KAILUA-KONA — Kealakehe has its next head coach.
The program announced on Tuesday that Wyatt Nahale will be taking the reins of the Waverider program. He is taking over for Sam Kekuaokalani, whose five-year tenure with the program ended in January.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Nahale said. “They have a lot of great kids at Kealakehe and big numbers. They also have a principal with a vision that I believe in as well.”
A high school gig seemed like the natural next step for Nahale. He spent some time with the Leeward Steelers Pop Warner program before heading up the JV program at Konawaena, where he has been the last four years.
Nahale — a full-time a community police officer with the Hawaii Police Department — had stepped down from his position as the JV head coach this offseason, moving over to help on the Wildcat varsity squad. When the position opened up at Kealakehe, he initially didn’t think too much about it. But after receiving some encouragement, he decided to throw his hat in the ring.
“I thought and prayed about it. I realized that there are very few opportunities that arise like this,” Nahale said. “I had always dreamed of having my own program, but never thought it would happen this fast.”
Nahale has some history at Kealakehe. His father, Joe Nahale, was the second coach in program history. He coached the Waveriders nearly two decades ago, his last year with the program being 2000.
“Shoulder pads were a lot bigger and there wasn’t much of a concussion protocol,” Nahale said, recalling those times with a laugh. “But what I remember most is that Kealakehe had a lot of great talent and good kids that were respectful to the coaching staff. It was fun for him working with them and now I see a lot of those guys out in our community with their own families.”
The Kealakehe program has some championship pedigree, winning eight BIIF D-I titles from 2004-12, although one championship was vacated due to the use of an illegal player.
But recently, the Waveriders have not been able to get over the hurdle of Hilo, with the Vikings winning the last six D-I titles consecutively.
Nahale and his staff will also have the task of regaining some footing in the west-side rivalry with Konawaena.
The Wildcats have dominated since the game returned to the regular season schedule in 2013. Konawaena is 6-0, outscoring the D-I Waveriders 195-64 in those games. The last time Kealakehe beat Konawaena was a 44-0 preseason romp in 2010.
There’s a chance the rivalry contest could also turn into a family feud of sorts, with Nahale’s son, Sheynen, being the starting quarterback at Konawaena. He passed for 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman last season. No decision has been made yet on if he will transfer.
“We are the type of family that likes to sit down and talk about things,” Nahale said. “We like to allow our kids to speak and see what is important to them. Then we will see what we want to do.”
There’s still plenty to sort out when it comes to the BIIF season, with league officials still deciding what divisions and schedules will look like with Ka‘u, Kohala and Pahoa making the jump to 11-man football next year.
For Nahale, the next step is putting together spring training and getting the ball rolling.
“Right now, it’s just a matter of coming in, meeting the kids and taking it from there,” Nahale said. “The groundwork is stable and I feel comfortable to get going.”