KEAAU – Competition at the most recent BIIF wrestling meet, held Saturday at Keaau, didn’t begin until 10 a.m. But by that time, Keauu head coach Keith Fernandez already had been at the school for four and a half hours as he finalized meet preparations.
During the meet, in between watching Cougar athletes compete, Fernandez stopped to talk with parents, fellow coaches, and the concessions crew. He set up orange cones to redirect foot traffic, and moved trash cans out of sight. All in a day’s work.
Fernandez spent the past three years working with the Keaau team — two as assistant and head girls’ coach, one as volunteer coach — before taking the helm. The shift means as much time behind the scenes as in the coach’s chair: coordinating meets, making sure the facility is kept up, ensuring that each athlete’s match paperwork is correct.
“With wrestling, unlike with any other sport, if there’s one thing that you don’t pick up on properly, the wrestler suffers,” Fernandez said.
But it’s been a smooth transition.
“It’s been great because — the kids,” Fernandez said. “I have a really good crew this year.”
Keaau’s squad of 30 is evenly split among boys and girls, Most are first-year wrestlers. It wasn’t just underclassmen who signed up to wrestle for the Cougars, though. Fernandez is also working with juniors and seniors who are brand-new to the sport.
“Everybody came out,” he said. “They were excited for last year, how last year went…we were in double-digits that went to state for boys and girls.”
A few returning athletes began making their marks last year. Senior Ebony Ayers placed fifth in the 225-pound division at the state tournament last season, and is on track to take her skills to the top of the bracket this year.
Senior captain Kaeo Burley is poised to qualify for states as well this year. And the young wrestlers are poised to break out “at any minute,” Fernandez said. “They’re there. They’re right there.”
Support from the Big Island wrestling community has been a boon to Fernandez as he settles into his role.
“What makes it easy as a first-year coach is my fellow coaches,” he said. “They’re really helpful. There’s no animosity; it’s really good.”
The coaches are united in their goal to get Big Island wrestlers as much experience as possible, trying to stay on pace with their competition at Oahu schools. Oahu wrestlers can get as many as 50 matches in during a season, Fernandez said.
“We’re lucky if we’re at 25,” he said. “Mat time is a big thing in the sport. You can do all you want in a room, but when you go live….”
Fernandez knows the Oahu wrestling scene well. A Campbell alum, he placed sixth in the 275-pound division at the 1988 state tournament. Two future Junior Olympian gold medalists competed on his team.
“I learned a lot from them — not so much moves, but the mental aspect,” he said. “Wrestling is mental.” It’s about finding the positive in any situation and using it to your advantage, Fernandez said — a skill that relates to life as much as wrestling.
