LIHUE — They came from varied backgrounds, but united by the bond of loving football.
Nearly two dozen people turned out at the Kauai Community College Learning Resource Center to listen to Stacy Iwasaki, head coach of the Kauai Gamebirds, go over team philosophy and operations for the Kauai football team that was formed under the auspices of Hawaii 8, the Hawaii Club College Football conference created exclusively for Hawaii college students.
“Some of you have been going out for informal workouts,” Iwasaki said. “There are eyes on you. We’re having this first team meeting so we can all get started. It’s good that you want to work out, but we don’t want to have to undo what you set out to do with good intentions.”
The two dozen players come a varied background of not having played football to more experienced players whose goals are to reach coaching levels. They are bonded by each player having a minimum of six active college credits and coming together under Hawaii 8 whose purpose is to support and complement the state’s community colleges with a program to enhance academics across the state, engage community and family involvement, and to help campuses increase student enrollment, student retention, and boost graduation.
“This is Kauai’s team,” Iwasaki said. “We want people to take ownership of this team, and you as players, need to tell yourselves that you represent us — on and off the field.”
Team practice starts as early as Tuesday with regular practices scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays from “after work.” Wednesdays will be set aside as a free day to review film and conduct other team business.
The Kauai Gamebirds will be on the field starting in the spring of 2020 under a tentative schedule of playing two games on Kauai, and a pair of games on Maui, the Big Island, and Oahu during its season.
“Now, we really need the community to help support and back us,” Iwasaki said. “There are fees involved, but ideally, we would like to have fundraising projects to help the players with these.”
Recruiting for the young team is ongoing with interested people logging in to www.hawaii8.org to fill out application forms.
“We’re still looking for dance and cheer people, equipment managers, athletic trainers, hydration specialists, and more,” Iwasaki said. “Five years from now, we want to be able to look back at what we’re going through and have a nice laugh.”
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
