Happy Camper for Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Welcome to Kaua‘i, Al Cabacungan and his contingent of Carlsbad, Calif., sports enthusiasts! Coach Darrell and Aunty Kris Borrero were involved in two games there, but stopped off to watch the 19-and-under girls’ championship since a lot of the players involved in the hoops title fight were also playing softball – AJ Silva’s mom saying there was no time to shower, just come up from the field! Of course, Coach Brian Inouye couldn’t pass up the chance to watch some of his JV girls in action, so stopped off, too, as did that softball team with the fancy name. And, the heavy schedule (Kori Sakamoto was trying to find someone to go to the games with her) wasn’t just limited to the Raiders, as Da Malahini also had girls involved in softball, too.

Of course, Rosie Bukoski was on hand with her trusty lunchwagon, as was the Big Toe shaved ice crew. Hank Ibia was busy limbering up his team for the noon start, and Michael Koerte had his hands full scheduling umpires (got to see Kura Hirokawa in action, again!) and making sure everyone had fields to play on.

Congratulations to coach Fernando and Fran Constantino for taking the title, and hats off to Karen and Steven Matsumoto of the KYBA for coordinating the program that allowed our youth an opportunity to stay off the streets and be involved in some exciting activities. Tab Matsumoto, Josh Bradbury, Jeremy Manuel, Ross Acoba, and even Tori Kagawa got to do some scorekeeping following her Westside Hornets’ third-place victory. About the only thing left on the calendar is the upcoming state senior softball tournament starting Aug. 3, the Kaua‘i Challenge volleyball games, and the KYBA girls tournament just before school.