It was the day before the playoff for the first round Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation baseball title, but the Waimea High School baseball team was not practicing. Robert “Bobo” Ishikawa, a community coach and official, said he watched the team working
It was the day before the playoff for the first round Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation baseball title, but the Waimea High School baseball team was not practicing.
Robert “Bobo” Ishikawa, a community coach and official, said he watched the team working with players from the Hanapepe Youth Baseball Association.
Ishikawa said the event started when he was working out with his daughter Tori Ann at the batting cage at Hanapepe, when Mikey Rita approached him and started talking about the HYBA Mustang program.
During the conversation, Ishikawa said Rita mentioned knowing the future of Waimea High School’s baseball (and all sports) programs lies within the youth and he wanted to continue the educational program, both physically and mentally, with the young players.
During the afternoon, Rita observed teams in action and liked what he saw, leading to the offer of having Waimea’s baseball team offer hands-on training — just to give back to the community.
“I watched the workout from a distance,” Ishikawa said in an e-mail. “And you know, the mentoring really works.”
Ishikawa said the players broke out into groups and Waimea players worked one-on-one, the high school young men presenting themselves “really professionally.”
“The kids really focused and worked hard,” Ishikawa said. “I don’t know Mr. Rita’s reasoning to give back to the community, but I appreciate the effort and I want to thank him for giving back.”