Exhibition game opening doors for Kapanui

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

KANE'OHE — Former University of Hawai'i safety/linebacker Chad Kapanui had high hopes after attending the NFL scouting combine in February, but his phone stayed silent on draft day.

Chad Kapanui, an ex-Roosevelt quarterback and Hawai'i linebacker, hopes to land a job in Japan, where he could work and play football. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

With the completion of his degree in sociology last month, Kapanui's gridiron dreams were fading fast until an avenue opened up in — of all places — Japan.

Now, Kapanui is training with 43 other Hawai'i-based football players for a July 14 exhibition game against Japan's best. More important, the game has led to a job opportunity for Kapanui, who is married with one child.

David Stant, a former Kahuku and UH standout now coaching in Japan's high-level corporate league, said his team — IBM — reached a verbal agreement yesterday to sign Kapanui. The players in the league are regular full-time employees of a company, like IBM or Toyota, except during football season when they are paid to practice and play on company time.

"This is like a second chance," said Kapanui, a former three-sport standout at Roosevelt High School. "What I wanted to do more than anything was play football, and I went to the combine and did my best. Then I was waiting for (an NFL tryout) or the CFL so I could at least have a shot, but it never happened. So for me, having this chance is great."

Stant

"I think I've had only one real job so far," Kapanui said. "To work for IBM, that would be a good start after college. Obviously I would have to learn the language, but doing that and working for IBM would look good (to employers) when I come back."

The opportunity for Hawai'i players to be recruited into Japan's corporate league is one of the main reasons Stant got involved in organizing the exhibition game. It was first proposed by the country's "X-League," which originally was called "NFL Japan," because football officials there wanted to use the game as a "test match" to see where they stand against the United States.

"They want something to tune them up for the next World Cup, which they're hosting in Kawasaki in 2007," Stant said. "When they were looking for somebody to play this summer, they were looking at the West Coast, but I thought Hawai'i would be better since we're so close. I also thought it'd be good for the local boys, since maybe some of them could get a job (in Japan)."

Stant, who was on O'ahu this past week, has coached in Japan since graduating from UH in 1989. He said the talent level of the team Hawai'i will face on July 14 is very high, with receivers running the 40-yard dash in 4.4 or 4.5 seconds.

"They have 70 players in camp now, and they were chosen from a pool of 3,000," Stant said.

While the Hawai'i roster is sprinkled with recent UH players like Kapanui, receiver Britton Komine and defensive back Nate Jackson, it also includes some lesser-known names and athletes like receivers Trey Brown and Kawika Smith. Brown, a former three-sport athlete at Mililani High School, graduated in 2002 but has not played sports in college.

Smith, a Damien graduate, played only basketball at Hawai'i Pacific University.

Offensive lineman Andy Ramos, who played for the semi-pro Hawaiian Islanders until the franchise folded earlier this year, admitted the Hawai'i team has looked a bit ragged during its recent practices at Castle High School. But he says Hawai'i players have a knack for stepping it up on game night.

"The big thing right now is getting everybody in shape and learning off each other," said Ramos, 30. "When it's time to play, Hawai'i guys are really good at being serious and giving it everything they have."

Head coach Ronald Oyama said the team is still seeking sponsors to help pay for equipment and per diem for the players during the trip. He can be reached at coachoyama@aol.com or 330-4514.

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

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