High schools
Dana Dias takes over as Moanalua athletic director

Advertiser Staff

On her first day on the job as Moanalua High School athletic director, Dana Dias had to help placate a parent who was furious because a coach drove off to a game in a team bus and left her son behind.

Dana Dias coached Moanalua to two OIA girls basketball titles and also was an assistant to UH coach Vince Goo during 1995-98. Advertiser library photo

Dias, who turned 35 on Friday, said yesterday, "It's an exciting position. I'm amazed I'm sitting right here in this job. (The idea) is quite overwhelming."

Dias was on maternity leave when she was appointed athletic director by Moanalua principal Darrel Galera. Her first child, son Hunter, was born two months ago. She replaces George Goto, who retired Dec. 31 but stayed on until Dias came off leave April 1.

Last year, Dias was girls basketball coach, assistant athletic director and taught special education at Moanalua.

Because she was about to give birth, her husband, Roy, formerly her assistant, took over the team this season.

He stepped into big shoes. In her last five years as head coach (1992-95 and last year), Dias teams won 50 straight OIA divisional games. (Roy Dias was 2-1 before the strike.)

Under Dias, Moanalua won the overall OIA championship twice, reached the state final four three times and was runner-up to Kamehameha and Nani Cockett in 1992.

In between her coaching stints at Moanalua, Dias was an assistant to Vince Goo at the University of Hawai'i from 1995-98.

As Dana Takahara, she was a basketball standout at University High (class of 1984) and was captain of the UH Wahine in 1988. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1988 and masters in special education in 1992.

Dias says she is in her element running the 35-team-and-growing program at Moanalua. "I'm looking forward to many, many years here," she said.

Retired librarian Lucy Fujinaka remains as assistant.

• Kamehameha keeps Kroeger: Micah Kroeger will remain as head boys varsity basketball coach at the Kamehameha Schools, co-athletic director Blane Gaison said.

Kroeger was suspended for several days in February after the team boycotted practice and some parents said he was overly strict.

"Micah will be back. What happened is water under the bridge, we move forward," Gaison said, invoking a translation of the Kamehameha motto, "Imua."

• Tune goes home: After guiding St. Louis to its best volleyball season ever, Rick Tune is leaving after one year to teach and help coach at Punahou, his alma mater. He will teach history and coach the junior varsity boys teams, he said.

St. Louis finished third in the ILH last year, battling Punahou and Kamehameha to the final day of the season.

Tune was a volleyball standout at the University of Hawai'i and Pepperdine.

"It was a real tough choice. It took a lot of thinking and it was a very emotional moment when I told the team," Tune said, "but all my family, my wife, mom and dad, are Punahou alums. I've always wanted to be there, and there is great coaching talent there to learn from, like Peter Balding and Lyman Lacro.

"All of my experience at St. Louis was positive and I'm trying to help them find a good replacement so there can still be a three-team league," he said.

• Gift of life: Two Waipahu coaches figured in the history-making kidney transplant reported by Beverly Creamer in Island Life on Thursday. Volleyball coach Kehau Keoho was the donor and Herman Nii, the father of boys basketball coach Stacie Nii, was the recipient. It was a rare pairing of persons who are not blood relatives for a kidney transfer.