Hirayama a ‘good fit’ for Mililani baseball
July 8th, 2008 by WesAs stated a few main posts earlier, it can be hard nowdays to find long-term high school coaches, people who stay long enough to really make a mark on the program and even the community.
But it looks to me like Mililani got itself a pretty good baseball hire in Mark Hirayama.
Despite never having been a high school head coach, Hirayama is a familiar figure to almost everybody in local high school baseball. He’s been involved just about continuously ever since he graduated from UH in 1990, as an assistant for 10 years at Punahou with Pal Eldredge and then at Mililani under Glenn Nitta and then the past four seasons at Kamehameha under Vern Ramie.
So he definitely knows the territory.
And Hirayama especially knows Mililani, since he lives there and has a son who plays in the town’s youth program.
“I had a feeling he would get the job, because it’s a good fit,” Ramie said Monday. “He did a little bit of everything for us, so it’s a big loss, but I’m happy he’ll be getting this opportunity.”
I was surprised to learn there were only four applicants for the job, because Mililani has to be one of the most attractive programs to take over. The school has outstanding facilities, and the baseball field and amenities rival that of any private school.
The community’s youth program is very deep and strong, with a lot of talent feeding into the high school even after some migrate to the ILH.
They have strong community and administrative support, with Nitta — now the athletic director — having built the program from scratch in the 1970s.
The potential is enormous, with much of the groundwork already laid to build a powerhouse.
Should be very interesting to see what Hirayama can do with his first head coaching opportunity …
July 9th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Mililani has a strong community sport programs and the high school has benefited with talent and numbers but the baseball team has not reached its full potential. I think traditionally Pearl City and Aiea are the teams to beat in the OIA west. If you look at the baseball records in SportsHigh.com, the highest Mililani came in was fourth in 1987. Hopefully, Hirayama can bring discipline and a winning attitude to the baseball program.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:01 am
As long as Hirayama surrounds himself with good assistants then Mililani should be alright. That was the problem with Coach Sato. IMHO, the assistant coaches lacked the experience and maturity and did not gain the respect of the players.
The baseball team has it’s own weight room and access to 2 batting cages!
Pearl City’s success was because of how the coaches related to the players. Almost every West team had the same talent as Pearl City. Give credit to the coaches.
Wes, like you mentioned, Mililani has tremendous talent in the youth leagues. But has Mililani ever won a State Baseball Championship? Hopefully Coach Hirayama can get these players focused to do the job they are capable of doing.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Any word on who his assistant coaches are going to be?
July 9th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Good points about the assistants, especially since this is his first head coaching job and it’s a big one.
As Ramie and others will attest, it can be a big jump going from assistant to head coach, with a lot of off-field duties suddenly thrown in your lap.
Having a strong staff definitely will help.
Mahalo for reading.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Homey, you got the inside scoops about the weight room and the cages and the assistant coaches. Maybe mark should hire that great coaching staff from the pearl city team that won the little league world series, or maybe any of the great coaches from the powerful pearl city little league.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:32 am
bobby - or maybe move up the Mililani J.V. coaches since they do an outstanding job “teaching” the kids respect for the game.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:38 am
wow homey…are you from pearl city? it sure sounds like it. maybe you should focus on pearl city and not worry about mililani. coach hirayama is a great coach and he should be the only person concerned with who his assistant coaches should be. if you are so worried about it then maybe you should step forward and let coach hirayama know that you are interested since it seems as though you have great concern for the program.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Sam - Good one. Actually I live in Mililani and have been involved with the youth leagues in Mililani. My son played for Mililani as well as many of his friends. Are you from Mililani? Have you seen the talent that Mililani has year in and year out?
As for Pearl City, I have friends whose sons play(ed) for Pearl City and they noticed the same thing about the assistant coaches at Mililani.
Yes I am concerned about Mililani’s program because we helped build the weightroom, cleaned up the cages, dug out the bullpen, cut the grass, rebuild the infield, etc. etc. What you see today is the many hours of volunteer services by parents, supporters, and past and present players.
Yes, Coach Hirayama is the only one who should be concerned with who his assistants. All I’m saying is that decision should be his and his alone and not be influenced by outside sources.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
i agree
July 17th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Homey, does your name start with a B and end with a IAN? Are you a current parent? Please tell me not because this is too much. We all know you were the greatest little league coach in all of America, for all we heard from you, you were the greatest thing since sliced bread. Congratulations on receiving the AJA Julio Franco award. Why didn’t you apply for the job if it is such a big concern? Please keep in mind that you were not the only father who contributed to the program, if anything you may be one of the parents that contributed to the problem. There are many fathers that dedicated hours of their time and they don’t complain. Many of companies donated materials to make it the place it is today. Instead of being the keyboard warrior, why don’t you go out there and cut the grass or pull some weeds or help the community out. Remember……………….. as much as you love yourself, this is not about you, it is about the Kids and the Community. If you have this negative attitude, your kids will have the same attitude because you are their mentor. This ultimately makes the job difficult for anyone.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
well good luck to hirayama, with parents like you guys, that is why MHS will never win. No more ONE TEAM. look this year, the parents ran the team. it showed in the kids.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Good luck coach Mark. I know you will do a great job. I think coach Sato left you in good hands, but it is too bad how their season ended. I hear the two parents that caused so much trouble for sato is gone, so you are very fortunate. Derby and Singchow has done a wonderful job with the youth programs and what a shame that two of their studs that played on their travel teams were such a—-. Hope you success and get Sgt. Niino out there to help you police the place of negativity. Good Luck.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:39 am
My son is attending Pearl City High after having played his entire youth baseball with coybl in Miliani. Our decision was based on the pour attitude of the highschool players, parents, and lack of discipline and the never ending politics displayed by coaches and parents. Mililani is losing all of their talented players such as my son to other schools because they have lost focus on what is best for the school. BTW most of you folks in Milinai would know my son and or have heard of him.