HIGH SCHOOL REPORT
Water polo keeps Joe Whitford
and his daughters Keala, Minnie
and Makana close
In an age of specialization in the sporting world, it's not unusual that 12-year-old Minnie Whitford should see herself at a crossroads in wanting to choose between water polo and volleyball.
"I'm better at water polo," she said. "I've been swimming for a long time."
That water polo will likely be her choice neatly summarizes just how far the sport has come in Hawaii in recent years.
Of course, Minnie has come a long way, too, but that's no wonder given that she has had the luxury of learning from two exceptionally talented older sisters: Keala, a senior at Kahuku, and Makana, the oldest of the Whitford children who is a junior on the University of Hawaii women's water polo team.
"She (Minnie) has had more exposure to it (water polo), and I think she'd like to make a decision between the two," said her father, Joe Whitford, who is also Kahuku's athletic director.
In the Whitford family, it's hard not to give water polo the nod.
Although it was only last year that water polo became a sanctioned sport in the Oahu Interscholastic Association, the Whitfords had already seen the benefits of their involvement the year before when Makana was offered a partial scholarship to UH by then-Rainbow coach Shari Smart.
KEALA WHITFORD
Full name: Keala Marie Whitford
Favorite food: Hawaiian
Favorite celebrity: Jennifer Aniston
Favorite TV show: "CSI"
Hobbies: "Listening to music, hanging out with friends."
Wheels: "I wish!"
MINNIE WHITFORD
Full name: Minnie Lalaukekeikikeho'oho'ohao Whitford
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite athlete: Serena Williams
Favorite TV show: "American Idol"
Hobbies: "Playing volleyball and spending time with my family."
Favorite movie: "Matilda"
MAKANA WHITFORD
Full name: Miria (pronounced Media) Makanamaikalani Whitford (goes by Makana)
Favorite food: "My dad's Hawaiian food, especially his pork lau lau."
Favorite athlete: Shaquille O'Neal
Favorite TV show: "Friends"
Favorite movie: "Ever After"
Hobbies: "Playing the piano, using the Internet, and hanging out with my
friends."
"I never even thought of playing in college," Makana said. "It wasn't until Shari talked to my dad and said that I could play and that I would be offered a scholarship that I thought about it. It's because of her I'm able to play at UH."
With that in mind, it is because of Makana that both Keala and Minnie took up the sport.
"It's really been a family sport," said their mother, Daryl. "We found that it helped in our getting them to their activities if they were involved in the same sport. That's why we had started them in swimming."
Makana was an age-group swimming champ at 10, but was looking for another outlet for her athletic talents when she was discovered by Kahuku/Brigham Young-Hawaii coach Aukai Ferguson at the BYUH pool one day.
A self-taught pianist with a gift for concentration, she quickly caught on to water polo.
"The main thing at that age is if you can swim, you can pick it up fast," said Makana, a two-time Academic All-American at UH.
For the next couple of weeks, the focus within the family will shift to Keala, as she tries to lead Kahuku to the OIA title this week and a state championship the following week -- Hawaii's first state tournament in the sport.
Like Makana, Keala will continue playing in college.
She will attend Brigham Young-Hawaii next fall to play for Ferguson, but her attention is firmly on playing for Kahuku right now. Since water polo became a sanctioned sport in the OIA last spring, the Red Raiders have won 23 games in a row and take a 10-0 mark (in 2004) into Friday night's OIA semifinal (6:15 p.m.) at BYUH against an opponent to be named later.
The finals are set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m."My sister didn't have the chance to win a state championship, so hopefully we can win one," said Keala, who was the OIA's co-Player of the Year last season along with Kaiser's Gabriella Knight. "That's our major goal now."
The Whitford girls try to watch each other play as much as possible. Often, the long drive home from UH to Laie is an opportunity for constructive criticism.
"I try and help them learn the game more," Makana said.
"They always ask me how they can do better."
Sometimes advice from big sister is volunteered without being solicited.
"It's kind of a lecture," Keala said, before adding, "she's always been helpful. She was the leader in our family."
Said Minnie, who has already set her sights on playing for UH someday: "I want to be like Makana. She always gives it her best shot."
The Whitford girls' competitive flair comes largely from their father, whose voice has been known to fill the pool area during games, according to Daryl. He served as public address announcer during one of Kahuku's games recently.
"I called the game so I couldn't yell," he said.
Added Keala: "There was no reason to yell, but he still yells anyway -- whether it's an easy game or a hard game."
"The yelling hasn't always been positive," Joe said. "Makana could take it. Keala is a little more sensitive."
Keala's assertiveness in the pool is considerable, however. When she failed to score a goal in last year's OIA title game (a 5-2 win over Roosevelt), it was the first time all season that she had gone scoreless.
"I was already a swimmer when I started (in water polo), so I mainly had to learn how to handle the ball," she said.
"When I found out it would be a sanctioned sport, I began to take it more seriously. I knew I'd have to pick it up so I could represent the school well."
For Minnie, playing for the Kahuku varsity is still a part of the future, but she appears on track to match her older sisters' accomplishments.
"I think she's right where we were at her age, but she's ahead of us in the way she understands the game because she goes to all of our games," Keala said.
