Cashman decides to
stick around a little longer
Longtime Kalaheo athletic director Lee Cashman said last week he's delaying his retirement until at least this fall.
Part of the reason he's sticking around is to usher in the Mustangs' new football coaching staff. Cashman hired former University of Hawaii defensive lineman Tony Tuioti as head coach on May 7, when it was also announced that four former UH players would become assistants -- Craig Stutzmann (offensive coordinator), Jacob Espiau (defensive coordinator), Karman Saulsberry (defensive line) and Yaphet Warren (linebackers).
"I'll be here in September," Cashman said. "After that, I'm not sure yet. I would really like to help these good, young coaches get acclimated. Spring practice is going really good so far."
The UH-to-Kalaheo pipeline is showing no signs of slowing down. Tuioti has added three more former Warriors as Mustangs assistants -- Thero Mitchell (running backs), Alapai Andrews (offensive line) and Matt Wright (linebackers along with Warren).
"One of the most impressive things I've seen so far is the guys are really catching on," Tuioti said. "There was some thinking that the offense and defense that we were planning to put in were too complex for high school kids. But we may have underestimated them. They're smart kids."
The staff is installing UH's run-and-shoot offense and 4-3 defense.
More than 50 kids showed up for the varsity and junior varsity teams, which is a better turnout than last year, according to Tuioti.
Stutzmann said Tuioti tricked him.
"When Tony asked me if I was interested in coaching, I told him I was," Stutzmann said. "Little did I know that he was going to make me the offensive coordinator.
"I have dreams every night about which play to call during a game or which play I'm going to draw up on the chalkboard."
Surprisingly, Stutzmann said he enjoys coaching more than he does playing because he doesn't have to run the conditioning drills.
"The hardest thing is to stay patient and remember that these kids are about 15 to 16 years old and some of them haven't played football before," the former UH receiver said. "We can't take anything for granted and have to focus on teaching things like the fundamentals of tackling, the right way to catch a football and the proper foot positions."
Stutzmann said turning around the Kalaheo offense is one of the biggest keys to turning around the fortunes of the Mustangs, who went 0-8 a year ago.
"It's almost an identical situation to when June Jones took over for Fred vonAppen," Stutzmann said. "Kalaheo hasn't won a game in a year and a half, and from what I hear, it's because the offense couldn't move and couldn't put points on the board.
"We want to put the kids in the best position to win football games."
Nitta completes first year: The Garden Isle's Diane Nitta wrapped up her first school year as the Kauai Interscholastic Federation executive secretary.
Nitta took over for Brent Mizutani in August. She does the job in addition to her duties as the Department of Education's personnel regional officer for the Kauai complex area. She was a principal for eight years at Kalaheo Elementary School on the southwest side of the island.
"It's fun," Nitta said about her KIF role. "Everybody has been supportive and I enjoy working with the athletic directors, coaches and officials."
Kim isn't retiring yet: Maui Interscholastic League executive secretary Stephen Kim has been getting calls from people bidding him a fond farewell. The trouble is, he's not stepping down, despite a neighbor island newspaper's report that he was retiring.
Kim is thinking about a possible retirement in December 2004, more than a year and a half away.
"They call to congratulate me, but I have to tell them that I'm not retiring," Kim said.
Kim has been the MIL's head official for 12 years. Prior to that he was a wrestling coach at Kaiser and a vice principal at Radford.
Lancers seek coaches: Sacred Hearts is accepting applications to fill coaching positions for varsity girls basketball and varsity and junior varsity bowling. Resumes can be faxed to the athletic department at 732-6524 or mailed to Sacred Hearts Academy, Athletic Department, 3253 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI, 96816.
Buffanblu camp coming up: Punahou is hosting its youth basketball camp during the week of June 16-20.
The cost for boys and girls camps is $125 per person. The deadline to register is June 16 and same-day registration is permitted.
For more information, call 944-5816.
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