The Kapa‘a High School soccer team has established a culture of high expectations every season under the leadership of Warriors’ head coach Kevin Cram.
For three consecutive seasons, Kapa‘a has competed for the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II state championship crown.
“As coaches, we expect a lot from our boys, and they responded, and they are winning, and I think that contributes to their success,” Cram said. “I don’t know if getting to the championship game is an expectation necessarily, but our team looks at it every year as an achievable goal.”
The Warriors fell short of their quest to capture back-to-back titles, falling to Hawaii Preparatory Academy 2-0 Saturday afternoon at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex in Waipahu on O‘ahu.
Still, it took one of Kaua‘i’s own, Conor Hunt, a member of the HPA squad, to achieve this goal.
Hunt, formerly of Island School, sank the game-winner into the net with nine minutes gone in the first half.
The future Georgetown Hoyas’ punter, and possibly place-kicker, was crowned Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Hunt’s goal had an early impact on the outcome of the game, Cram said.
“I don’t know who he is, and I know the family, so I wasn’t sure about his background,” Cram said. “He was one of the team captains, and I think one of the other players (on HPA) were marked and covered, and after he scored that put some of our players in panic mode to try to recover the goal.”
No secret to
Warriors’ success
The Warriors are a sports cliche waiting to happen. “They don’t rebuild, they reload,” an old sports phrase that has been used over and over again, applies to the Warriors’ soccer program.
There isn’t a formulaic ingredient for their success, but the Warriors’ players have bought into the program.
“We just continue to develop players to fill the positions for the boys who will be leaving,” Cram said. “We will lose a lot from the attacking aspect of our game, and most of the players (we have are underclassmen), and we will need to fill three defensive positions, and one midfield position because of the seniors that will be graduating, but the majority of the players will be back.”
The main ingredient
The main ingredient of the Warriors’ success was their team chemistry.
“It was a good group of boys that have gotten along well, and it is easy to coach when you don’t have to deal with other challenging issues, and our team knows what their
expectations are,” Cram said.
“They understood what their expectations are, and are willing to meet the expectations.”
Cram admits he is already thinking about the eight months down the road when his team will embark on another season, where they will attempt their fourth-consecutive state championship run.
“We are looking forward to starting another season,” Cram said.
“We have a good group of boys to work with, and I look forward to being a part of that.”
•••
Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
