HONOLULU – The University of Hawai‘i Warrior football team will make a return trip to Kaua‘i for its 12th practice of the spring at Vidinha Stadium, Saturday. The trip marks the fifth consecutive year the football team will hold a
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai‘i Warrior football team will make a return trip to Kaua‘i for its 12th practice of the spring at Vidinha Stadium, Saturday. The trip marks the fifth consecutive year the football team will hold a practice on a neighbor island and second to the Garden Isle.
The team will conduct a two-hour practice beginning at 11 a.m., then hold an autograph session from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free to the public.
“These neighbor island trips are becoming quite a fun tradition for our team,” head coach Norm Chow said. “Our players and coaching staff had a blast last year in Maui. Not only do we get a full practice in, but our players who aren’t fortunate enough to travel to the neighbor islands get to enjoy this magnificent island and meet its wonderful people.”
The trip will be a homecoming for Warrior offensive lineman Sean Shigematsu (Kapa‘a High School) and defensive lineman Siasau Matagiese (Waimea High School).
A crowd of nearly 1,000 fans greeted the Warriors during UH’s last trip to the Garden Isle three years ago. In a picture-perfect day at the stadium located in Lihu‘e, the team held a practice and controlled scrimmage followed by an autograph session.
The event is sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines. The Warriors started this island-hopping tradition with a practice and scrimmage at Maui’s War Memorial Stadium in 2009, which drew a crowd of close to 3,000. It was the team’s first visit to a neighbor island since UH opened the 2001 regular season against Montana at War Memorial Stadium.
In 2010, UH practiced at Vidinha Stadium and made its only trip to Hawai‘i island at Kamehameha Schools-Kea‘au campus in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i in 2011. Last year, the team returned to the Valley Island.
