Keeping Score
AT 6-foot-7, Allan Silva was accustomed to being - literally - the center of attention. Now the former Chaminade basketball player catches the attention of Hawaii's youth through "Positive Connections. Silva helps point
kids in right directionAs director of the DOE-sponsored program, he tries to hit a three-point shot every time he puts on clinics, workshops and school assemblies. Self-esteem, goal-setting and drug prevention are the three messages that Silva and his group of entertainers and other community role models send out to an estimated 50,000 kids annually in the islands.
It's not a high-paying job but it is one that has enriched Silva's life for over five years.
"It's a way of life for me,'' he said. "It's not a job. Our kids are the future and I'll do anything I can do to help influence them in a positive way.
"It is very satisfying.''
Silva brings in local entertainers such as singers Jesse Rivera, Norm Thompson and Kainoa Kamaka; Greg Gabaylo, known as the world's fastest juggler; UH Rainbow Dancer Alicia Lopez; and beauty pageant winners like Miss Hawaii Candace Gentry.
"They're 'carrots' to get the kids' attention,'' said Silva. "But they are also drug-free role models who all have good messages.''
Silva, married with three children (ages 12-17) considers himself a big carrot with an equally big message.
"I tell them that I'm ONLY 6-7,'' he said. "I share with them that I'm considered average height for a basketball player.
"I tell them I learned that it doesn't matter how tall you are, it's what is in your heart that counts. You can do anything if are you willing to commit to it with your heart and mind.''
SILVA committed himself to becoming a teacher nearly 25 years ago. As seniors, he and Kailua High classmate Richard Olsen often talked about what they would be doing 10 years after graduating.
"Richard said he was going to be a professional baseball player and I told him I was going to be a teacher or counselor at Kailua High,'' said Silva. "We were at our 10-year reunion and realized that we had both done exactly what we had said we would do.''
Olsen, a pitcher for the Rainbows, went on to pro career in Europe. A week after the reunion, Silva started a counseling job at Kailua High.
Silva's earned his master's degree and worked at Castle High as an outreach counselor. He became the DOE's director of peer education, putting on workshops that dealt with the same topics now presented by Positive Connections.
"I worked a lot with kids who ended up dying from drugs,'' he said. "One of them was named Bobby Benson, who had been a student of mine at Kaiser.
"When the Bobby Benson Foundation approached me about funding a program in the schools, they had no idea Bobby had been my student. The Foundation sponsors Positive Connections, along with the DOE. That's why the programs are free.''
Today, Positive Connections was to visit Holomua Elementary in Ewa Beach. Saturday, Silva was at a basketball clinic at his alma mater, Kailua High.
"I just missed playing for Merv Lopes at Kailua but he was my coach at Chaminade,'' said Silva, who played for the Silverswords from 1975-79. "I turned down mainland scholarships because I knew I wanted to live in Hawaii and work with kids. Working with kids is the ultimate high.
"People think I played on the Chaminade team that beat Virginia (in 1982). I tell them that me and guys like Willie Pearson helped lay the foundation.''
Silva continues to do that nearly every day, in a positive way, for Hawaii's youth.
He can be reached at Farrington High (832-3600).
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.