LIHUE — About a hundred of Kauai’s football athletes took advantage of the Polynesian Hall of Fame football clinic on Saturday night at the new Kauai High School gymnasium.
“Due to the fledgling season of endangered seabirds, no lights can be used,” said Stephanie Iona, who along with Laurie Yoshida helped the clinic organizers. “They couldn’t use the football field, so with the help of Kauai High School football coach Mel Purcell and the school’s administrators, we got to use the gym.”
Kauai County Councilmember Bernard Carvalho Jr. was announced as the Kauai coordinator for the team of coaches that included Rich Miano, Jordan Gibson, Maa Tanavasa, Kevin John Wilson Jr. and John Ursua.
“This is amazing,” Carvalho said. “All the equipment they normally use outdoors, they brought it inside.”
State Sen. Lynn DeCoite of Maui coordinated the coaches’ trip with the Polynesian Hall of Fame to “spread the love” following a successful tour on Maui and Molokai.
“This is the only time all of the coaches could get together,” said Wilson. “We flew in this morning, worked with the players, and fly out first thing Sunday morning.”
The athletes hailed from all three Kauai Interscholastic Federation member schools, including Kapaa High School that earned its first Division I state championship, Waimea High School, and Kauai High School that dropped in the Division II semifinals to Kaiser High School.
“The good thing about clinics like this is that everybody learns,” said Waimea High School coach Kylie Linoz. “And not only that, they learn a lot.”
Initially, the drills were focused on the mental aspect of the game, including the importance of getting to a school of higher learning following high school graduation. This was similar to the recruiting coach from Walla Walla University in Washington recently dropping in on a KIF soccer match to talk to the players following play.
Various physical activity included strength and conditioning drills, offensive and defensive line techniques and tips, and even passing with emphasis on quarterback skills like footwork and pass receptions.
Miano encouraged the players to take in the Polynesian Hall of Fame events if they could. Of note is the Showcase which brings in the juniors and seniors to showcase their individuals skills before a field of scouts, and in return, have an opportunity at scholarships that are distributed. The Showcase takes place about a week ahead of the Polynesian Bowl which is scheduled for Jan. 17, starting at 4 p.m. and broadcast live on the NFL Network.
The 2025 Polynesian Bowl National Combine and Showcase will take place in Las Vegas from March 21 to 23.
