Website Project for Hawaiian Athletes: The Stepping Stone to Exposure

Talent in Paradise

There is a wealth of talented young athletes in the state of Hawaii. This is an undeniable fact. The year-round summer weather allows for uninterrupted training which allows Hawaii’s unique ethnically-mixed people to produce amazingly athletic children. There are few cases that can be used as proof of this reality but that is not due to the lack of examples to highlight, just a lack of exposure. Young Hawaiian athletes are simply off the ‘college coach radar’. There is no simple solution to this unfortunate reality; dreams are not cheap. Money is the issue but it is also the most vital part to a solution. What is needed is a recruiting process within the recruiting process. A system implemented to help bridge the gap for young Hawaiian athletes across the Pacific Ocean. One way to help lessen the burden on hopeful Hawaiian athletes would be a host family network. This would be an effective way for young Hawaiian athletes to attend camps, showcases, and recruiting trips while also being less of a financial burden on their families. This would entail a comprehensive system, a lot of communication and a generous heart to recruit families in the desired areas where college ID camps are located for these Hawaiian athletes. Explained below are viable steps that can be taken to begin tackling the issue of: How will we more effectively get Hawaiian athletes in front of some college coaches?

My cousin, Emma, and I were part of an elite few who had the rare fortune to beat the odds that stacked high against us; we were able to “make it”. Being from Hawaii you are considered, and even referred to, as an anomaly if you have received any athletic collegiate attention at all. My cousin and I now find ourselves both having that title bestowed upon us. Playing at the division 1 colligate level morphed from a dream into a reality for the both of us our senior spring in high school. Throughout our course at Hawaii Preparatory Academy my cousin and I both excelled athletically. Despite only being first cousins, having a shared surname and being born two weeks apart, Emma and I adopted the name ‘Taylor Twins’ around the island and with the local newspapers. The headlines would read “Taylor Twins Back At It” or “Taylor’s Looking to Lead Their Team to Another Title”. Emma is a division 1 track & field Hurdler at Boston College in Massachusetts. I was recruited by Baylor University in Waco, Texas to play Division 1 Soccer then later transferred to High Jump on the track & field team. So what is the problem you may ask? My cousin and I were able to reach our dreams, why can’t the rest?

At our respective colleges, it is assumed we went through the same recruiting process as the rest of our 2016 recruited class. This is a misconception. Persistence, tears, phone calls, highlight videos, emails, camps; these efforts are shared by perspective athletes no matter where they hail from. Being from Hawaii, add to that list, six-thousand mile round trips to the west coast and nine-thousand to the east (Matrix). Numerous amounts of doors abruptly slammed in our face, coaches refusing to schedule meetings because they never heard of our small high schools, the island we are from, and we were not nationally ranked athletes. Our coaches did not have rank to pull like those who, for example, are from states such as Florida, Texas, or California. Those three states are the 2015 leading recruiting states for Football (Henninger). Hawaii is ranked constantly in the high 30s to the mid 40s when counting all 50 states. Other sports follow trends not dissimilar. Staring ahead at all these obstacles and never really feeling any traction obliterates self confidence faster than anything else I've ever experienced. The strenuous, unsure struggle we once shared now lies behind us as we took it upon ourselves to pave the way for many other athletes. This is not an unusual road for any athlete coming from where we did nor is it unfamiliar to any Hawaiian athlete before us. Emma and I are extremely fortunate, our family has the financial resources to subsidize our fundraising. Unfortunately, this is not the case for most in Hawaii. In a perfect world success would be solely dependent on talent and dedication. However, we know that that is not the case; success has evolved into a matter of financial resources and luck in this regard.

The surface level problem has been established: Hawaiian athletes have the talent necessary to compete at a collegiate level but find it is nearly impossible to prove it because the daunting reality of money and location. In the continental United states, there is a club team for most any sport, a training facility, and/or a viable college within a reasonable driving distance. This convenience and opportunity allows young athletes to be seen by coaches. It also provides them with the opportunity to stay in continuous contact with these coaches with relative ease. The term “out of sight, out of mind” is very applicable with college coaches and Hawaii is very much out of sight. Traveling from Hawaii, flight and travel arrangements can easily run upwards of thousands of dollars. High numbers such as that it becomes obvious that kids from Hawaii find it nearly impossible to partake in scouting trips. I, as well as many of my teammates, have spent all of our high school years fundraising and saving every dollar we could in order to make these opportunities for ourselves knowing our parents could not afford to. Not only are we raising money for the college or ID camp itself, but also a place to stay, airfare for ourselves and also a parent that is traveling with us, food, rental car, gas, etc. We also compromise missing school and our parents having to take time away from work to travel. With all of this stacked up against them, how can a young Hawaiian athlete be expected to progress and excel in their sport at the collegiate level?

I purpose building a website that acts as a connectivity hub where families from Hawaii can connect and reach out to other families from the continental United States in hopes to have their child hosted with a mainland family. Whether it be for a college camp weekend or as long as a three month summer to play for a club in the area to get exposure; there is no other more cost-effective or efficient avenue. The beauty of this website is that it can potentially benefit everyone: Hawaii’s young athletes, the clubs, the coaches, the host family, and the Hawaiian family.

Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live in the country; Honolulu, for example, is ranked 3rd out of 132 for places with the highest cost of living in the U.S. (Adamovic). For all the challenges living in this remote paradise can provide, the fact that it is still “a paradise” may be its greatest asset. Hawaii is the dream destination of Americans all over the country and around the world. This website could also work as a ‘give and take’ system. Mainland families would house a Hawaiian athlete, for a relatively low cost, and in return have the opportunity to reverse the table and come stay with this Hawaiian family for a beautiful vacation at their leisure. College coaches and clubs would benefit as it simply grows the talent pool of their roster. More players is more business for the clubs and a better team to bring to showcases. College coaches would then have the chance to see a larger pool of players thus giving them the opportunity to select truly the best of the best knowing that they have seen a large cross-section of players from diverse backgrounds and from each corner of the country. With this website, connections with clubs and coaches can easily be formed and fostered for the youth of Hawaii.

This is without doubt an ambitious plan, not only would it entail the hard-work and passion of the program coordinators, it would rely heavily on the open-hearted & giving spirt that so many families of athletic children share. Some may feel that while lack of athletic exposure for youth in Hawaii is unfortunate, there are certainly many more pressing concerns that could be addressed. I do not disagree, however, conquering this challenge will provide inspiration and hope to thousands of Hawaii’s youth who have no idea going to college, much less becoming a colligate athlete, is even a remote possibility. This type of influence can reverberate across family members, fellow students, and the entire state. This is a very real issue that deserves immediate attention. With the growing impact of social media and the internet, a website is the quickest and most effective way to start a program to begin to bridge this gaping disconnect between Hawaiian athletes and college coaches. It is 2016, money and location should no longer be an issue through this recruiting process. There is a kink in this recruiting chain and the creation of this website is step one towards building a massive network that puts the youth of Hawaii on track for a bright athletic future. The future of Hawaiian athletics cannot succeed without the generosity and open minds of families across the country, Hawaii included in trying to push forward this exciting endeavor.