An All-State team that's still kicking it

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

In childhood, twins Jenny and Robyn deHay could barely stand each other, so they ended up knocking each other down.

Left, Kamehameha grad Jenny deHay is a senior midfielder at Louisiana State. Right, Kamehameha grad Robyn deHay is a junior forward at Hawai'i. Left photo by Steve Franz/LSU sports information; Right photo by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser; Photo illustration by Martha Hernandez • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We stayed at home when we were small, and we were fighting all the time with only grandma at home," Jenny deHay said. "My mom needed something to fill our time so we could burn off some energy. We played soccer because that was the only sport out there."

Following all-star careers at Kamehameha Schools, Jenny and Robyn continued playing soccer at Louisiana State and Hawai'i, respectively. In doing so, the two have earned membership in one of the finest homegrown soccer teams in history.

Fifteen players were selected to the 2000 Advertiser All-State girls' soccer first team, and 13 are playing in college, including five on scholarship with the hometown Rainbow Wahine.

Scott Keopuhiwa, a long-time Hawai'i soccer coach and Hawai'i Youth Soccer Association (HYSA) president, said he's rarely seen so many collegiate players from a single All-State team.

"The 2000 girls soccer All-State team has been one of the most successful teams in history with respect to participating in collegiate soccer programs," said Keopuhiwa, who has been coaching for about 14 years and currently coaches the Kamehameha JV girls and Pearl City varsity boys teams. "I think it is very significant that 13 of the 15 players are playing in college. Hawai'i is developing a reputation for producing good players, and college coaches are now including Hawai'i teams on their list of games to watch during regional and national competition."

Some of the notable players on the 2000 All-State team are Oregon's Nicole Garbin (Baldwin 2001) and Loyola Marymount's Shari Nishikawa (Iolani 2000). Of the 13 players, six are seniors because soccer is played in the spring in Hawai'i and in the fall on the Mainland. One of the All-State players — Christine Ayers — is on a basketball scholarship at Shelton State Community College (Ala.).

"I think we got to where we were because both of us wanted to be better than the other," Robyn said. "In our pursuit to be better than each other, we ended up becoming some of the top players in our league. Our competition between each other was brutal. She was the only defender I ever feared to play against."

At Kamehameha, Robyn played on offense and Jenny on defense. After graduation in 2000, they decided to part ways and attend different colleges. Robyn played for nationally ranked Stanford in 2000 and 2001 before transferring to Hawai'i, and Jenny picked Louisiana State.

"Basically all throughout high school, Robyn kind of took the spotlight because she was the forward and she scored like a thousand goals," Jenny said. "I just wanted to get away so I could be my own person where I wasn't Robyn's sister. I wouldn't get the questions on who's better or who's smarter. I think it was good that I was away so I could do every thing on my own without her there as a crutch."

The deHays said they call each other almost daily and reunited Sept. 26 when Hawai'i played at Rice in Houston. Jenny asked her coach for the weekend off and made the 4-hour drive from Baton Rouge, La., to watch her sister play for the first time in college.

"I was so excited," Robyn recalled. "It was a total surprise. My sister was just there in the stands smiling the entire time."

Both credit their experiences on the 1982 Leahi club team and Kamehameha Schools for helping them prepare for college soccer. The Leahi team, coached by Kari Morioka and Wendy Thompson, played well in Mainland tournaments and received much exposure.

"I think much of the success of these players should be attributed to the coaching they received from Kari and Wendy, and the fact that they were put into competitive environments," said Keopuhiwa, who added that 10 members of the All-State team were either on the 1982 or 1983 Leahi teams. "Having so many of the best players on one team made the players better as they competed against the best every day in training sessions."

Jenny deHay said Hawai'i players must do more than just play well in high school to get noticed by colleges.

"They have to go to (HYSA's Olympic Development Program) or the Regionals to get noticed," she said. "There's hardly any coaches who come to Hawai'i to watch them play. They need to get all the best girls on one team and play. That's what our club did and everyone off our club got recruited somewhere."

Robyn deHay said one of the keys to her development as a soccer player was playing with the Leahi team. Practices pitted starters against non-starters and, according Robyn, "you had to fight for your starting position every day."

"Coach Kari inspired that kind of competition because we had such a strong team," Robyn said. "Having to go hard against your teammates makes you a better player."

Jenny deHay said it takes just one Hawai'i student-athlete to open the pipeline to Mainland colleges. She said Shaina Nishimoto (Punahou 1998) served as the pioneer for Hawai'i student-athletes at Loyola Marymount.

"For people like Shari Nishikawa and Jamie Shoma, Shaina Nishimoto opened the door for them at Loyola Marymount," Jenny said. "The fact that there's more Hawai'i people in those schools now, it's just going to open the door for all of the younger guys.

"I know my coach always asks about it," she continued. "If there's a Hawai'i team at regionals, he wouldn't normally go and look at them, but I tell him they're being coached by Phil Neddo (of the Bulls) and they have some good players and he goes and he looks at them."

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.