One of the cool things about being in a tournament that draws teams from across the state is all the old faces, old friends. Big Island, especially. I saw Coach Benny with his Shut-D program, doing well in multiple divisions. Blink of an eye and he went from being an all-star point guard at Kohala to a coach, dad, husband. Also saw one of Kohala's legends, Lawrence Kauka, a thriller of a shooting guard back in the 1990s. He often played with the talented Kohala squad (N.S.P.) in the 3-on-3 tournament me and Vic would run in the summer, as well as the men's league we had. He's coaching the newest generation of NSP, and we might see their 5th Grade squad soon.
Saw Coach Larry there, on hand support one of our greatest Thunder guards, Micah Visoria, in the varsity division. And Coach Todd Rickard, who was there to support his son on the Lahaina team.
Another old friend, who I hadn't seen in years, was Coach Silver of Dream Hoops Elite. We go back almost a decade, our Thunder playing his DHE squads in leagues. He was always good to us. Well, the first thing he said when we saw each other was that one of our previous Thunder coaches was at Stevenson Intermediate School courts recently, trying to kick his DHE kids off the court. When Coach Silver got there and his players told him, he was upset. He has 20-30 kids in different age groups, and he said — let's call him Coach Lyin' Lion — and his 7-8 players were trying to boot his team off.
Coach Silver told Coach Lyin' Lion that DHE has a permit to use the court, and they got into a disagreement for awhile before Coach Lyin' Lion took his team to another court. I can't say I'm surprised. When he was with us, he would complain sometimes about another team that we share courts with at Makiki Park. They have a permit on certain days and we work around it. Plenty of court space and time, really, because we practice year-round.
Coach Silver also said that he questioned Coach Lyin' Lion about the players on his new team, that they played for the Thunder, asking him why they were with Coach Lyin' Lion. And this is where things got disappointing. Coach Silver said Coach Lyin' Lion told him, "Coach Paul is crazy."
Really. Coach Silver was upset about hearing this, still upset as he described it to me, and he questioned Coach Lyin' Lion more. He said he knew instantly that this was baloney. Complete, utter baloney. In a matter of minutes, Coach Silver had my back more than Coach Lyin' Lion ever did. It's bizarre. I lost track of how many times Coach Lyin' Lion would berate his oldest son during our games and practices, and both of them would be boiling hot, and I'd sit with his son and calm him down gradually. I accepted it for what it was, a dad trying to change his son, and his son not meeting expectations. It takes time for young men to mature, I know. What was true nearly 40 years ago when I started coaching is true today. Every kid is different, and his son needed patience and calmness. I always made sure he got that.
I don't know why Coach Lyin' Lion does this, and I don't need to know. He is what he is. He lied to my face. He had secret meetings. He broke up our older teams. He claimed then and, I guess, even now, that I was swearing constantly. Which is comical, because we have parents at practice all the time, and if that was true, I would have to meet my maker each time. When keiki aren't listening, not disciplined, etc., we talk. If that doesn't work, we go to the next step, which is usually extra running or pushups or crunches. And when that doesn't have an effect, I call mom or dad to pick up the child. And that rarely happens.
Coach Silver laid it all out for me, and I wasn't expecting it, but I am grateful to him and to God above for his honesty and forthrightness. Me, the Thunder Pups, our parents and supporters, we've all moved on. We love what we have and appreciate each moment of it. Seeing young men and women grow each day is a blessing, and their joy together as teammates and friends is a gift for us to see.
That's all that matters, really. And honesty. I will always be truthful. Occasionally, I'm too honest. But we move on, and regardless of whatever emails or texts I receive from people who have hurt me and the team — I received an email invite recently from a league that had banned us because I sent an email about their decline in officiating quality — it doesn't really matter. We aren't interested in things we cannot control. We don't want any part of people or leagues that care more about money and/or control than actually helping our keiki. We just work each day to get better as a team and individually. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10) and always will be.
Loyalty is love, loyalty is love. Bigger sure ain't necessarily better. That's what we do, and that's all we need. Basketball is not about money and fancy shoes, it's not about the me, but the we. It's not about economic or social status. I'm just glad we can have teamwork as a Thunder Ohana. Embrace the fun and work together.
Moving on...
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