Amemiya helps pay coaches' bonuses
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the giving spirit of the holidays, the head of Hawai'i high school sports will donate $5,000 to help pay for bonuses owed to the University of Hawai'i football coaches and $20,000 to purchase a scoreboard and wireless 25-second clocks for Roosevelt High's football stadium.
Keith Amemiya, executive director of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association, and his wife, Bonny, pledged to match the Ed Wong Foundation's donation to the UH assistant coaches, who have yet to receive bonuses for the Warriors' participation in the 2003 Hawai'i Bowl.
The full-time assistants are promised the equivalent of one month's salary — between $5,000 and $8,333 per coach — if the Warriors qualify for a postseason bowl.
The coaches are due another bonus after the Warriors qualified for this year's Hawai'i Bowl.
The UH athletic department, which has finished in the red for three consecutive fiscal years, has not had available money to cover the bonuses.
Amemiya said UH has been supportive of high school athletics "and we wanted to help out (UH) in any way we can, and hopefully others will join in our efforts to support the assistant coaches."
Amemiya noted that several UH assistant coaches were involved in "Hawai'i high school football for many years. We appreciate what they're doing, and we want to recognize them for their efforts."
Amemiya, who lives in Makiki, said several people with Roosevelt ties have been helpful to him and his wife. "This is our way of giving back to the school," he said.
Amemiya said he hopes the scoreboard will be in place before the 2006 football season. Roosevelt also is the home field for the Farrington and McKinley football teams.
"Another reason we wanted to help Roosevelt is because it has one of the more heavily used public school fields on O'ahu," Amemiya said. "We feel the public schools need even more support than ever. There are so many buildings that need repairs, so many text books that are unavailable.
"We cannot realistically expect state government to provide everything for our schools in the near future. It would take the collective effort of the government, legislature and the private sector. All of us need to get behind the effort."
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
