Pono Kodani didn’t start working with Hilo’s junior lifeguard program to chase championships. No, his primary focus has always been to pass on tools that youngsters can use to save lives.
Pono Kodani didn’t start working with Hilo’s junior lifeguard program to chase championships. No, his primary focus has always been to pass on tools that youngsters can use to save lives.
But since they keep score and everybody wants to win, there Kodani was Saturday at Hapuna Beach State Park waiting anxiously as the team scores of the island’s junior lifeguard finals were read aloud.
The words “In second place …. Hapuna” were music to his ears and ended a lengthy wait.
“Oh, man, the whole day, everybody was medaling, and we kept winning first and second place,” he said. “But at the end, I was nervous. I kept thinking, is this the day? Is this the year?”
It was, and it wasn’t all that close as Kodani’s crew bested bigger bunches from Kona and Hapuna for Hilo’s first championship in Kodani’s 16 years as coach. He guessed it was also Hilo’s first title in the approximate 20 years of the program.
“We just erupted,” he said. “We had a lot of returnees, and they strove to win.”
The 42-year-old Kodani, a St. Joseph High graduate, became a lifeguard after a stint in the Marines and is stationed at Honolii. He is perhaps most proud that seven of the juniors he’s worked with have gone on to become lifeguards.
Make no mistake, he said, Kohala and Kona aren’t only considered by most to have nicer beaches than Hilo, but they also have bigger junior lifeguard programs.
“To do this was magic,” he said. “In Hilo, we have average, everyday beach-goers. Surfers and swimmers. They have IRONMAN over there. We went up against baby (triathletes).”
In two age groups (12-14, 15-17), competition consisted of events such as the 1,000-meter, 200 swim and 100 run/swim/run, an event Kodani said Hilo did especially well in. There was a 200 paddleboard, a beach flag event that has a musical chairs theme and iron guard, which combines running, swimming and paddleboarding.
Of Hilo’s 16 competitors, 14 medaled, combining to win nine golds.
The team practices at Honolii, and Kodani credited his fellow lifeguards with manning his post so he work with the “well-rounded” summer program.
“It teaches nutrition, taking care of your skin, training hard, camaraderie, teamwork,” he said. “Everything.”
A group of 12 junior lifeguards from all four Big Island districts (Hilo, Hapuna, Kona, Puna-Punaluu) will travel to Maui to compete Saturday in the state championships, which annually coincide with an ocean-safety conference. Kodani said Kauai is the state powerhouse.
Now that Hilo is a mini-power, he hopes East Hawaii will get a chance to host the island finals again.
“My whole dream was to bring the experience to Hilo Bayfront,” he said. “Unfortunately, the one and only time we had it, it was stormy and really horrible weather.
“Now that we won, maybe I have the sway to bring it back.”