HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – When watching a Warriors football game, pay more attention to what you hear, not what you see.
“All our plays are called in Hawaiian. Our stunts, our blitzes are called in Hawaiian. A Native Hawaiian ʻōiwi edge that we have over the other teams, giving us that extra 12th man on the field,” said head coach Kealoha Wengler.
Wengler previously spent 15 years at Oahu’s Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻO Ānuenue, a Hawaiian immersion school where he helped start its first ever football team in 2006.
Wengler then took that background with him to Kamehameha Hawaiʻi in Keaʻau.
However, getting the entire coaching staff and players to only speak ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi on the sidelines took about five years, incorporating little by little.
“It wasn’t an easy process, especially for our coaches who don’t speak Hawaiian. For them to have to learn the terminology and apply it correctly and making a lot of mistakes along the way and just humbling themselves to learn the language and make mistakes in front of the boys and have the boys help us,” said Wengler.
Wide receiver and defensive back Chaseton Wong added, “As kānaka maoli, it really just shows how much Hawaiian impacts our lives and how we use it in everyday life. It also connects us to Pauahi’s legacy that she left for us.”
For some position groups, it’s a steeper learning curve than others — especially for the quarterbacks who control the entire offense.
“There were some pretty big difficulties. Some words sound the same so it’s hard being able to communicate that and make sure that everybody knows like it’s a play versus another play that probably sounds the same,” said quarterback Chanse Kaaua-Long.
Junior QB Kaaua-Long splits time with freshman Kahekili Makekau, who is fluent in Native Hawaiian.
Though he’s one of the youngest on the team, he’s taken it upon himself to teach others.
“Before I got into Kamehameha, I went to a kaiapuni school, a Hawaiian language school, so I’m kind of fluent in ʻōlelo,” said Makekau. “It’s really just translating for them. A lot of the plays are simple like names, so it’s not really the name, it’s just what they remember and what they have on the route. I don’t really get down on them, it’s not their fault. It’s really hard to remember all of these plays in Hawaiian.”
It’s that team-first mentality that makes this Warriors roster different than any other.
Kamehameha-Hawaii has never made it to a football state championship game, something they hope changes this year.
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