ILH benefitting from traditional school calendar
August 17th, 2008 by WesWell, the first weekend of the Hawai‘i high school football season is in the books, and what stands out to me is the mostly dominant play of the ILH teams.
Five games, five wins: Kamehameha 35, Kahuku 0. Pac-Five 50, Waialua 7. Word of Life 26, Nanakuli 7. Damien 15, McKinley 12. ‘Iolani 39, Kamehameha-Maui 0.
Aggregate score: ILH 165, OIA/MIL 26.
Average score: ILH 33, OIA/MIL 5.
Also, note that the ILH's top two teams from last year — Saint Louis and Punahou — haven't even played yet.
In the three games I watched, the biggest disparity between the ILH teams and their opponents was in execution and team speed. I attribute at least part of this to the built-in advantage of a traditional school calendar.
Most public schools started classes on July 28, 29 or 30. The first day of official football practice statewide — mandated by HHSAA rule — was July 28.
That means it was impossible for public schools to hold "fall camps" or regular two-a-day practices like in the old days before the year-round calendar. Kamehameha, meanwhile, camped for an entire week at Kapalama and held THREE-a-day practices. ‘Iolani went to Camp Erdman for two-a-days in Mokule‘ia as usual, although their stay got shortened from four days to three due to a mix-up with their reservation.
I'm not sure if Pac-Five held a camp, or if they were able to hold two-a-days, but I would guess they probably also had more opportunities to practice than the public schools.
Kamehameha-Maui? They started school on Aug. 4; don't ask me why.
The result of all this extra practice time for the ILH: More reps, more opportunity for coaches to instruct, correct mistakes and evaluate personnel, more time to watch film, more team bonding.
Also, more time to lift weights and condition.
We saw the outcome this weekend, as Kamehameha, Pac-Five and ‘Iolani looked very sharp in their schemes and execution. The passing was accurate, the timing routes more precise, the blocking assignments more clear. They had more team speed, more explosion off the ball.
By comparison, Kahuku, Waialua and Kamehameha-Maui looked ragged, rusty, still trying to figure things out. A step slow.
For the public schools, the trade-off in starting school early is that they can get kids off academic probation and eligible by the first game because the first grade check period has already passed. I think it's a good trade-off, because what good will two-a-days be if many of the kids won't even be allowed to suit up?
But the lack of reps shows in games like this past weekend's.
We'll see if the other leagues can catch up with the ILH in the next few weeks with the remaining nonleague games to come.
August 17th, 2008 at 2:00 am
It was surprising that Pac-Five won because I thought they were a candidate to go winless. Not to belittle the Wolfpack, but the loss of personnel to graduation as well as Word of Life must've hurt, almost to the point where it was a question mark of whether the Pack could even field a team. Now with the win, Pac-Five looks like a potential contender in Division II, and in my eyes, Kip Botelho is the second best coach in the ILH behind Kale Ane (Stant and Hao need time since they are relatively new). If the Pack does well this year, the team should only grow stronger with the arrival of St. Francis students in the coming years. I hope Punahou can continue the trend of dominance in the ILH. They looked solid in their scrimmage but will face monstrous challenges in Waianae (looking to rebound and pull itself together) and at Castle (always a tough place to play).
August 17th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
As a very proud Leilehua grad, I laugh at the notion that the ILH is inherently better than the public schools. I was in the stands at Aloha Stadium when Leilehua beat St. Louis in the 1984 Prep Bowl and gleefully watched online as the Mules won the State Championship in football last fall over the iconic St. Louis Crusaders. You ILH apologists can whine all you want about officiating, but that game proved that there is no talent or coaching gap between town and country. Grow a QB to the dimensions of Andrew Manley (who as an LHS sophomore was already the size of Colt Brennan) and you can conquer the world.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
To Scott Mason: There you go again saying the wrong things...Kip Botelho won one game last year and that's how you judge a good coach. Kale Ane won one championship in how many years,and he has the talent. To say Punahou Dominance in the ILH...My God..What planet do you live on. Sometimes I wonder if you ever played the game...It don't sound like it. The dominance program in the ILH is STL and that's a fact. This year Punahou has the edge, the only way they lose the ILH this year..is coaching.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
wes i think thats its unfair that you attribute the scores and wins of the ILH to the school schedule. that is a very small factor in this equation. Practice time or not, schools still spend only one week preparing for games, in the case of the PAC 5, IOLANI, and KAMEHAMEHA games the other teams were just outmatched talent wise.
as for the lifting and conditioning, once teams start coming close to the season (even preseason) how ever much weightlifting they do in those extra 2 weeks will not effect them in one game at the beginning of the season, we might see that conditioning come into play down the stretch. conditioning is not like a quartazone shot, take it one day and the next day you're better than ever.
as for you monkeyface61, yes you are right that SOME oia schools can compete, but the dominance that most talk about the ILH is the years(CONSECUTIVE) that ILH teams have won the state title, yes kahuku had its run, but as a whole the ILH is a much stronger division, as far as TEAM Talent, and some individual talent, is concerned. as for manley im going to go out and say that this year he will be seriously shut down, teams have now seen his talents, they know his weaknesses and they will be erady for him.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I point to the extra practice time because I noticed the big disparity in execution and timing, and this comes largely from repetition — ie., practice time.
As for conditioning, you are right about it taking time, but not everybody reports to the first day of practice in the same kind of shape. Some players are behind, but if conditioning time is limited by afterschool practice for those first three weeks, they will take that much longer to get into shape.
The ILH teams had more than enough time during those three weeks to work on both instruction/repetitions AND conditioning.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
The difference is simply bad coaching more than anything else. Back in their championship years under Lou Holtz, not the current chumpionship years under Charlie Weis, the Fighting Irish did not put on pads until game day. They went the full practice week running through plays which translated into speed and near perfect execution. Worked out fine for them then. I remember my teammates approaching our coach in college about trying this. But he made us run extra laps in full pads just for suggesting it. Some coaches are simply "old school" in their practice and beliefs. Some, like Reggie, do not believe in the forward pass. Some, like my old coach, think sweating and beating each other up in pads all week, the practice like you play cliché, automatically translates to wins. It doesn't.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
to scott mason: please stop your thoughtless comments. Pac-5 is becoming better and better. they got some decently sized kids.
monkeyface61: it's nice to see an OIA team knock off a team like st. louis. i always like "underdogs" that create huge upsets.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:26 am
footballfan, I was congratulating Pac-Five, not belittling them. Many followers wondered if they could field a football team with the loss of players to Word of Life, but the fact that they can and also win is a testament to their competitive fire. The only active coach who's won an ILH title is Ane, so he must be the best. Botelho may not have won too many games (thanks to being in a tough league) but he brings out the best in his players and even gives the best league teams scares.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:28 am
P.S. the attacks on Ane are just like the attacks on Kanani Souza when he was with Kamehameha. My comment was as a whole the ILH was dominant. Ane has helped Punahou rise from an also-ran to a contender. He is one of the reasons Punahou is in contention.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:44 am
okay this has NOTHING to do with the whole ILH thing. my comment is for the genius who determines the teams who should be in the OIA Red and White Divisions. okay i'm a proud graduate of Aiea High School and i was upset when i heard they got bumped down to the White. IS YOU SERIOUS?? and who takes their place?? Waipahu, Pearl City, and Nanakuli?? c'mon now. Waipahu is a decent team but Pearl City and Nanakuli is NOT, i repeat NOT Red Division material. they should've kept Aiea and Campbell in the Red not send them down to the White. and to make things worse, Aiea (a White team) DESTROYED Pearl City (a Red team) in the pre-season opener. and Campbell (a White team) beats Roosevelt (a Red team). I say the White Division will be more exciting and competitive than the Red this year. With teams like Aiea, Campbell, Radford, Moanalua and Kalaheo, the White will mos def be exciting. can't wait to see who comes out on top and dethrones Iolani for the D2 State Title.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
The movement of OIA football teams is based on a formula which calculates a program's win-loss record over a two-year period and factoring in JV records.
Interestingly, the formula accounts for only regular season games. So that means even though Campbell beat Leilehua in last year's regular season finale and qualified for the OIA Red playoffs, they were pre-destined for demotion even if they had gone on to win the league and state championships.
How would that look, if the OIA Red and Division I state champ got demoted to the White Conference?
August 21st, 2008 at 12:48 am
Iolani or whoever wins the ILH division II will face a tough task with the OIA teams and MIL champion (Lahainaluna?) waiting in the wings.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:42 am
It would NOT look good for the White teams. What is the ILH champ (i.e. St. Louis) bumped down to div 2? That wouldn't be a pretty picture for Div 2 teams.
Leroy: I understand where your coming from and how Aiea is still competitive and may deserve a spot in the red division. But the guys who developed this formula (as Wes pointed out) have the best intentions for these shifts by allowing them to "rebound."