There was a sense of future goal quests that pervaded the Hilo High School gymnasium Saturday for the final day of the Big Island Invitational basketball tournament.
The winners, from Rancho Mirage High School in Palm Desert, Calif., were no surprise to the gathering of friends and family who came out for the event, which is as much a training ground for prospective Big Island basketball officials as it a measurement of the relative strength of the schools involved.
The players were using it to sharpen their games, while the officials find it as a kind of summer apprenticeship to officiating jobs all over the island during the school year.
Rancho Mirage looked the part of champions with a rangy group that included players at every position taller than their opponents. It is a four-year old school that has run through its conference like a wild pig storming through an old sugar cane field. Back home, the Rattlers have won three conference titles and advanced to the state semifinals twice as coach Rob Hanmer has fashioned a 101-16 record.
“I’ve been lucky to have a great pool of kids in the area,” Hanmer said prior to his teams’ 61-44 victory over Waiakea in the championship game. “It’s been the trip of a lifetime coming here for some of these kids, a really, really good experience.
“If we can make it happen to come back next year, I’m all for it. The people here who put this on? The organizers, the officials? None better, they were great, we have nothing but thanks.”
Interest for next year comes as sweet news to Mason Souza. Head of the Hawaii Island Sports Officials Association, he’s always looking to add new officials to its ranks, and building this summer tournament into a larger drawing card for players only helps the officials.
“We want to get more mainland schools here next year,” Souza said. “Our kids here on the island, they don’t have many opportunities to get to the mainland over the summer. But if you aren’t involved over the summer, you probably aren’t getting any better, so the idea, I guess, is that if we can’t go to them, maybe we can get them to come to us.”
They are hoping for a 12- or 16-team collection for next year, and maybe when the word gets out, more basketball knowledgeable locals will want to see if they know the rules well enough to officiate the game.
Andrea Osborne, coordinator of officials for the Big West, PacWest and SCIACS — a Division 3 conference in Southern California — was on hand throughout the three-day invitational that attracted eight teams. Her interest was in evaluating potential officials based on their knowledge of the rules and their comportment on the floor.
“We just hope we can generate some interest in locals coming out to get involved,” Osborne said. “There’s a real need for officials here and we know there are a lot of people who used to play, maybe just high school, maybe in college, but we know they are here and that a lot of them could step up and do this if they want to.”
She had a convenient example in Shelton Kalilikane, the former Honokaa High School point guard who previously officiated but has been out of it for a couple of years while he transitioned into a new career, working with parks and recreation near Waimea.
“I’m back in business,” Kalilikane, 27, said with a big smile as he was on his way home after being offered a job officiating by Osborne, who watched him for three days. “I want to ref as much as I can, I actually missed it more than I imagined.”
Kalilikane is a text book example of the kind of people Osborne and Souza are hoping to locate. He played the game, knows the rules, keeps up with sports and likes the extra money he will make.
“I first thought about it when I played at Honokaa,” he said. “I was always thinking, ‘I could do a better job than some of these guys,’ and I’m sure a lot of people think that, but I really meant it.
“I thought it would be a way to keep in shape, still be a part of the game and have some fun,” Kalilikane said. “Now I get to do it again, I’m kind of pumped up about that.”
There could be dozens of potential officials out there and the need locally is great. Starting out at Parks and Rec leagues, officials can move up fast to paying roles in high school and college sports.
“For me,” Kalilikane said, “it came down to, ‘I either need to do this or I need to keep my mouth shut about officiating.’ I decided to jump in and see if I could help.”
If you are one of those types, or know someone who knows the game and wants to be a part of a larger athletics community on the Big Island, call Linda Lopez, president of the local association, at 937-5261.
“People can get involved now,” Osborne said, “and if they are good at it, we will see them here next year and with any luck, they’ll be getting games right away.”
