If there was a secret formula to winning the BIIF championship, Hilo High boys soccer coach George Ichimaru surely would like to know it.
Kalei Tolentino-Perry, Rylen Kaniaupio, Ka‘aina Lewis and Kahale Huddleston can at least provide some clues. Those four long ago helped the Vikings break through on the gridiron, so much so that Kaniaupio and Tolentino-Perry recently hinted that Hilo’s four-time champion football team is starting to take the BIIF Division I title for granted.
That’s not a problem for the quartet on the soccer field. Hilo is still trying to climb Mount Kealakehe — to borrow an old motivational tool used by the football team — but even in losing each of the past four league finals to the Waveriders, Hilo has made progress toward reaching the peak, losing in heartbreaking fashion each of the past two seasons.
“I don’t focus on chasing Kealakehe,” Ichimaru said. “But I have asked (the football players) about some of the things they’ve done as players beyond the coach’s view to get teams to bond and really become resilient.
“I want to incorporate some of their tactics and experiences.”
Ichimaru, a 2004 Waiakea graduate and former UH-Hilo Vulcan, is in his third season as coach and fourth year with the program, so he’s had ample time to mold his returning players to fit the push-the-pace brand of soccer he prefers.
And if any of the veteran Vikings forget or if one of the eight freshmen need a refresher course, the 30-year-old Ichimaru shows them.
As dusk loomed Tuesday during practice at Hilo Bayfront, Ichimaru ripped off his no-contact jersey and joined the fray, quickly scoring two goals.
“I’m just trying to teach creativity in movement and how to move on and off the ball,” he said. “Me scoring goals right away just displays creativity, that if you put the ball in the right place and you play to the right player and you play as a team, goals can come.”
Hilo has yet to carve out a championship legacy — at least not since 2011 — but legacies will play a large role for the Vikings this season.
A potential bumper crop of freshmen will help offset the loss of 10 seniors, and the group includes the younger brothers of seniors Tolentino-Perry, Lewis and Lander Mizuba.
Ichimaru hails the Vikings’ freshman class as its best since the current seniors entered.
“It’s a nice blend,” he said. “The level that these freshmen are at and are buying in is really crucial. They have technical skill.”
Kalei Tolentino-Perry is the lone returnee who made first-team all-BIIF last season, and his role as an attacking midfielder perfectly fits his skill-set, Ichimaru said. Sophomore Riley Patterson showed a knack for scoring goals early and often last season, and first-year players Logan Mizuba, a freshman, and Jack Mann, a transfer, also have impressed their coach in the preseason.
Kaniaupio is one of the captains of the defense at center fullback, while Huddleston returns to the outside. Another promising freshman is center back Urban Halpern, and Lander Mizuba brings experience to the backline after playing goalkeeper last season.
Ka‘aina Lewis logged the plurality of minutes at goalkeeper last season, and freshman Jyson Breitbarth also will get playing time.
Freshmen Haku Tolentino-Perry and Kainalu Lewis have earned playing time at forward.
The nice thing about having three sets of brothers on the team, Ichimaru said, “is it means the freshmen are listening to the seniors. Everyone understands their role.”
“I’m really excited that we can finally play the style that we want,” he said. “We just need to put the ball in the right position at the right times.”
Hilo showed ball control in spurts Sunday in a 3-1 preseason loss to Kealakehe at the Hilo Bay Classic, but Ichimaru said he didn’t view the match as a litmus test.
“I wasn’t focused on the result. In the first half, Kealakehe put pressure on us and they came out with a little more fire,” he said. “As the game progressed we gained momentum and controlled the second half.”
