KALAHEO — The Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, site of numerous community basketball games, was a tad tight, Monday morning. More than 80 of Kaua‘i’s aspiring basketball players crammed into the center for a three-day basketball clinic led by Dennis Agena of
KALAHEO — The Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, site of numerous community basketball games, was a tad tight, Monday morning.
More than 80 of Kaua‘i’s aspiring basketball players crammed into the center for a three-day basketball clinic led by Dennis Agena of the Kalakaua Basketball program on O‘ahu.
“I’m glad to see a lot of new faces out there,” said Steven Matsumoto of Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association, which sponsored the event during the fall break for students, along with the County of Kaua‘i . “There’re four Palacios and the No. 3 Ramos.”
Joining the young players who ranged in ages from under 10 through high school, community basketball coaches and several of the high school basketball coaches turned out to help Agena with the fast-paced drills designed to hone the basketball skills of the young players.
“They’ve been running all morning,” said John Kaneholani, who coaches the Hanakila community program and the Kapa‘a High School boys with Phil Baclayon.
Baclayon said the two Hanakila basketball teams involved in a weekend tournament for fifth-graders at the Kaua‘i High School gym finished in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, and some of those players attended the clinic. The tournament was coordinated by Ipo Yoshioka, the coach for the Kaua‘i High School program and Team Central youth program.
Matsumoto said in addition to being able to use the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, the county arranged for The Kaua‘i Bus to help provide transportation for the youth from the North Shore.
“As the deadline for registration neared, we only had 30 students signed up,” said Karen Matsumoto of the KYBA. “But all of a sudden, they started coming in bunches. At 83 students, I don’t think we can take any more kids, but it’s good they can come and have something to do during the break.”
She said the next youth basketball league will probably start in January when the county brings over former University of Hawai‘i-Hilo basketball coach Jimmy Yagi for an annual clinic.
