Ho’oikaika tourney oldest junior event in Hawai’i Getting in on the ground floor has never been a problem for Dr. Paul Arrington. As a volleyball player at the University of Indiana in the late 1960’s, Arrington and his mates were
Ho’oikaika tourney oldest junior event in Hawai’i
Getting in on the ground floor has never been a problem for Dr. Paul Arrington.
As a volleyball player at the University of Indiana in the late 1960’s, Arrington and his mates were among the first to participate in the sport at the collegiate level.
“We’d drive hundreds of miles to get a match,” Arrington said. “It was something we loved to do.”
From those roots, Arrington brought vision and talent to Hawai’i in the early 70’s. In 1981 he came to Kaua’i, and by 1986, Arrington had begun what today is the oldest junior volleyball tournament in the state.
Sponsored by his club, the Ho’oikaika Invitational Tournaments bring together scores of young players in divisions 12-, 14- and 16-under. Action in the annual tourneys began last weekend with the 14-unders, and continues May 25-27 in Waimea with 12- and 16-under competition. Arrington said 17 teams will battle in the younger division, while 16 will vie for tournament supremacy in the older.
Matches will be played beginning Friday at 4 p.m. at Waimea High School, the Waimea Boys and Girls Club and Kamakani Gym. Admission is free.
“We get a lot of talented players and teams coming through here,” Arrington said. “The team that won the 14-and-under last weekend will be one of the top 10 teams in the country at the national tournament.”
Arrington, who also coaches the Waimea High School girls varsity, said teams from the Mainland and all Hawaiian Islands will participate this weekend.
“This is the third or fourth year that a team from the Mainland has come,” Arrington said. “It’s nice to give the Hawai’i kids a chance to play against a different kind of competition.”
Arrington said the tournament was developed so that he and his club would no longer have to travel to Oahu in search of competition.
“Fifteen years ago we were having to go over there and play in adult tournaments,” Arrington said. “There were so few clubs at the time. So, I decided to try and get something going for the juniors over here.”
Only Arrington’s Ho’oikaika and one other Honolulu club remain from those days in the early 80’s.
“The explosion in youth volleyball in the state really came in 1987-88,” Arrington said. “Juniors just really started getting involved.”
Presently there are three volleyball clubs on Kaua’i. Arrington’s, Po’okela and the Kapa’a Sterlings (boys and girls club). Arrington said each will field at least one team for this weekend’s tournament.
“Our clubs get in and sometimes they win their division and sometimes they don’t,” Arrington said. “It just depends on the talent level that year.
“But it’s not necessarily about winning for most of the clubs that come. It’s about giving the kids an opportunity to compete and develop their skills.”
Then there are those club teams who take things more seriously.
“Hawai’i’s youth teams generally do very well at the national level,” Arrington said. “It’s when they get a bit older and height becomes an issue that our expertise begins to fade.”
The Skinny
– What: Ho’oikaika Invitational Volleyball Tournament
– Where: Three Waimea locations
– When: May 25-27
– Divisions: T12-and-under, and 16-and-under
– Kaua’i clubs: Ho’oikaika, Po’okela and the Kapa’a Sterlings
– Tourney facts: In its 15th year, the 12-unders will have 17 entries, the 16-unders will have 16; teams from Mainland will attend for third year in a row
