HPU softball coach Okita steps down

Howard Okita, one of the most successful softball coaches at both the college and high school level in Hawaii, has stepped down as head coach of Hawaii Pacific.

“;I want to spend more time with family,”; Okita said yesterday. “;It will be easier to travel and go watch my granddaughter (East Carolina junior Charina Sumner) play. But I'll still be around.”;

Okita will serve as an assistant to Bryan Nakasone, who has been HPU's co-head coach since 2002.

In the 15 years of running the Sea Warriors program, Okita was 508-214-3 with 11 postseason appearances. He also led Hawaii Loa to the 1991 NAIA national championship.

Prior to coaching at the college level, Okita compiled a 181-24 record at Kailua High. His Surfriders teams won six state titles—three straight between 1981 and 1983—and eight Oahu Interscholastic Association crowns.