RAINBOW WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Eric Kalima added 10 inches to his vertical leap in the offseason, helping him move from libero to outside hitter and earn more playing time for the Warriors.
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'Nothing can stop him'
Fiery and determined, Eric Kalima switched positions to become a starter for the Warriors
HE IS NOT JUST a study in perseverance and determination. He is a doctoral dissertation.
Eric Kalima has turned the improbable into 'no problem' when making the transition from backup libero to starting outside hitter for the Hawaii men's volleyball team. Although the 'how' is impressive -- the red-shirt sophomore added 10 inches to his vertical jump (from 10-feet to 10-10) through daily weight-room visits and miles of running on the beach in the offseason -- it's the 'why' that is more important.
OUTRIGGER HOTELS INVITATIONAL
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
Tomorrow: No. 5 UCLA (2-2) vs. No. 9 Ohio State (5-0), 4 p.m.; No. 11 Penn State (1-1) vs. No. 7 Hawaii (1-1), 7 p.m.
Thursday: UCLA vs. Penn State, 4 p.m.; Ohio State vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m.
Friday: Penn State vs. Ohio State, 4 p.m.; UCLA vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $14 lower, $3-11 upper.
TV: All matches live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: All Hawaii matches live, KKEA 1420-AM
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Simply put, Kalima has a passion for volleyball. There is no other reason to explain why he spent the past two years never missing one practice so he could appear on the court in one game, of one match, with one dig and one service error to show for all the hard work.
"It was a little bit hard, especially when I was on the main court," Kalima said of being part of the top two units in practice. "Even though I was the backup libero, I couldn't suit up (for matches, due to a 12-player roster limit).
"But I had all the confidence in my teammates and was always pushing for them. I was just happy to be on the team and playing volleyball."
But Kalima wasn't content to back up All-American Alfred Reft for another season. When Warriors coach Mike Wilton began thinking about moving Kalima to the outside last summer, the Kamehameha Schools product took on the challenge much like he does bodyboarding at Sandy Beach ... without fear.
His teammates don't call him "Captain Insano" for nothing. They've seen him in the surf, in the gym, in the weight room.
"He's very fiery, very inspiring," said UH junior middle Dio Dante, who played club ball with Kalima on the ASICS 18s in 2003. "Watch him on the floor, he's so determined, nothing can stop him.
"It's amazing. Kalima has gone from being one of the better liberos I've seen to starting on the outside. He just loves playing. He had a couple of hard years, sitting out, but once he got a little taste of playing, he was really happy. Volleyball is like a drug and he definitely gets high off it."
"Everything you see from Eric Kalima, from when he started here to him starting, is a result of hard work, tenacity and perseverance," Warrior junior setter Brian Beckwith said. "He's the epitome of someone who kept on working towards his
goal of starting and playing. He's earned every bit of it.
"It shows in his hunger and desire, and that is hard to find in a lot of volleyball players. It's incredible what he does in the weight room. It's a big step form libero to outside hitter. He was matched up against (UC Santa Barbara's 6-foot-7 All-American Evan) Patak last week. It was real David-and-Goliath. He didn't care."
Kalima "thinks" he's around 6-1, maybe 6-2 in his shoes. For him to be successful, he has to be smart. He has become very adept at "tooling" the block, hitting off opponents' hands at angles so that the block goes out of bounds.
Against the Gauchos last Friday, he came off the bench and had the most success of any of UH's left-side hitters with six kills, hitting .333. On Saturday, Kalima made his first start, finishing with 11 kills in 16 swings, hitting .600.
"I'm not trying to surprise anybody, I don't care what the other team is thinking about me," Kalima said. "I'm just trying to do what's best for my team and how I can make my team better."
"Eric has really paid some dues," Wilton said. "One of the reasons Alfred Reft made All-American last year is Eric Kalima. Through the fall, Eric was our starting libero. Not that Alfie was slacking, it's because Eric really upgraded. He just kept getting more physical, which led to the thinking of his going to the outside. And I like the way he plays. He's one of those guys who will dive over tables and chairs. I'd like to think I played that way and he's that way, too."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamehameha Schools product Eric Kalima has made the transition from libero to outside hitter for UH.
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The Wilton-Kalima connection goes back four decades to when Wilton and Kalima's uncle, Eddie, played for Church College of Hawaii (now BYU-Hawaii) and Central YMCA. It was Eddie Kalima who introduced Wilton to his future wife Ku'ulei.
"That 'Kalima fire' is there with Eric, although he and Eddie are different kinds of players," Wilton said. "It's kind of a neat deal. When Eric first came and tried out, this little skinny guy, I had no idea where it would lead.
"He's changed himself through hard work. He could be a role model for lots of people, someone to be emulated."
Kalima found it "kind of weird" that Wilton and his uncle played together. Weirder still was when Carl McGown, the coach of that Church College team, was the Warriors' temporary assistant coach last fall.
"Coach Carl asked how I was related and then he told me my uncle was a good player," said Kalima, whose family tree also includes the late great golfer Ted Makalena and sumotori George Kalima.
Kalima said he wasn't sure what made him chose volleyball but the libero on Kamehameha's 2001 state championship does know that the sport has helped him toward another goal: his degree in sociology.
"School is a big focus and playing volleyball is something to push me to finishing," said Kalima, who expects to graduate in May 2007. "Would I be in college without volleyball? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.
"I was always pretty good in school. If it's something I'm going to have to do anyway, I might was well try my best."
Just like gaining 10 inches on his vertical jump?
"I guess that is kind of a lot," Kalima said, "but if you work hard, you can do whatever you want to do."
Even if it's the improbable.