At first glance, it's easy to make assumptions. She runs onto the practice field, all of 5-foot-3 in socks and cleats and one wonders if some kid from the JV forgot her practice time and mistakenly joined the varsity.

The assumptions continue when the coach points and addresses her as “;Mini.”; But soon you are reminded of the error of assuming.

For one, 'Iolani forward Elissa “;Mini”; Minamishin is a senior. And the nickname is only partly due to her stature. She also happens to be one heck of a soccer player.

“;She's the kind of kid that you wish you had 11 of her on the team,”; 'Iolani head coach Kristin Masunaga said. “;Mini's the hardest worker, never complains. She always has a great attitude, a real team motivator.”;

Height is not a measuring stick for talent, especially in soccer. Knowledge of the game, seeing the field, knowing just where to make a run, when to make a pass are key ingredients Mini possesses. She's been playing the game since her hanabata days.

“;She was always small growing up,”; assistant coach Jamie Shoma said. “;She had to learn to fight for space and possession. Her on-field intelligence and hard work ethic more than compensate for her size.”;

Masunaga has worked with Mini since the seventh grade, both at the prep level and in local club competition with Leahi. She gets a little defensive when talking about her player, assuring that, “;She's really grown since I first started working with her.”;

Minamishin is third in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu with a team-leading seven goals.

“;Mini has a presence on the field. She understands the game and it's made a big difference,”; Masunaga said. “;At midseason, we were experimenting with the lineups because she can play any position on the field. We brought her back as a defender and she did well. But it was noticeable we were missing her presence up front. When we faced Punahou and Kamehameha, we realized she was needed more on top. Those were must-win games and she came through.”;

As for her nickname, “;Mini”; isn't all about size. When she joined the team, there were several other girls with variations of the name Elissa, much to the confusion of coaches yelling instructions from the side. Someone called her “;Mini”; and it stuck.

“;Everyone on the team likes her and that was evident in her unanimous selection as a team captain,”; Masunaga said. “;Even though she's a senior, she's always helping with equipment, taking water off the bus, putting away things.”;

Minamishin's selflessness at times almost borders on fault. It's near impossible to get her to talk about herself and she is always trying to make her teammates better.

“;There she was, in a game and an open goal in front of her,”; remembers Shoma. “;But rather than take the shot, Mini passes the ball to a teammate and lets her score. I told her that sometimes she has to be a little more selfish out there. When she does score, we'll tell her what a great shot it was, but Mini will credit the great pass she got to set it up.”;

It's fitting that Minamishin is a captain in this year's improbable run to a berth in this week's state championships. It's been 11 years since the Raiders made the state tourney.

'Iolani opens against Kapolei today in the first round.

Minamishin relishes her first trip into postseason play, but takes it all in stride.

“;It's great because the past three years, we had to sit back and watch the rest of the teams play,”; Minamishin said. “;This is a great way to finish our senior year. We're not really worried who we play because we have no control over that. The only thing we do have control over is playing well together as a team. We all believe in each other so that part should be fine.”;