LIHU‘E —The addition of three sports highlighted the release of the 2012-13 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation athletic schedule on Thursday. The schedule for the upcoming school year includes wrestling and junior varsity programs for softball and baseball, additions that KIF secretary
LIHU‘E —The addition of three sports highlighted the release of the 2012-13 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation athletic schedule on Thursday.
The schedule for the upcoming school year includes wrestling and junior varsity programs for softball and baseball, additions that KIF secretary Diane Nitta said were initially planned for inclusion three years ago but got sidetracked due to the economy.
“In 2009 we were pretty set to add all three but then all of the budget constraints happened,” Nitta said. “So now we’re going with what was planned. The goal is to offer more opportunities and programs for students.”
The addition of wrestling brings the KIF in line with the rest of the state of Hawai‘i. Prior to the addition of wrestling, Kaua‘i was the only island in the state that didn’t offer the sport at the high school level. Nitta said the popularity of the sport in the community, primarily through organizations such as the Westside Wrestling Club and the K-PAL league, was the driving force behind the addition to the 2012-13 schedule.
“The wrestling community has been very supportive,” she said.
Kapa‘a High School Athletics Director Greg Gonsalves said several hurdles still remain before the wrestling season begins. Trained coaches and referees will need to be hired, he said, and most importantly, the schools need to field rosters.
“We don’t know where the interest lies,” Gonsalves said. “With the kids that play soccer and basketball in the winter and paddle and swim, we don’t know how adding another sport will distribute the kids.”
Gonsalves said when the schools discussed adding the sport in 2009 they had distributed surveys to students that showed there was interest in the addition. He said the sport has the potential to be prosperous in the KIF.
“It’s really blossomed into something the KIF feels comfortable doing at this time,” he said. “We’re the only league in Hawai‘i that does not have wrestling. It’s something we talked about, planned for and now implemented. It just gives kids more opportunities to be involved.”
The addition of JV programs to baseball and softball was also something the KIF has been planning for years, Gonsalves said. He said one of the plusses of adding the lower level of the sport was to provide an opportunity for younger players who may be sitting on the bench at the varsity level a chance to consistently play throughout the season.
“It’s just four games but (it’s an opportunity) just to get some game-time through the season after possibly all year not on the field,” Waimea head coach Michael Rita said.
The schedule that was released to The Garden Island on Thursday didn’t include the scheduled games for JV baseball and softball, but Gonsalves said those games will be played on Thursdays in the spring. He said each JV team in both softball and baseball with play four games.
“We haven’t figured everything out yet in terms of what it will exactly look like,” he said. “We’re just looking for the opportunity to get kids out playing more.”
Rita said the addition of the junior varsity program will encourage more kids to come out for the sport. He said the lower level of play will attract players who may have been intimidated by the varsity level.
“There’s a lot of freshman and sophomores playing soccer and basketball. They don’t come out because they’re afraid,” Rita said. “Now more will come out.”
Rita said he will manage Waimea’s junior varsity program and that the first several seasons will be a learning process. He said the goal for the program isn’t wins, rather player development.
“We’re going to work out things for the first couple of years and see what our goals are,” he said. “For the first year we’ll make some mistakes but it’s more about structure and developing than winning.”
The 2012 KIF football schedule will look similar to last season’s, with games being played before Sept. 15 kicking off on Friday evenings and those after being held on Saturday afternoons. From Sept. 15 through Dec. 15, stadium lights must be shut off at night due to the fledging season for the endangered Newell’s Shearwater. Four preseason games and three league games will be played on Kaua‘i before the Sept. 15 date.
Last year, the KIF and the County of Kaua‘i agreed on four dates where games could begin later in the afternoon and finish in the evening under the lights. Nitta said the league is currently working with the county and the federal government to come up with a similar schedule for this season.
The KIF preseason starts on Aug. 10 when Waimea hosts Waiakea at Hanapepe Stadium. On Aug. 11, Vidinha Stadium will be the site for a double header, with defending KIF champion Kapa‘a facing Kalani at 5 p.m. and Kaua‘i hosting Waialua at 7:30 p.m.
The opening KIF football game features Kaua‘i against Waimea on Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium.
• Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.
