DENNIS FUJIMOTO – TGI Staff Writer PUHI – A willingness to participate is about the only prerequisite youngsters needed as the 2003 National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) kicked off Monday morning at the Kaua’i Community College campus. Two hundred of
DENNIS FUJIMOTO – TGI Staff Writer
PUHI – A willingness to participate is about the only prerequisite youngsters needed as the 2003 National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) kicked off Monday morning at the Kaua’i Community College campus.
Two hundred of Kaua’i’s youth aged between 10 and 15 years old trooped off buses that converged on the campus from all parts of the island as the program kicked off. Program officials said this year’s program is sold-out with 225 youngsters registered and another 40 on waiting lists.
Shawn Doo, the executive director for the program addressed this fact to the group, noting that the NYSP program will teach youth what it’s like to be in a college environment, learn about career and job opportunities, and learn more about drug awareness through a sports-oriented venue.
The program site will be centered around the KCC campus, with curriculum extending the learning arena to the Lihu’e Neighborhood Center, and reaching out to Lydgate Park.
Doo told the youth that the program wants participation. The program is strict, he emphasized, and for those who feel like it’s not for them, there are some 40 youngsters on the wait list.
As he introduced the program, he announced that participants cannot simply get the tee-shirt and leave. Participants need to earn the shirt by participating in the program for at least three days, and need to recite the NYSP Creed before being issued a program tee-shirt by one of the team instructors, many of whom are familiar as former Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation (KIF) athletes comprise the majority of team leaders.
The learning will also encompass learning to respect the host culture. This starts with learning how to recite the NYSP Creed which will be translated into the Hawaiian language.
Brannon Fujita, an officer with the Kaua’i Police Department reinforced the stand that NYSP is strict. Fujita told the group the program will help them develop a respect for their home. As security officer for the program, Fujita warned participants that if he caught them getting out of line, there was a list of things for them to do including pulling weeds and scrubbing toilets.
Doo said the NYSP program is funded by the NCAA which results in cooperation between the different government agencies and the county, as well as the resulting use of KCC facilities to host the program. However, Doo told the group that it should not be taken for granted – participants need to respect the program’s boundaries and not go free-rein around the campus.
He also said, the program is free to participants. They do not pay for the buses. They do not pay for any of the two meals a day that is provided them.
To insure that participants stay healthy, Kaua’i High School athletic trainer Keith Burgess has been retained as the program’s trainer. The NYSP program is the only one of its type in the state, although a similar program was held several years ago, hosted by the University of Hawai’i Hilo campus.
