• Teamwork is the name of the game Teamwork is the name of the game By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island You’ve heard the old adage, “There’s no I in team!” Well, this is probably the best piece advice
• Teamwork is the name of the game
Teamwork is the name of the game
By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island
You’ve heard the old adage, “There’s no I in team!” Well, this is probably the best piece advice any coach could give to one of his/her player’s.
The single most important aspect of sports is teamwork and sadly, it’s definitely one the most underrated concepts in athletics.
Time and time again, the individual is usually the one who receives all or most of the credit for a victory.
As we get closer to the KIF season (preseason football: Kapa‘a v.s. Waialua on Friday), this is the perfect time for players and coaches to reinforce the importance of playing as a team.
Individual stars will come and go, but what an athlete will remember about his/her experience is the fact that they either won the KIF championship, or even a state title, as opposed to garnering all-star honors or other individual distinctions. Teamwork not only makes for great sports teams, but it also helps tremendously at the work place, where the most profitable companies boast the best teams. The advantage of having a good collection of individuals and not just one great player, surrounded by sub-par player’s is obvious, as they would rather play with teammates who care about the team, rather than scoring the most points, or tallying the most touchdowns. Furthermore, the only athlete to ever take a team to the highest level and win consistently, was Michael Jordan, and we all know that a player of his caliber comes around only once in a lifetime. We have all seen the teams that play extremely well together, from the undersized teams, to the teams who lack speed and talent.
We do have coaches who neutralize the playing field and that is why the KIF season is so competitive, and fun to watch.
Even if you’ve never played a sport, you can still feel the excitement and still appreciate the greatness of a team that showcases nothing but underdogs.
Although preseason polls ear mark the favorites and possibly name the champions, it is still only an indication of where the teams are at the start.
The tone for the KIF season will be set by the football campaign and you could tell that last year would be filled with Red Raider championship wins, just because the football squad took care of business on the gridiron.
It’s no secret why the Waimea athletic program has been so successful over the past 10 years, as they dominated the football scene on Kaua‘i during that span of time. With the KIF football season already amongst us, the obvious favorite, the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders, who are the defending champions, should note that there are two tough, well-coached teams who are looking to knock “Da Raiders” off the KIF title throne.
The Kapa‘a High School Warriors, coached by Wes Kaui, are a force to be reckoned with and if Waimea or Kaua‘i winks for just a second, the Warriors will be right there, breathing down their necks. The Waimea Menehune (formerly the Big Blue Machine) and coach Liko Perreira are ready to take back something (KIF title) that has been theirs for as long as Bucky’s Liquor Store in Waimea has been in existence.
Teamwork will make the difference, as it always has in the past. It will be interesting to see if the Red Raiders can withstand the best from the two squads, as the bullseye shifts from Waimea to Kaua‘i. Both Waimea and Kapa‘a have the tools to take the title, so it should be one of the closest KIF football battles ever, so may the best team prevail!
Duane Shimogawa, Sports Editor can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 257) and kauaisports@pulitzer.net
