[ OIA ]
Online charter school
getting into OIA mixThe "Sharks" plan to field teams
for golf, track, paddling and boys
and girls hoops
It's difficult for Myron B. Thompson Academy students to form close bonds with each other, but that's about to change for a bunch of enrollees.
The online charter school has joined Oahu Interscholastic Association boys and girls basketball for the upcoming winter and spring seasons and is listed on the tentative East Division schedules, league basketball coordinator Lee Cashman said yesterday.
MBTA has more than 600 students statewide, and more than half do their work over the Internet, while the others are home schooled, according to Athletic Director Andrew Aki. The school is formerly known as Hawaii E-Charter and runs grades K-12 out of rented Waterfront Towers basement space.
More than 20 boys and 30 girls from grades 9-12 have shown interest in playing varsity basketball.
"It won't be a problem fielding a boys team for the first official day of practice Nov. 17," said Aki, who will also coach the boys team. "We plan on having a big meeting next week.
"The response has been great, with students and parents showing their interest in basketball by coming to the facility, e-mailing us and calling us. The OIA has been really cooperative and we look forward to associating with the other schools in the league."
The high school boys basketball season starts in early January and runs through the state tournament in March. The girls play from March through May.
MBTA's home basketball games are planned for the gym at Papakolea Community Center on Tantalus Drive.
The school is also planning to take part in OIA paddling, track and golf, and "Sharks" is the nickname for all teams.
Aki, 20, played many sports in high school, including basketball, for Pac-Five and Mililani. He's in the process of finding a coach for the girls team.
"As an online charter school, we've taken a lot away from kids and their ability to participate in physical school activities," he said. "This (joining OIA basketball) is the best, most legitimate way to give it back."
MBTA's participation in the OIA is dependent on the number of players who show up for practice and remain committed until the season opener and beyond.
According to Cashman, the Sharks can wait almost all the way to the opening basketball game to decide whether they can field a boys team.
"With them, we have 12 teams and no byes in the East," Cashman said. "If they aren't ready to play, it won't affect the schedule much. We'll just go back to having byes like we've always done."
But Aki is optimistic.
"The students are enthusiastic about this and the parents have been overwhelmingly helpful," he said. "And I'm not worried about transportation. The parents can get the kids to our building and we have a van that can take them where the teams need to go."
A handful of male players have already taken it upon themselves to do drills for two to three hours every day, according to Aki. Coaches can't run team drills until Nov. 17.
Black and silver are the school's athletic colors, but electric teal or electric blue may be added to the mix.
MBTA is named after the late Myron B. Thompson, who was a former president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and a Kamehameha Schools trustee.
