[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
As defensive coordinator at St. Louis, Delbert Tengan saw the impact the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's roster limits for football had last year No player limit for ILH football
By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comOn the field, there wasn't much difference from previous seasons. But the rule's influence was evident in the weekly drama around the locker room door as players gathered to see which 65 would be allowed to play in the upcoming game.
"I personally witnessed the effect it had on some of the kids when they looked on the bulletin board to see the roster posted on who's suiting up," said Tengan, now the Crusaders' head coach. "It's just devastating to a lot of these young kids.
"Your kids are working hard all week and the least reward you can give them is to let them suit up and run out on the field and have their parents see them."
ILH coaches won't have the duty of making weekly cuts next season as league principals rescinded the rule limiting game rosters for football from the ILH by-laws at their meeting Thursday.
Kamehameha principal and ILH president Tony Ramos said there was discussion for and against the rule and the final vote was less than unanimous.
The rule was initially passed in 2000 based on the recommendations of a task force charged with improving balance in ILH football and was implemented last fall.
It placed no restriction on the number of players who could practice with a team, but only 65 could suit up for league contests.
Kamehameha had the largest turnout in the ILH last year with 99 players. St. Louis had 91 players on its full roster, while Punahou had 76.
"I just think it's fantastic," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said. "I'm just elated. ... I'm really happy for the kids, not only at our school but around our league. The best-case scenario is to have a JV, because there's no substitute for game experience. But short of that, you have to have a way of developing the players and you have to give them the motivation to be out there."
St. Louis defeated Kamehameha in the ILH championship game last November to win its 16th consecutive league title.
The downfall of the roster limitation could be traced to the lack of a junior varsity program in the ILH for the past four years.
"Basically, it was the impact upon the students who want to participate in football and don't have a place to go," Ramos said. "If there were a JV program this would not be an issue."
Ramos said there's no indication the ILH JV program will be reinstated this fall.
Tengan said the Crusaders didn't have a problem with players quitting the team due to the rule, but felt it may have discouraged some from trying out for the squad.
"That's why there was such a big push to have the rule rescinded," Tengan said. "Your 10th graders who would normally play JV and are not ready for the varsity would have nowhere to go.
"Once you sit out it's tough to come back. You want to make a transition your sophomore year and be ready your junior year."
>> The principals also approved sailing as the league's newest sport at Thursday's meeting. The season will begin next February with schools using boats provided by local yacht clubs.
>> The league will continue indefinitely with four athletic directors filling the void left by the death of ILH executive secretary Clay Benham.
Executive secretary duties have been split among Kamehameha's Blaine Gaison, University's Jim Bukes, Mid-Pacific's Don Botelho and Pac-Five's John Hom since Benham's death on April 29.
"We we're not going to be in any kind of hurry to name a replacement," Ramos said.
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