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Just For Kicks
SHARI Nishikawa, one of the most heavily recruited Hawaii prep soccer players ever, signed a letter of intent yesterday to play for Loyola Marymount. Little LMU wins pitched
battle for NishikawaThe 5-foot-2 midfielder from Iolani was being recruited by more than 30 schools, including national champion North Carolina, Portland, Louisiana State, Baylor, Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska, California, Rutgers, Clemson and San Francisco.
With a lot of help from family, teammates, coaches and counselors, she narrowed her choices to LMU, Portland, Oregon State and Pacific, where her sister, K.J., plays.
"I wanted to stay on the West Coast. "I looked at what the weather was like and how big the school was," Nishikawa said. "I didn't want a big school. I wanted small classrooms like Iolani, where you get individual help."
She hedged on making a final decision, waiting to see if Portland would offer more scholarship aid. It came too late.
"After I committed to LMU, Portland came back with an offer of a full scholarship," said Nishikawa.
"Shari is a very good player. She can play left midfielder, left back or even up front depending on what system we use," said LMU head coach Greg Murphy, who also received a letter of intent from Jamie Shoma, a fullback from Iolani.
"We'll use Jamie at outside back, either on the left or right."
Nishikawa and Shoma will feel right at home on the Los Angeles campus next fall. Angela Ichinose (Iolani), Shaina Nishimoto (Punahou) and Mia Moe (Punahou) are returning LMU players.
Nishikawa plans to pursue a degree in science while Shoma's interests is in the health sciences.
Chelsea Montero, a 5-5 fullback from Kamehameha, has committed to St. Mary's in California. She will sign the letter of intent as soon as it arrives.
Montero also made recruiting trips to Gonzaga and Oregon State. She was leaning toward OSU until she visited the St. Mary's campus.
"I was just taken away by the school and the girls on the team," said Montero, who plans to study computer science or engineering.
A number of other seniors want to complete their recruiting trips this month before making their decisions.
IT took time and a boycott, but finally the United States Soccer Federation and the players on the U.S. women's team reached an agreement on salary, bonuses and the established of a women's league.
The immediate focus is to get the team ready for its first exhibition match of the year Sunday at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., against Norway, the fourth place finisher in the 1999 World Cup.
Players who had been getting $2,000 to $3,150 a month now get at least $5,000 a month through the Olympics in September, or $2,000 a game if they play in three or more games in a month. In addition, players gets bonuses of $1,000 to $2,000 per win and $500 to $1,000 per tie for exhibition games.
The entire team would split a $100,000 bonus for reaching the Olympic semifinals, $150,000 more for winning the bronze medal, $300,000 more for winning the silver and $700,000 more for winning the gold.
There also are provisions in the five-year contract for guaranteed money for victory tours if the team is successful in the Sydney Games, and the next World Cup, in 2002 or 2003.
John Hendricks, the founder of Discovery Communications Inc., the parent of the Discover Channel, has submitted a plan for a women's league.
The target for starting a women's league is 2001.
