Inside Sports for Sunday — August 22, 2004

• Passionate or just too overbearing?

Passionate or just too overbearing?

By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island

Anyone who witnessed the annual Blue-and-white volleyball tournament in Waimea saw or was most likely intimidated by one particular coach from Damien Memorial School.

Now as I watched the action on the first day, I couldn’t help but feel pity for the Damien boys, who were ridiculed, berated, and yelled at, as if they forgot how to play the game.

What amazed me the most though, was that each player that the coach singled out had the same blank, pale look. I really couldn’t tell if they were scared or even if they were actually listening to his harsh words, but nevertheless this made an impression on the crowd that witnessed the coach’s childish antics.

First of all, I’m glad that he’s not a coach from Kaua‘i and I’m even happier that he left the island yesterday. But with all that said, there’s something that really frightened me about the coach. As I was walking away from the gym after the Damien/Kapa‘a game on Friday, the “infamous” coach opened the trunk of his car and pulled out a beer from his cooler. It was obvious that he was having a few before, during, and even after the games. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing to pop a top, but when you’re coaching, alcohol should be the very last thing you turn to before, during, or after a game. In addition, as he turned around, his wife was handed some stats from a player’s father and after the exchange was made, the father approached the coach and warned him to stop roaring at the players and said that if it didn’t stop, he would take his kid home on the first flight back to O‘ahu. The father insisted that all of the parents felt the same way as well.

Now this is the preseason and I can’t imagine what will happen when the ILH season starts for Damien. They do have a good squad, that plays clean, aggressive volleyball, but it’s the coach that will hold them back from being the best that they can be.

So is it passion for the sport, with a coach just wanting his player’s to be the best or is it just a ridiculous situation that needs to be fixed? Well, I know my answer and you should too!

This instance reminded me of the youth baseball incident a while back, when a coach decided to take things personal between his son and himself, which eventually led to a confrontation with a parent.

Coaches need to remember that they play a very crucial role in the whole process and if they don’t take their jobs seriously, then they don’t belong in the profession at all.

But coaches can’t be blamed for everything, as parents too can be overbearing at times. For coaches to coach, they need the utmost support from parents, because without the support, the youth won’t learn.

So many coaches don’t realize how important they are and how much they can influence our athletes. There are many coaches who use their influence to do great jobs both on and off the athletic surface. Kaleo Perez, Jerry Refamonte, Wes Kaui, Keli‘i Morgado, Liko Perreira, Peter Rayno, Merrill Carvalho, Rich Roberts, Bobby Kamakele, Walter Souza, Shawn Doo, and Kaipo Kealalio are just a few quality Kaua‘i coaches.

Speaking of great coaches, Kaua‘i has lost one of its finest recently with the passing of Godfrey Kaipo Kealalio. He coached almost every sport at every level and the athletes who played for him were blessed because of his infectious smile and his tell-it-like-it is attitude.

Kaipo’s legacy will definitely live on through the players he coached and even with his son, who’s the varsity girls volleyball head coach for Kapa‘a High School.

Kaua‘i should be very proud of coaches like Kaipo and it’s great to know that a lot of individuals’ lives have been enhanced thanks to the big guy.