The Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation season doesn’t begin for nearly a month. But the race for the KIF title begins Thursday, Dec. 7. That’s when the first three games of the Menehune Classic will be played at Waimea High School, and
The Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation season doesn’t begin for nearly a
month.
But the race for the KIF title begins Thursday, Dec. 7.
That’s
when the first three games of the Menehune Classic will be played at Waimea
High School, and all three island teams will take the floor for the first
time.
“The Classic is the first time any of the island’s schools will play
this year,” Classic director and Waimea head coach Matt Taba said. “It will be
a good indicator, a chance for the kids to play against someone else and get
some competition.”
The Classic runs Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 9.
Games will be played at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cost will be $1 for
students and $2 for adults.
This year’s Classic features the three island
schools — Waimea, Kapa’a and Kaua’i — and three teams from
off-island.
Kohala — “They are from the Big Island,” Taba said. “They are,
I’ve heard, good ball players and really quick. They’re going to play a
full-court style of game. The Big Island is always very competitive.”
Pohoa
— “They also are from the Big Island,” the coach said. “I’ve heard they are
young, but pretty talented.”
St. Anthony’s — “They are from Maui,” Taba
said. “I don’t know much about them, but they have a new coach. Should be
competitive though.”
Taba said that one of the true bonuses of the Classic
is that the Kaua’i schools don’t play each other. Rather, the three play each
of the off-island teams.
“That’s really good, because we [the Kaua’i teams]
can all watch each other play against the same opponent,” Taba said. “That
means we can see what we did against them and rate that to what another island
school did.
“It’s good for assessment.”
The Classic also gives the
five schools — the three off-island, specifically — traveling to Waimea a
chance for some very inexpensive games. Where major tournaments on other
islands might cost a team a bundle via airfare, car rental, hotel, meals,
tourney entry fee and other miscellaneous costs, Taba has kept the cost of
participating in the Waimea Classic very low.
“This is my fourth year as
head coach here and my fourth year of running this,” Taba said. “My goal has
always been to keep the costs low for the other teams.
“We house their kids
in neighborhood centers, feed them at least one meal a day and certainly don’t
charge any entry fee.”
All of which adds up to plenty of work for Taba and
his crew.
“I’ve got to have people in place that are ready to feed 120
people a meal at least once a day, for instance,” the coach said. “It’s
demanding, but worth it to get all these kids some games.”
