As basketball coaching legend John Wooden once said, "Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." Show gets teen teams
to aim high"Higher Faster Stronger": Airs 7 p.m. Mondays on KFVE and 10:30 p.m. Sundays on KHNL.By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comThis quote sets the tone of "Higher Faster Stronger," a local program that launches its 2002 season today. The competitions pit teams of outstanding high school students from 15 Oahu schools against each other in battles of brain and brawn.
As the most successful coach to ever stroll courtside, Wooden brought 10 NCAA championships to UCLA, winning 80 percent of his games. The roundball legend turned bright young players such as Henry Bibby, Gail Goodrich, Walt Hazzard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (nee Lew Alcindor), Sidney Wicks, Reggie Miller and Bill Walton into some of the greatest talents the game has seen.
Wooden's "Pyramid of Success," the cornerstone on which the "Higher Faster Stronger" competition is based, introduces participating students to the primary attributes that, Wooden believes, serve as a blueprint for success, not only on the basketball court, but in the arena of life itself.
For starters, competitors are chosen on such Wooden-sanctioned virtues as industriousness, enthusiasm and initiative. "For our school, (counselors) selected five seniors and five juniors," said Waianae High senior Kristin Kekahuna, a volleyball player and return contestant who also participated in last year's competition. "You have to have a good attitude, show teamwork and have good grades."
"Higher Faster Stronger" also promotes the qualities of friendship, loyalty, cooperation and team spirit.
Hosts of the show this year are Davey D from KCCN-FM and Malia Kamisugi, an orthodontist and surfer. The 15 participating schools are Aiea, Hilo, Kailua, Kamehameha, Leilehua, McKinley, Mid Pac, Mililani, Pearl City, Roosevelt, Saint Andrew's, Waialua, Waianae, Waipahu and Word of Life.
Much of the competition tests the students' physical capabilities, although inventiveness in certain situations helps shave precious minutes off each team's finish. "Higher Faster Stronger" pushes students through a 950-foot "Zip Line" spanning two ridges in Kaaawa Valley, leads them across the "Jamba Jungle" and tries their resourcefulness with the imaginary "Piranha River Crossing" on the breathtaking expanse of Kualoa Ranch.
"Eighty percent of it was running, and we followed a map," recalls Word of Life Academy's Chad Siu, whose scrappy team made a respectable showing in a close loss to Pearl City High School. "It took a lot of courage and a lot of teamwork. If we didn't have the friendship to get through it or had our differences, we wouldn't have even had a chance."
In following the teachings of Coach Wooden, the competition also requires involvement in a "Leaders Are Readers" program, which, as the "Higher Faster Stronger" workbook states, is "very valuable in collecting points towards the championship." It calls for contestants to read to younger students at schools or recreation centers in their areas in order to develop teaching and communicating skills by reaching out as role models.
After all, as Wooden once stated, "You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."
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