There were so many crucial plays and moments in Monday night’s OIA baseball championship game, but one of the more interesting ones had to be Kailua’s man-on-first-and-second, no outs situation in the bottom of the seventh inning.

When the leadoff man got aboard, many people (myself included) wondered if head coach Corey Ishigo would call for a sacrifice bunt to move the winning run into scoring position. When the next guy also reached base, for sure many (myself included) thought it was a sacrifice situation, especially since the guy batting had dropped a successful sac bunt in his previous at-bat.

But there he was, swinging away. He eventually struck out, as did the next batter. Sophomore starter Kahana Neal then got a grounder to third to end the inning unscathed.

Now, on the one hand, some might find it easy to second-guess Ishigo, given the results. As one former high school coach mentioned, “Baseball is about percentages, you gotta play the percentages.” By moving the runner to third, now he can score on a sacrifice fly, or surely a single to the outfield.

As the former coach mentioned, you also draw the infield in, giving you more field to find gaps in for a base hit. I also think it might have put more pressure on the defense, knowing the winning run was only 90 feet away.

But as Ishigo explained, he already had a runner in scoring position, and he didn’t really need the second runner in scoring position, too. He felt with three seniors at the plate, he liked his chances that one of them would get a base hit.

Having watched this Kailua team swing the bat, I can see his reasoning.

Also, Ishigo said, if he sacrificed, Pearl City likely would have walked the next batter to load the bases and set up the double play, plus the force play at home. That next batter was intentionally walked in his previous at-bat.

After listening to Ishigo’s explanation, to me the call wasn’t as easy to make as it first appeared. I can see why he made his decision. And, however briefly, he did consider calling the sacrifice.

“It crossed my mind,” he said.

Chargers coach Gary Nakamoto said he thought the sacrifice was coming and was surprised it didn’t. I think a lot of people were.

But if just one of those next three batters had gotten a hit, the run probably would have scored and we’d be talking about Kailua’s victory instead. And who is to say the sacrifice would have been executed? At the high school level, it’s certainly not automatic.

If the bunt was popped up, or hit straight back to the pitcher to force out the lead runner, then people might have second-guessed why Ishigo took the bat out of a senior’s hands and did not let him swing away.

But that’s all part of what makes baseball interesting. So many different plays, different situations, can help determine the outcome of the game.

When Hawai‘i’s high school sports seasons got shuffled around last summer, boys volleyball was one sport that I thought might fly under the radar.

Most of the discussion/debate, of course, centered around girls basketball and softball. Not much attention was paid to boys volleyball, and I wondered if it was because the sport has a much smaller following than the other two. When it was played the same season as the girls, it got less attention than the girls and I wondered if it might get even more lost when thrown in against baseball and softball.

But at least at Punahou and ‘Iolani, I can assure you that boys volleyball is as popular as ever, especially when these two teams are playing each other.

In their first meeting on April 12, I was surprised to see about 800 people in Hemmeter Fieldhouse, including the pep band from each school. There were even more people, about 950, in attendance for Friday night’s rematch at ‘Iolani.

Most of the ‘Iolani fans — including the band — wore black, and they showed up in force.

The Buffanblu’s big early leads in games 1 and 2 kept the crowd relatively quiet, but when the Raiders rallied from down 21-10 to 24-23, many of the screaming fans were on their feet and the place was rocking.

“This environment is the best in the whole state of Hawai‘i,” said Punahou senior Jeremy Kaimikaua, who led the Buffanblu with eight kills and seemed to feed off the crowd energy. “They have die-hard fans and when the crowd got into it, the emotion was unbelievable.”

Punahou coach Rick Tune said it’s an atmosphere his players should cherish.

“It’s a small gym, but it’s a loud gym and the atmosphere is great for volleyball,” Tune said. “For our players, if they’re lucky, they get to play here four times.”

On the court, the two teams put on a highly skilled and entertaining display of volleyball. The Buffanblu looked unbeatable for much of the match, with very impressive depth along the front line. Their hitters came in waves … Kaimikaua, Maddison McKibbin, Erik Shoji, Kaiwi Crabbe, Henry Cassiday … the blocks were there … Shoji also made some great sets … Marcus Miyabara had 10 digs.

But ‘Iolani’s Brad Lawson again rose to the challenge, despite playing with a sore right (hitting) wrist that cast his status in doubt all the way until first serve. He didn’t even start, coming in off the bench with the Raiders trailing 7-5.

But Lawson still finished with a match-high 15 kills, soaring high and firing rockets down into the Punahou defense.

“Brad is one of the best players in the nation, so you’re not really going to stop him,” Kaimikaua said. “We just tried to serve him tough, make him move and slow him down.”

Tune tried to slow ‘Iolani’s comeback with two timeouts, imploring his troops to stay aggressive.

“We made some adjustments,” Tune said. “I told them they have to go out and take it, because (the Raiders) are not going to give it to you. They’re not going to sit back and roll over.”

‘Iolani coach Mike Among said his team showed its potential during that last run, but added it takes more than one good run to knock off the Buffanblu.

“I told our boys they didn’t have to play perfect to beat Punahou, they just have to be more consistent,” Among said. “The really good teams are consistent and efficient, and we’re not that right now. We play good in spurts, but we also give away points in spurts, and that’s not going to get it done against Punahou.”

When the Raiders were down 21-10, Among said he encouraged his players to focus on their execution and not the score.

“I pointed to the scoreboard and said they were worrying too much about that instead of what they were doing on the court,” Among said. “I told them to play like there’s no scoreboard, and they started to be more loose and started making plays, digging the ball more. We played everybody, and a lot of them stepped up.”

Punahou had already secured a state tournament berth by winning the first round, and the Buffanblu now have the inside track to claim the overall championship. But they learned Friday night that victories still must be earned, no matter the lead.

“They learned a big lesson,” Tune said. “But it’s better to learn that now so we can correct it before the state tournament.”

Kaimikaua said any game against ‘Iolani can seem like a state title match.

“They’re our rival, and any time we play each other both teams are going to bring their best,” he said. “Any game we play against each other is going to be great to watch.”

Last night’s sure was.

Last year proved to be a pretty good one for Pearl City baseball, with the Chargers winning the OIA championship and finishing second in the state — their first league title since 1999 and highest state finish since 1993.

But this year, so far, PC looks to be in an even better position.

Remember that the Chargers finished third in the Western Division last year, needing to beat Moanalua ace Kekoa Lee (now at UH-Hilo) in the OIA tournament first round and then rallying past Roosevelt with five runs in the top of the seventh to break a 1-1 tie in the quarterfinals.

This time, Pearl City won the West, got the first-round bye and then blitzed past Roosevelt, 10-0, in yesterday’s quarterfinals.

And like last year, the Chargers’ hitting and pitching appears ready to step it up a notch. Starting lefty Bryson Nakamura looked sharp, amazingly needing only 42 pitches to earn the three-hit victory in five innings of work.

“Everything was working for him,” said Carlton Tanabe, the Chargers’ senior catcher. “My dad (Colin) had a scouting report on them, so we had a game plan.”

Nakamura’s low pitch count means he definitely could be available for Saturday’s championship game should PC get past Castle tonight. Cory Yuh, who like Nakamura has playoff experience from last year, likely will get the start tonight.

Meanwhile, just like last year, the Chargers bats seem to have come alive at the right time.

Tanabe, who entered the game hitting .250, went 3-for-3 yesterday. Namba, who was hitting .353 but had struck out seven times in his last three games, went 2-for-2.

“Carlton and Bryson had been struggling, but it looks like they’re coming out of their shell,” said Pearl City coach Gary Nakamoto. “We’ve been working on our hitting, so hopefully our bats will still be hot (tonight).”

If there’s a feeling of deja vu for the Chargers and their fans this week, that could be a very good thing indeed.

Lee Trevino once said a good golf game does not just mean shooting 65 on a good day; it also means being able to shoot 72 on a bad day.

Or something like that.

The same principle, I believe, applies to pitching. Reece Kiriu threw a five-hitter to beat Mid-Pacific, 5-3, on Tuesday, but he had to earn that victory pitch-by-pitch. It was clear from the beginning that he did not have total command, as he gave up two hits and walked in two runs in the first inning.

Kiriu later fell behind 3-0 after hitting the first two batters in the third inning.

But he kept battling, kept grinding.

Punahou finally gave him a 4-3 lead in the fourth, but it was hard work holding onto that slim lead. Kiriu was threatened several times and ran a lot of three-ball counts, but somehow seemed to come up with the money pitch when he needed it most.

“It was tough, because I started out behind on almost every batter,” he said. “Getting the curve over for strikes when I was behind (in the count) was key, because it kept them off-balanced. I knew they probably were not expecting it, so I just was focusing in when it got to three balls.”

Owls coach Dunn Muramaru said he was impressed with Kiriu’s mental toughness in their last meeting, when he lost a hard fought 3-2 decision. He was just as impressed yesterday.

“He’s tough as nails,” Muramaru said. “He’s a good pitcher, he never gives in. He still didn’t have (command) late, but he was able to make the big pitches when they gotta have it, and that’s the mark of a quality pitcher.”

Kiriu’s emergence as a clutch pitcher comes at a crucial time for the Buffanblu, who have lost big arms in Jeeter Ishida and Evan Lim (both injured).

“We’ve been building him for the last three years to pitch in a big game like this,” Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said. “He battled, he didn’t give in. He made key pitches at key times in the count, and he was able to get guys out.”

With four walks, three hit batsmen, and about 110 pitches thrown, Kiriu’s performance was not what might be considered a classic “gem.”

But sometimes, a 72 on a day when the drives go wayward can be just as impressive as a 65 when every swing finds the sweet spot.

There’s an old saying that “The worst day on the golf course still beats the best day at the office.”

Or something like that.

Most of us find this out as adults, but I think the high school golfers might be the keenest athletes of them all.

While their schoolmates were sitting in a lecture or taking an exam or doing some science experiment on Monday, dozens of ILH and OIA kids were out on the links — deciding between a 9-iron or pitching wedge, whether their putt would break right or left.

Another gorgeous Hawaiian day, blue skies, sunshine, and while their peers were inside a windowless classroom, these golfers were working on their tans, enjoying the scenic blue water off Kahala, the swaying palm trees along the fairways, the view of majestic Koko Head in the distance.

As they came in off the 18th green, their worries were not about exams or papers or overbearing teachers.

It was, “Man, I can’t believe I missed that putt on 17″ … or “Ho, I shot junk out there.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. These are talented, great competitors who have worked hard at a legitimate sport. Put it this way: the worst score out of 32 ILH boys and girls at Waialae yesterday (100) would have beaten my score at Hawai’i Country Club by five strokes two weeks ago.

But as the years go by, when I go to these golf tournaments I can’t help but think: “What a way to spend a school day!”

So I’m glad the ILH winners, Cyd Okino and Alex Ching, are playing. Okino is a phenom, but other phenoms have stayed away from high school golf. Obviously, Michelle Wie never played a round for Punahou.

Stephanie Kono played two years, which I’m glad she did, but Ayaka Kaneko (Sacred Hearts) did not.

Tadd did for one year and part of another, but that was it.

I respect their decisions, but for their sake, I wish they played. Why not? Get out of class, play some great courses for free, have fun, compete, be with your friends, represent your school.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

Definitely beats working.

Found myself discussing the topic of “confidence” with a friend last night, and it’s a subject I’ve wondered about for many years now, not necessarily in the sports realm.

In sports, we all know how confidence (or lack thereof) plays an important role in success or failure. Same could be said in other parts of life.

But here’s where it gets tricky … in sports, I was raised with the old-school idea that confidence is something that must be earned and deserved. It’s not something you can just buy in a store or fool yourself into having. It either comes naturally, from God-given talent, or through hard work and practice — proving to yourself that you can do something well.

And we all know that confidence can be built by having success, which breeds more confidence.

In sports, we often measure success with a scoreboard, or at least by performance, so by the end of the game we can pretty much tell whether someone’s confidence is real or imagined. A guy can strut onto the court or field with apparent “confidence,” but if he gets totally outplayed and exposed, well, maybe that confidence is not as sturdy or well-placed as it should be.

As Father Bray said, “There is a fine line between confidence and overconfidence …”

Sports has a way of humbling you and keeping things in check (like shooting 105 in golf).

In other parts of life, though, I’ve found confidence to be a more complicated trait. Some people appear to exude confidence, without really having a basis for it. They somehow have convinced themselves that they are better than they really are, and are somehow able to convince other people that they are better than they really are just by exuding that “confidence.”

And then, if that confidence — real or imagined — leads to success, like we said, it breeds more confidence. Until, I guess, the confidence is actually earned and becomes real instead of imagined.

Anybody follow?

So I guess my chicken-or-the-egg question is this: Which comes first — “Confidence?” Or success?

If you say “confidence,” then how do you get that confidence without first having success? Is it possible to “fool yourself” into thinking you are better than you really are, so that you have the confidence even without a true basis for it?

If you say “success” comes first, OK, then how do you get that success without having the necessary confidence? Luck?

It reminds of that old Army recruiting commercial, where the poor guy keeps getting turned down at job interviews and is told repeatedly, “Sorry, but we can’t hire you if you don’t have experience.”

So the guy says, “But how do I get the experience if nobody will hire me?”

The answer there is, “Join the Army!”

I’d like to hear your answers: Which comes first, “confidence?” Or success?

There’s at least 11 different scenarios possible for the end of the ILH baseball tournament, which starts Saturday and could last for almost two weeks.

One scenario would result in the exact same situation as we are in now — with Saint Louis No. 1, Mid-Pacific No. 2 and Punahou No. 3.

Other scenarios are so complicated, Punahou could end up No. 3 in the regular season, No. 3 in the tournament, and still not have a shot at the league’s third state tournament berth.

It makes some wonder, “Why have a tournament?”

But with all its faults, I still can’t help but like the idea of an ILH tournament. To me, there’s an excitement with wiping the slate clean, starting fresh with everybody 0-0.

I’m sure every team in the league wishes it could correct some of the mistakes made in the regular season. Now, they can.

One argument against the tournament is that it lessens the relevance of the regular season. But ILH baseball coordinator Carl Schroers said that when he and the eight head coaches met for over two hours a few weeks ago to plan the tournament, one of the goals was to reward the top performing teams.

“We wanted to protect the highest finishers,” Schroers said. “That’s why Mid-Pac, by finishing second in the regular season, gets at least a playoff for a state berth (no matter its tournament finish).”

Saint Louis, the regular season champ, already has earned its state tourney berth and a spot in the overall ILH championship game if it does not win the tournament.

Punahou does not need to win the tournament to protect its third place regular season finish, but it will need help from Saint Louis and MPI if it doesn’t.

For the Buffanblu and the rest of the teams, the goal is to at least get to the tournament championship game. With a double-elimination format, every team gets a lifeline.

Every team gets a second chance.

And that’s what this tournament is all about.

Played golf Saturday at Hawai’i Country Club in Kunia, with 21 others in a tribute to Henry “Bumpy” Kaulia, who died two years ago in a car accident in rural Oregon. Shot 105 (hey, I only play 5-6 times a year, OK?), but did win a greenie on No. 17 with a 4-iron to about 20 feet, then sank the uphill six-footer for par.

But this “tournament” wasn’t about scores, or winners or losers. My buddy Nu’uanu Kaulia, Henry’s kid brother, shot an 87. Another person, involved in Hawai’i high school sports but who shall remain nameless, fired a blistering 136, or thereabouts.

But again, what mattered most was the good time had by all on a beautiful Hawaiian morning, then the barbecue afterward in Nu’u’s driveway in “old side” Mililani, just the kind of day Henry Kaulia would have enjoyed.

For those who do not know who Henry Kaulia is, I’ve pasted his story below which ran in The Honolulu Advertiser on April 27, 2006. I’m posting it again because I think Henry Kaulia represented exactly the type of coach we need more of in Hawai’i, in the United States. I want people to know who he is and remember what he did.

For those who remember reading the story two years ago, sorry for the repeat. In an update, I’m happy to announce the news from Nu’uanu that the Gaston (Ore.) High School gym will soon be renamed “Henry Kaulia Gym” in honor of the pure Hawaiian kid from Wai’anae who made a tremendous impact on a mostly white community in the Pacific Northwest.

The planned annual golf outing is unofficially named the “Aloha Shirt Tournament,” Nu’u announced during the cookout, because an aloha shirt and shorts was Henry’s daily uniform, even during frozen winters in Oregon.

I’m already looking forward to next April’s tournament.

Maybe I’ll shoot a blistering 104.

Posted on: Thursday, April 27, 2006

In Oregon, a life of aloha

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

There actually is a town in Oregon named “Aloha.”

But about 15 miles away, there is another small Oregon town where for the past 24 years, a Hawaiian from Wai’anae taught a mostly white community exactly what that word means.

Henry “Bumpy” Kaulia died in a single-car accident April 9 in Gaston, Ore., leaving behind a legion of grieving former students and players he taught and coached there and a family back in Hawai’i that knew little about the impact he had on a generation of kids some 2,500 miles away.

“We were amazed, overwhelmed,” said younger brother Nu’uanu Kaulia, who traveled with his mother from O’ahu to a memorial service at Gaston Jr./Sr. High School that drew more than 800 people.

“We never thought there would be something like that. All this time, we knew he was a teacher and coach, but we thought he just did his job and it was nothing special. When we saw all those people take turns at the microphone and say how much he meant to them, we were touched.”

Henry Kaulia’s life story is an unlikely one, an inspiring journey that took him from a poor single-parent home on O’ahu’s Leeward Coast to rural Oregon, where he graduated from college and coached football, basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball to kids from youth level through high school.

He did not just teach physical education and sports — he preached discipline, love and respect.

And the message got through.

“One thing about Henry, his upbringing was tough,” said Kyle Kobashigawa, a longtime friend from Wai’anae who owns a sporting goods store in nearby Forest Grove. “I mean, the lifestyle he had growing up, for him to overcome all those obstacles and have an impact on so many lives … it’s awesome.”

PATH OUT OF POVERTY

Henry Pali Kaulia was born in Honolulu on Aug. 14, 1960, to parents whose ethnicity was 100 percent Hawaiian.

“That’s what we were told,” said Nu’uanu, who was born nine years later. “My tutu always told us, ‘You guys are pure Hawaiian.’ “

The low-income family moved from place to place on the Leeward Coast, and things inside the house were just as unstable. According to Nu’uanu, their father, who died in 1986, had problems with alcohol and sometimes took out his frustrations on his two boys, verbally and physically.

Eventually, his parents divorced and Henry — still a teenager — suddenly became the man of the house.

“My brother raised me,” Nu’uanu said. “My dad left, and my mom was hardly home because she was working all the time.”

Money was so tight, Nu’uanu said, Henry’s “brown bag” lunch to summer fun often consisted of shoyu and rice.

Despite the circumstances, Henry became an honor student and standout football player at Wai’anae High School. In 1977, as a 5-foot-10, 204-pound defensive lineman, he earned All-State honors and helped the Seariders win the Prep Bowl, predecessor to the state championship.

“He was a good kid, one of the better ones we ever had,” said Larry Ginoza, Henry’s coach at Wai’anae. “He was tough, and he played with smarts. But besides being a good football player, he was a good student and a good person. He was solid all around.”

Watching his mother struggle to earn a living, Henry knew that education would be his path out of poverty. So with six of his Wai’anae teammates, he boarded a plane in the summer of 1978 to join the football team at Pacific University, a small private college in rural Forest Grove.

Eventually, all but one of the seven Seariders returned home before graduating. All but the ‘pure Hawaiian.’

SPREADING THE ALOHA

“Henry came to Pacific with nothing in his pocket,” said Mike McCartney, a former state senator from Windward O’ahu who was Kaulia’s college teammate. “When all the Hawai’i kids would get together at someone’s apartment to cook food, Henry would bring one can of Spam. He didn’t have much, but he always would give whatever he had.”

One thing Kaulia always had in big supply was the aloha spirit. He became president of Pacific’s Hawai’i Club, and he made friends with students of all races and backgrounds.

“He was a true Hawaiian,” McCartney said. “He was never about money or status, and he spread the aloha to everybody.”

On the football field, Kaulia dropped down to 176 pounds but stayed at nose guard, often taking on opponents 50 or 60 pounds heavier. As he did in other facets of his life, he ignored the obstacles and pushed forward.

“One game, he came running to the sideline and told me, ‘Eh, go get me some (medical) tape,’ ” McCartney said. “I looked at his arm, and it was broken. I grabbed him by the jersey and yelled at the coach to hurry and get help, but Henry got mad at me because he wanted to just tape it and go back into the game.”

RESPECT, DISCIPLINE

Kaulia graduated from Pacific in four years with a bachelor’s degree in education, and his mother — who never finished high school — attended the ceremony.

“He showed our family that it was possible to go to college,” said Nu’uanu, who also earned All-State honors at Wai’anae and earned a full scholarship to play football at Hawai’i. “Growing up the way we did, nobody in our family had gone to college and we always thought that was something other people did.”

Kaulia took a job as a P.E. teacher in the Gaston School District and began a long career that included coaching roles in football, basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball. He coached all ages — from youth basketball, to varsity softball, to college football (as an assistant at Pacific).

Some teams won championships, others didn’t, but the one constant was Kaulia’s firm but caring coaching style that stressed discipline, teamwork and respect. He patterned himself after Ginoza, who built a football dynasty at Wai’anae in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

“He always said the two people he looked up to most were my mom and Coach Ginoza,” Nu’uanu said. “Coach Ginoza always taught respect, and that’s what (Henry) taught his players. Respect and playing hard was more important than winning.”

But Kaulia’s greatest gift may have been his off-field contributions. Kobashigawa said Kaulia often would spend his coaching stipend on equipment or team functions, and he established the “Special K” fund to help athletes who did not have money for fees or other team-related expenses.

“Sometimes budgets were tight, so he would contribute his paycheck,” Kobashigawa said. “He would buy equipment, or help set up a summer tournament.”

Kaulia also would donate time to help kids with personal problems.

“He just had a knack for knowing what to say to kids, especially the ‘at-risk’ type of kids,” said Kobashigawa, who coached the Gaston softball team to a state championship with Kaulia as his assistant. “Whether you were a star or on the bench, he treated you the same. He would always tell them, ‘You can, you can.’ One kid (at the Oregon service) said he was very shy, but he said ‘Coach K. always told me, ‘You can do it; you just have to give it your best effort.’”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

After the accident, word spread quickly throughout Gaston and Forest Grove. A makeshift memorial was set up at the crash site, and lei soon appeared. As a tribute to Kaulia, people all over town picked a day where everyone would wear aloha shirts, his trademark attire.

Word is Kaulia would wear an aloha shirt and shorts every day, regardless of the weather.

“My brother was a simple guy, he didn’t need much,” Nu’uanu said. “He lived in the same apartment ever since college, and he never changed the phone number.”

At the Oregon service, an official from Pacific presented Kaulia’s mother with the diploma for the master’s degree in education that he was scheduled to earn this summer. That drew a standing ovation from the gym’s capacity crowd.

“We were blown away,” Nu’uanu said. “My dad couldn’t even read or write, and here (Henry) was getting a master’s degree.”

But it made his family even prouder to learn about the huge impact Kaulia made on a community so far away.

“I always felt he was exactly the kind of person these people said he was,” Nu’uanu said. “But I didn’t know so many others saw in him what I saw in him.

“I missed him all those years he was away, but at least now I know that all the times I was missing him, he was making a difference somewhere else.

“And those people appreciate the time he spent with them.”

This is a time — a couple months after a high school sports season — when coaching jobs become open and then filled. Coaches have had time to catch their breath after months of six-days-a-week (sometimes seven) preparation and time devoted to their programs. They’ve had moments to reflect on the season and contemplate their futures.

But man, when it rains, it pours.

I came into work Friday afternoon expecting just to check my e-mail and phone messages before heading out to the Punahou-’Iolani boys volleyball match when …

Boom! I’m told Glenn Takara stepped down as ‘Iolani girls basketball coach.

Bam! Yoshi Honda, the Raiders’ wrestling coach, also resigned.

Boom! Campbell has openings for both its boys (Glenn Flores) and girls (Bigs Macadangdang) basketball programs.

That’s four pretty high-profile jobs suddenly open in just one day. Each of the jobs is attractive and has big upsides, but without even knowing the exact reasons, I also can understand why each coach might have left.

For Takara, it’s as good a time as any, with his daughter Raechele graduating along with a strong core of veteran seniors: Jamie Smith, Chanel Hirata, Kylie Ahlo, Dayna Jandoc. Also, Takara is an assistant varsity football coach, and with ‘Iolani advancing deep into the state tournament the past few years and overlapping with the girls basketball season … it’s a long seven-month grind.

For Honda, he set a pretty solid foundation with both the boys and girls programs so I think ‘Iolani wrestling should be in pretty good shape for whoever takes over.

For Flores, he was Campbell’s third new coach in three years, so obviously there are challenges there that anybody would face in that position.

For Macadangdang, hey, the Sabers just won the Division II state championship, so why not go out on top?

Again, I don’t know the exact reasons why each coach left, but on the surface each would seem to have good reasons.

And really, with the time demands and countless details that need attention from every high school coaching job, sometimes you wonder how anybody can keep doing it for more than one year anyway.

But that being said, each program also can be attractive to those who might want to take over.

‘Iolani has a winning tradition, excellent facilities and strong all-around support in both wrestling and girls basketball, plus student-athletes who are coachable and hard-working.

Campbell basketball also has a solid recent history, as the boys have qualified for the past four state tournaments and the girls program now should generate more interest as a state champion. The Sabers also have a large pool of talented athletes to draw from and the school is trying very hard to build pride from within.

Coaching changes happen all the time in high school sports and though it seems as if we’re losing four good ones all in one day, it will be interesting to see who takes over each of these programs and how they will shape the immediate future of the Raiders and Sabers.

The time really is flying like the wind.

Is this really Ka’ili Smith’s senior year of high school? Seemed like only a few blinks ago when she was a talented freshman All-State center fielder.

Well, saw Smith again on Thursday in a 4-1 victory over Campbell, and yes, she’s still impressive. Went 2-for-3 with a single, triple, 2 RBIs. Has a smooth swing with power to the opposite field, plus the speed to get around the bases. Also showed a great arm from center field, nearly pegging a runner going to third.

Then I realized — she’s a senior! What lucky college is she going to play for?

I guessed I missed it in the craziness of the high school sports year, but Smith actually signed her letter of intent last November to play for … Mississippi State?

I don’t follow college softball enough, but I’m sure Mississippi State is a solid program, being in the SEC and all. I was just surprised because I didn’t think that region would be where Smith would end up.

Then again, national power Tennessee had two kids from Hawai’i (Lianne Horiuchi and Anita Manuma) in its starting lineup last season. And other SEC schools — like Mississippi State — no doubt noticed.

East Carolina grabbed several of our local grads — Kaui Tom, Charina Sumner and Cristen Aona — a couple years ago. Nebraska signed Kim Fuller in 2005.

Horiuchi has since transferred to Purdue and Fuller to Missouri Valley.

In any case, it’s clear our local softball talent is now making its way Eastward. Any increased scholarship opportunities are a good sign for Hawai’i kids, so that’s a good thing. But I’m sure it’s not making things any easier for UH coach Bob Coolen, who has taken the program to new heights with mostly homegrown players and no doubt would like more.

I heard Coolen wanted Smith — who wouldn’t? — but she chose Mississippi State after a recruiting visit there.

“She felt comfortable with the players and the coaches, I think that’s what sold her,” Kapolei coach Tony Saffery said. “She also liked their facilities, and they offered her a great package.”

Softball scholarships, remember, are broken up into pieces so it is rare for someone to receive a full ride, especially a position player. Don’t know if that’s what Smith is getting, but I’m sure it’s more than just books.

Used to be some of our top local players would end up at Cal, or BYU, or Fresno State or UCLA, popular schools for Hawai’i kids in other sports or those who don’t play sports in college.

But now, it’s Tennessee, it’s East Carolina, it’s Nebraska, it’s Purdue, it’s Missouri Valley State …

Even Mississippi State.