KAILUA-KONA — The high school baseball season is still a little ways away, but that didn’t stop upwards of 100 youth ballplayers who showed up at Gabby Inaba Field to receive some tutelage from the Konawaena players and coaches at a clinic on Friday.
KAILUA-KONA — The high school baseball season is still a little ways away, but that didn’t stop upwards of 100 youth ballplayers who showed up at Gabby Inaba Field to receive some tutelage from the Konawaena players and coaches at a clinic on Friday.
The event — a combined effort between Big Island Baseball and the Wildcats — focused on the fundamentals of America’s pastime, teaching everything from how to catch a pop fly to baserunning.
“Konawaena coach Adam Tabieros was nice enough to invite us down and let us work with all his players,” Big Island Baseball president John Poggensee said. “We are trying to get the kids interested in the sport, develop their skill levels, and hopefully form what can become a feeder league into his high school program.”
It’s no secret that baseball on the west side of the island has not thrived as well as it has on the east. The number of recent BIIF titles won by east-side schools and the growing roster of MLB draft picks are evidence of that. Kids from the Hilo area also have names like St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong, a Kamehameha-Hawaii grad, and Milwaukee Brewers first round pick Kodi Medeiros — a former Waiakea hurler — to look up to as obvious role models.
Adam Tabieros — a 2002 Konawaena graduate— took over the program at his alma mater last season. His goal is not only to make the Wildcats a perrenial championship contender, but also build the sport in the community he grew up in.
“What we want to do is bring baseball back in Kona. That’s the idea behind it,” said Tabieros, who spent a few years on the mainland in college before returning to the Big Island. “When I was growing up, there were so many kids playing baseball and there were a lot of teams. I came back and there really are not as many options to play. Just bringing back that interest in baseball and allowing our players to give back to the community is huge. They are role models to these young kids.”
The Konawaena players embraced the experience to serve as mentors — smiling and laughing for most of the afternoon. However, the sheer number of kids running around didn’t make it an easy task.
“It’s a little difficult,” Konawaena player Logan Canda said with a laugh. “A lot more kids than I thought would come out. Keeping them focused is tough. They are so energetic they want to run around in circles, but it has been a lot of fun.”
Canda’s teammate, Tyler Kitaoka, echoed the sentiments.
“Camps like this helped us out when we were young to learn the fundamentals of the game,” Kitaoka said. “It feels good to give back.”
Just like many other sports, the skills learned in baseball can be applied far beyond the diamond. Picking up the game from a young age is a way to develop essential skills for life.
“With baseball, there is a lot more than just the game being played. There is a lot to it away from the field, like dedication and discipline,” Tabieros said. “Also, there is so much failure involved in this game, it’s really about how you overcome that failure.”
Big Island Baseball is part of Amature Athletic Union (AAU). Poggensee says the league has more than 480 players ages 5-12, but there is still space in the 12-and-under and 10-and-under leagues. For more information, call 895-9687.