The Hawaii Island Movers finished the summer with a 26-20 record. They accomplished this with nine high school seniors, eight of them Hawaii recruits, on the roster. Movers finish
season smarterBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comUH coach Mike Trapasso was disappointed when he discovered no Rainbows from the 2002 team could play for the Movers because his volunteer coach, Keith Komeiji, was managing the team.
But that opened the door for the prep recruits to get a jump-start facing seasoned collegiate competition.
"We knew the recruits could play, but what I wanted to stress was the competition was going to be better than anything they played against during their high school years and that they would find out where they stood," Komeiji said.
He also had an opportunity to observe how the recruits dealt with adversity, something that was bound to happen playing almost every day, especially on the 21-day road trip to California.
"They had to realize if they play every day, they won't be successful every time they step on the field," Komeiji said. "When they struggled you could see they were trying to figure it out. But when a player is going well, he doesn't stop to think of why. He only does that when things are going bad. I think it should be the other way around.
"At times we are overmatched, but overall, I think it was a very good summer, a very good experience for our players. I think it really helped the players to get the head start playing against Division I players."
The first-year Movers coach liked the idea of future Rainbows taking the California trip where they competed with and against players they will meet during their collegiate careers. Although Komeiji is not eligible to recruit for the Rainbows, it certainly gave him a chance to observe junior college players that might be of interest to the UH staff. Komeiji also offered some thoughts about the kind of summer the Rainbow recruits put together.
Drew Jackson: A right-handed hitter who caught and played third base. "He showed glimpses of what we expect. I think he'll just get better the more he plays. Drew knows the game."
Rocky Russo: A right-handed hitter who played third and first base. "I give him credit. He doesn't say much, just goes out and plays. He had never played first before, but it was an easy transition. Rocky played well defensively, but struggled offensively. He's strong and a hard worker."
Tyler Wightman: A right-handed hitting outfielder who played some first base. "He's another one who is strong. Bat wise, he showed the most power of the guys coming to UH."
Matthew Inouye: A right-handed-hitting outfielder who also catches. "Matt is a tough kid, a gamer type of kid, a very emotional player. He really improved his hitting. He took into consideration you have to use the whole field in college ball. He tried to make the adjustment to pitchers who throw harder on an every day basis than he faced in high school."
Isaac Omura: A left-handed-hitting, smooth-fielding second baseman. "He's another quiet kid, but he's very confident in himself. He swung the bat very well this summer except for one week at the end where he struggled. I told him it was important for him to realize how to deal with it and how you get out of it."
Guy McDowell, Richard Olsen and Keahi Rawlins: All three are right-handed pitchers. "All three will help us, perhaps even this coming year if they get a chance. They throw hard and could get away with making a mistake in high school, but they learned what happens when they leave a ball up. They threw well during the summer, but will get a lot better when they learn more about pitching."
Hawaiian Islanders