and especially Chustin, the oldest boy. "I try to keep him focused on teamwork, not individual things," Grandpa said. "I tell him to stay away from things that harm your body."

Chustin will reach out when he feels the need to. "He calls me. I talk to him all the time," Charity said. Chustin rolls his eyes in slight denial. "I want him to get rich and support me."

Charity knows how to defuse any situation with a one-liner, but she's proud to be his sister. "We talk a lot."

Chustin has the height, at 6-foot-1, the hands and speed to become a highly coveted recruit. He had a 3.0 GPA in middle school, but he'll have to jack up his grades and SAT to qualify for a Division I scholarship. "I'm trying to buckle down. I can do the work," he said, admitting that late nights have taken a toll. "I talk with my friends a lot on the phone."

Grandpa commutes from Mililani to Mapunapuna daily, where he is a purchaser for Rasko Supplies. Then he heads wherever his grandchildren are playing.

They may disagree about things, but Chustin knows one fact about his grandfather. "You can always count on him to be there," he said.

Grandpa doesn't like being there. He loves being there. "This is what I was looking forward to. I don't mind the running around," he said.

SOON ENOUGH, Charity Senas will board another plane, regardless of any flying phobia. Hilo awaits, and so does the start of her collegiate career.

She has seen plenty, both good and not so good. Her eyes reveal the voyage of an old soul. Maybe that's why it took some old souls in Randall, Lorraine and Keevan to help her march to her destiny.

She has blazed a trail for her siblings and cousins. Look closely enough, though, and she will do something that is totally in the present.

She'll still make you laugh.