HILO – Honokaa boys soccer coach Maurice Miranda has been doing this since 1989 – along with a full-time job and various other non-profit gigs. So it was understandable when he turned around two weekends ago after a fourth game in two days at the Big Island Candies tournament and said, “I’m too old for this.”
Still, Miranda and the Dragons were back at it last weekend at Ka Makani Soccer Classic in Waimea. Considering the stout competition, it’s no surprise Honokaa wasn’t in for a joyride, finishing 0-3.
For Miranda, there must be a fountain of youth to be found somewhere on the pitch?
“I still have fun,” said the second-longest tenured BIIF soccer coach behind Hawaii Prep’s Stephen Perry.
“I figured out a long time ago, it’s not about soccer, it’s about life,” Miranda said. “All the things you do in life: adversity, success, failure, it happens right here in the game. It’s how you handle it.”
After a rare rebuilding season, Honokaa handled itself well last season, finishing as BIIF Division II runner-up behind state champion Kamehameha and reaching states for the eighth time in 10 years. Although Miranda would rather be spending more time this preseason on advanced tactics rather than rudimentary techniques, the 2018-19 Dragons also appear to have the trajectory as that of a state contender, though the road will be harder this season.
After five years at Division I, Konawaena’s moving back down to D-II to provide another challenger in the race for state berths. The BIIF usually sends three teams to Oahu, but last year it was only two.
“I thing Makua Lani, us and Konawaena are going to fight it out,” Miranda said. “I think Kamehameha is better than us.”
The glory days of 2011-12 are gone – skilled and seasoned, Honokaa won consecutive titles to start a stretch that has seen BIIF D-II teams with five of eight state tournaments – but the Dragons can go 13-14 deep, a luxury, Miranda said.
“Seems like I’ve been rebuilding for a while now,” Miranda joked. “The problem is we haven’t had large classes.”
The good news is this year is a an outlier in that Honokaa – which begins BIIF play Saturday at home against Ka’u – has a freshman class of eight, including a few of high school-ready players.
Unfortunately, none of them appears ready yet to play goalkeeper, which is somewhat of an area of concern. Senior Kamuela Boneza can play keeper in a pinch, but his athleticism is more useful at sweeper as the anchor of the defense, Miranda said.
Two of the prime options up top are senior Daneau Domingo and junior Kyren Martins, junior Yo Bostwick returns to patrol midfield and senior Josiah Rodrigues can play midfield or defense.
“Once Daneau figures it out, he’ll probably be a goal-scorer for us,” Miranda said. “Bostwick is going to be a major factor in the middle for us.”
He also been pleased by the preseasons turned in thus far by sophomores Malachi Pesto, who’s shown more confidence than a year ago, and Nahlyd Anderson, who scored two goals last Sunday in a 4-3 loss to Konawaena.
But when Honokaa takes on teams such as Kamehameha and Hilo – and Pearl City and Mid-Pacific last weekend – he can tell the programs are at different stages of development.
“We spend a lot of time doing just basic fundamental skill work,” he said “You really have to develop your technical ability before you can do anything tactically. We don’t have that.
“It’s about being able to settle a ball and make an accurate pass. From there we can tell them where the ball should go and how to tactically go forward.”
Recently, Miranda’s son Marc asked him if he was going to remain around long enough to coach his 4-year-old granddaughter once she’s in high school.
Miranda’s response: That’s your job.
Still, if this freshman class works out, Miranda admitted it’d be tempting to “see how far we can take this.
“That always keeps me going.”
Some things never get old.