RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamaile Hughes blasted a 230-feet home run to spark Kailua in last season's state semifinal victory against Waiakea.
Making her best pitch
Kamaile Hughes is using her
championship experience to help
Kahuku reach the OIA playoffs
IT wasn't entirely by design that Kamaile Hughes expanded her role on the softball field this season, but she has no regrets now. Neither does Kahuku.
In the fall, after transferring to the North Shore school from Kailua, where she'd been a member of last year's state championship team, she briefly considered giving up sports altogether.
"I wasn't going to play sports over there (at Kahuku) -- I was just going to go to school," said Hughes, who is a junior. "I wanted to focus more on school and improve my grade-point average. I want to go on to college and be a teacher.
"When I was young, we used to go to Kahuku, so I kind of wanted to go back (to the community). It was my older sister who convinced me to play. She told me to come out."
At Kailua, Hughes was a designated hitter and first baseman and was known mainly for her hitting. In the semifinals of the state tournament last February against Waiakea, she belted a home run that carried 230 feet, and the following day, she drove in one of Kailua's runs in its 2-1 win over Kamehameha in the title game to earn herself a spot on the all-tournament team.
In all, Hughes batted .727 during the state tournament, an even better percentage than the .636 she batted during the regular season.
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamaile Hughes was going to give up sports but was talked into playing for Kahuku by her sister after transferring from Kailua.
At Kahuku this season, she's also taken on the role of starting pitcher and brings a 5-2 mark into today's home date against McKinley. Kahuku's only two losses to date have come to Kailua and Roosevelt. With three games remaining, including a key game against Castle on Jan. 28, the Red Raiders are looking to position themselves for a favorable seed in the upcoming OIA tournament.
But regardless of how the Red Raiders fare in the playoffs, the change of scenery has benefited Hughes.
Although she left a traditional power, she now finds herself lending leadership to an up-and-coming Red Raiders program that features more than its share of underclassmen.
"It was more serious at Kailua because they're known for softball," said Kamaile's sister Kainoa. "Everybody expects a lot from you. It's a different experience for her there (at Kahuku)."
Added her father, Dean, who is also an assistant coach for the Red Raiders: "She's still young at heart, and it's a young team, so we're hoping the girls can look up to her and learn from her."
Hughes didn't have to look far for a chance to hone her softball skills or to learn about leadership. She is the third-youngest in a family of nine children, all of them naturally athletic. Older sister Hauoli was a four-time all-state pitcher for Kailua in the mid 1990s, while Kainoa was the acknowledged leader of the Surfriders' 2003 state championship team as its catcher.
"I think I was 7 when I started playing," Kamaile said.
"My father helped out (in coaching) my older sisters, and I was always around them, so I went into softball. It's always been my best sport. Just being out there has been fun. I've gotten to know a lot of people through playing.
"I take it serious, but I try not to take anything too serious."
"She's more on the fun side," adds Kainoa. "Off the field, she's a goofball. She likes to have fun. On the field, she does the job and she has fun at the same time."
Unlike her sisters, who were vocal leaders, Kamaile is shy and quiet. With that in mind, part of her daily ritual for staying focused involves keeping to herself on game days.
"Sometimes I need to be alone," she said. "If the other girls are talking off on the side, I'll usually go off by myself and try and focus on what I need to do and bring myself up."
As one who leads by way of her play on the field, pitcher would seem the ideal position for Hughes, as it automatically places her at the center of the action.
"I pitched when I was younger, so I'm glad I'm getting to pitch again," she said. "I like the feeling of striking someone out -- when I can. Right now, I'm getting more used to off-speed pitches, and those have been working. My uncle is helping me out with my riser, the screwball, the curve ball and drop."
Offensively, she has been hard-pressed to maintain her pace of 2003.
"I'm in a slump -- I'm not hitting well this year," she added. "I need to be more focused up there. But hopefully I'll come around. My pitching is picking me up."
Off the field, Hughes is family-oriented.
"I like to stay home and relax -- I'm a "house person," she said.
"I like to watch my nephews. Being around my brothers and my nephews is what has made me want to work with kids. I love kids, and I'd like to teach them math someday."
