HANAPEPE — Ten college baseball players, all from Kaua‘i, were in the limelight Sunday, teaching young players, signing autographs, and making a presentation to the MS Society during the 2012 Collegiate Showcase and Clinic at Hanapepe Stadium. “I never had
HANAPEPE — Ten college baseball players, all from Kaua‘i, were in the limelight Sunday, teaching young players, signing autographs, and making a presentation to the MS Society during the 2012 Collegiate Showcase and Clinic at Hanapepe Stadium.
“I never had something like this when I was growing up,” said Lance Kaneko, a player with the Americans of Japanese Ancestry Hanapepe Rivermen, and father who had his son in attendance. “This is really good. We had a game this morning, but how many times do you have an opportunity like this?”
Joining the 10 Kaua‘i collegiate players was Garett Yukumoto, head baseball coach for the Hawai‘i Pacific University, and Joey Estrella, head baseball coach for the University of Hawai‘i Hilo. They joined the players in offering advice and instruction to the aspiring baseball players aged between 7 years old through high school.
More than 200 baseball enthusiasts flooded Hanapepe Stadium to take advantage of the showcase and clinic, including baseball coaches and coaching staff from all three of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation high schools.
“This was a really good deal,” Kaneko said. “For $10, you get lunch and a T-shirt. On top of that, they give to the MS Society. It’s a win-win situation. That is such a great price for spending a Sunday with your kid.”
During the morning session, the 10 college players – including Lanan Rice-Kashima, Travis Stencil, Jordan Kamakea, Bronson Aiwohi, Micah Rita, Taran Tani, Kaimana Perreira-Alquiza, Trent Allianic, Dallas Correa and Mikeo Rita – led the instruction for players 7 through 14 years old.
The clinic wrapped up with the 10 players getting together and presenting a check to the MS Society, represented by Kirk Correa’s sister, Cynthia Edralin.
“This is so nice,” Edralin said. “There are so many kids. I guess we’ll be reforming the Hui Me Kapilialoha group for MS, again. We won’t be doing the cookbooks, right away. This year, we’ll probably do some bake sales and other small events in time for the MS Walk, scheduled for Apr. 27.”
The afternoon session saw the coaches join the instruction corps while the college players took time to sign autographs for their fans.
“This is a great opportunity for the young players to get ahead,” said Larry Ephan, a Waimea High School coaching staff member and former Texas Ranger catcher who hosted the Nate Trosky baseball camp last week. “Any time the kids can get this kind of opportunity, I’m all for it.”
Kirk Correa, organizer of the event, was overwhelmed with the response, both from the collegiate players and coaches as well as from the baseball community.
An incident with his son, Dallas, while growing up, inspired him to pursue the showcase and clinic.
He said Dallas remembers attending a similar clinic in Lihu‘e when he was eight years old. He was fortunate to receive a signed autographed glove from former Texas Ranger standout Micah Furtado, who was playing for Lewis & Clark State at that time. The experience opened Dallas’ eyes to opportunities he could strive for.
Currently a catcher at the University of the Pacific, Dallas was among the 10 players giving back to Kaua‘i where they started playing ball.
Kirk said the event could not be possible without the help of the community.
“Brick Oven Pizza provided the spaghetti lunch, Ishihara Market provided the drinks, Kaua‘i Kookie Kompany and Kaua‘i Coffee Company provided the gift bags for the visiting coaches, and there are so many people who came forward to make this work,” Kirk said. “We have the coaches from our three high schools and their staff, and there are other coaches who are volunteering their time.”
When the dust settled, the consensus was everyone is anxiously awaiting for the next Collegiate Showcase and Clinic.
