Hawaii’s top U12 Boys and Girls soccer players got a chance to represent the Aloha State at an international level with the M.I.S.O. Elite Team on their recent trip to Japan from July 10 to July 23.
The purpose of the M.I.S.O Elite Teams, which stands for Major Island Soccer Organization, is to promote Hawaii soccer by bringing together top youth players from across the state ranging in ages 11 and 12-years to experience quality competition against Japan’s international youth clubs and J-League Academy teams.
Seven players from various soccer clubs on the Big Island were invited to compete on the M.I.S.O. Elite Travel Team. On the boys team made up of 14 players were Cole Henderson (Keauhou), Noah Wilkerson (Waikoloa), Finn Wilkerson (Waikoloa), Bear Cusack (Keaau), Alii Keohuloa-Lima (Keaau), and Major Leialoha (Hilo). The lone female from the Big Island on the Hawaii girl’s squad was Hilo’s Logan Hatayama.
Throughout the 10-day lifetime experience, Hawaii players were able to gain insight on how soccer is embraced and integrated within the Japanese culture through different training programs. They also experienced top-notch facilities currently utilized by Japanese professional and national teams, such as the J-Village National Training Center in Fukushima.
Players quickly acquainted themselves with the meticulous and disciplined approach of the Japanese soccer academy teams known for their dedicated focus on developing well-rounded players. This was evident in the diverse range of the Japanese team’s ball handling skills, passing accuracy, and strategic playmaking. The exposure to such high standards of training not only resonated among the Hawaii players, but also helped to improve their individual skills while providing valuable lessons in teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship.
In addition, players attended pro soccer games and visited historical sites such as the Ushiku Amida Buddha, and the 2011 earthquake remains of the Namie Town Ukedo Elementary School.
Sergio Bolioli, president and co-founder of M.I.S.O. Elite, said the M.I.S.O. Elite Program was formed in 2013 to provide competition and opportunities abroad for youth players competing at the highest levels in our State.
“We started the M.I.S.O. Elite eleven years ago which is our travel team from Hawaii to give our top youth players international experience beyond Hawaii,” Bolioli said. “We started strictly for the U12 teams at first, but after the first year we received a lot of positive feedback from both players and parents, so we decided to continue and grow the program.”
Born and raised in Uruguay and living on Oahu for the past 37-years, Bolioli said it was his childhood dream to play professional soccer.
“My dream now is to help these kids from Hawaii fulfill their dreams of becoming a professional soccer player,” he said. “I’m very passionate about the game, ever since I was a little kid. I started playing when I was 8-years old and that’s when I fell in love with the sport. Back then I dreamed of becoming a professional, but in Uruguay, that was the dream of every child. I played all through college (Montclair State University in New Jersey) but I always played at the amateur ranks. So, if I can further the dreams of these kids in some small way, then that would make me happy.”
Bolioli explained that M.I.S.O. actually began in 1996 by a group of players that he was a part of with the goal to provide Oahu its only men’s sanctioned league, as well as, to seek out something different from what was available at the time. Back then, M.I.S.O stood for Men’s Island Soccer Organization.
“At first, I was just one of the board members,” Bolioli said. “Three months later I became vice president, then a year later pretty much everyone on the board of eight people — except for me — abandoned the league. Some people moved away, some were just too busy for the league, I was the only one left. Now, 27 years later, I’m still the only one left (laughs).
“At the time I was asked to start a youth league in addition to the adult league. I kept saying no as the adult league was more my thing and there were already many youth leagues. But then I decided to give it a try. That’s when M.I.S.O. Junior started in 2001, which included both boys and girls, and later, a women’s division. After a few months, I realized the name, Men’s Island Soccer Organization didn’t fit everyone. So, I changed it to Major Island Soccer Organization.”
Bolioli explained that at the beginning the youth league was very small — a U12 and U13 division comprised of a total of 12 teams. Many people thought they weren’t going to last but the next year, Bolioli said they doubled in size going from 12 teams to 24. The following year, they increased to 42.
“That’s when people started to take notice,” Bolioli said. “The Oahu league dropped their 7v7 format and changed to 11v11 to compete with us and probably hoped to get rid of us. But that only brought more interest and more people to want to join M.I.S.O.”
Bolioli added that two main reasons why teams wanted to join the M.I.S.O. league were freedom in the rule structure and having open player rosters.
“Most of Hawaii Youth Soccer is under USYSA (United States Youth Soccer Association), which in Hawaii it’s known as HYSA (Hawaii Youth Soccer Association),” he said. “That association league tends to have a lot of rules. We are affiliated with US Club Soccer which has more freedom and less restrictions in its rules.
“Another reason is the player roster. The roster can be pretty open, you don’t need a set roster by a certain deadline, or what they call “freezing” of the rosters. We have the freedom to move players around not only throughout the season, but also right before a game. A coach can decide right before game time which players will be out on the pitch which is helpful especially when you have players out for sickness or injuries. It also helps with each player’s skill level development throughout the season.”
On the other hand, Bolioli said that with HYSA, once a player is designated on the “A” Team or roster they are on that team regardless of a change or decrease in skill level. Or say a player is rostered on the “B” Team but is performing at an A-level, that player will need to wait till the following season to be rostered on the A Team. Under US Club Soccer, a coach can easily transition players based on skill between the A and B-teams within the same age group at any given time. Bolioli says, “Players should always be playing up to their skill level.”
Bolioli pointed to the Japanese academy players on the field and commented that Hawaii players tend to be more technical, while Japan is more tactical.
“When you watch Japan, they play more tactical — more teamwork, they work on tactics as a whole unit,” he said. “You rarely see a Japanese player trying to dribble all the way down to the goal. Hawaii players tend to be more technical, more individual, more independent dribbling. Our goal is to develop a balance.”
When asked what advice he would give to aspiring young soccer athletes, Bolioli didn’t hesitate.
“My advice is to learn from getting beaten and try hard to match them. Don’t get so down. Try to work harder and smarter. We have the best Hawaii players from the State here in Japan. Back home they may be the top but here, they are playing Japanese Academy teams who are part of a professional institution. These Japanese kids have the same dreams as the Hawaii kids. Everyone wants to become a pro and play professional soccer. What it comes down to is, you just have to want it.”
