Posted on: Wednesday, November 10, 2004

HIGH SCHOOLS
Small schools set for big time

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Perhaps it is only fitting that this week's Nissan Boys State Volleyball tournament will be held in the small town of Kea'au on the Big Island.

After all, one-third of the 12-team field is made up of schools from remote, rural areas far from Honolulu city lights.

The tournament starts today with first-round matches and will continue through Saturday at the Kamehameha Schools-Hawai'i campus.

Along with perennial powers Punahou and Kamehameha, the field also includes Maui Interscholastic League champion Hana, MIL runner-up Moloka'i, Kohala of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and Nanakuli of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association.

"Against all the bigger schools, you can get lost in the pack, so it's good to see the small schools in there," said Rosalind "Tubbs" Palakiko, now in her 18th season as Nanakuli's head coach. "One thing you know about kids from small schools — they're all playing from the heart."

The obvious disadvantage facing the small schools is their talent pool, which is considerably smaller than those at their big public or private school counterparts. Nanakuli's enrollment is about 900, Moloka'i's is about 400, Kohala's is 269 and Hana's is 128.

"We don't have cuts," Hana coach Manuel Oliveira said. "We take whatever kids we can get."

Kohala coach Wendell Lorenzo also said he's lucky to have 11 players on this year's roster.

Another obstacle is access to big club teams, which train and compete in the offseason and have become a huge part of the volleyball landscape.

Nanakuli is located on O'ahu's Leeward Coast, about 25 miles from downtown Honolulu. Kohala, on the Big Island's northern peninsula, is a two-hour drive from Hilo and about 75 minutes from Kailua, Kona. Hana is all by itself on Maui's eastern shore, an adventurous three-hour drive from Kahului.

And Moloka'i is literally alone on an island.

"It would be nice for our kids to have club volleyball to continue to develop their talent throughout the year," Lorenzo said. "But the only work they get is in the high school season."

Cost is another factor.

"Those clubs can be expensive, and a lot of our kids don't have money," Palakiko said. "And a lot of them don't have the transportation to get to town."

But this week, all four underdog teams have the means to play on the state's biggest stage.

"It's a real plus for our school," Lorenzo said. "It's an incentive for all the kids, to show that it's possible."

For Hana, the Dragons' first state tournament appearance since 1984 has gotten the entire town excited.

"It's big for our whole community — they've backed us up all the way," Oliveira said. "It should be fun."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.