LIHUE — Tom Shigemoto has been involved with Americans of Japanese Ancestry baseball for 60 years.
LIHUE — Tom Shigemoto has been involved with Americans of Japanese Ancestry baseball for 60 years.
“He started out as a player,”said Mel Nishihara of the Makaweli Indians. “Then he became a coach, and now, he’s the president of the Kauai AJA, a title he’s held for about 20 years.”
Shigemoto and the Makaweli Indians, the Kauai AJA champion team, will be involved in the opening game of the 83rd annual Hawaii State AJA tournament, starting Saturday at the Vidinha Stadium baseball field.
The Kauai AJA All Stars, comprised of a lot of Makaweli Indians, will play the Maui AJA All Stars to start the tournament at 10 a.m.
On completion of that game, Kauai AJA will host the tournament ceremony followed by the day’s second game at 1:30 p.m. The tournament banquet unfolds at the Lihue Neighborhood Center starting at 6 p.m.
The tournament consolation game will take place Sunday starting at 9 a.m. followed by the tournament’s championship game scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Vidinha Stadium.
