KEAUHOU — Keauhou Canoe Club has been around for decades, but this season feels like a fresh start.
Keauhou, which hosts the Founders Regatta this Saturday at Kailua Bay, is building from the ground up this season, backed by a solid foundation of youth paddlers and led by a group of coaches who have formed a strong bond over the past few seasons.
The group effort of Reggie and Pam Lindo, Ed Crane and Nathan Livarios help coach the youth program at Keauhou, and while the club has a new head coach and new women’s coach, the youth program has brought consistency in the coaching ranks, bringing some stability.
“It makes a great difference for families and youth to have coaches who have been around for a while,” said Bill Armer, the always cheerful spokesperson for Keauhou. “These coaches have been around for five or six years, maybe even seven. They work well together.”
The stability at the top of the youth program has made a noticeable difference over the past two seasons. Last year, the club had roughly 20 kids in the youth program. This year they have nearly doubled that total, with 10 crews racing in the first regatta of the season last Saturday. Keauhou entered just 19 crews total last week, and are looking to enter 20 this weekend.
“We have a lot of kids within the program that have been with us for their entire careers,” Reggie Lindo said. “Many started at 11, as special event paddlers. They then transitioned to us from 12-18. Hopefully they will stick around and continue to paddle with us as adults. But if not, I hope they continue to paddle somewhere.”
While the youth program is growing at Keauhou, getting the paddlers to practice, and even the regattas, is no easy task.
“The Keauhou area is not a family type of neighborhood. There are not a lot of kids growing up here, ” Armer said. “A lot of our kids live downtown or in Kealakekua, so we have two vans that we send to both Kealakehe and Konawaena to pick up those who want to paddle with us. We even take the vans to Hilo for the regattas.”
“Those vans are a big plus for us,” added Lindo. “Most parents are working and we have some kids that come from as far as Ka’u. These vans just show that the club is supporting us 100 percent.”
The hard work and the dedication of the coaches paid off this past weekend with the girls 18-and-under crew taking gold. Filling out the crew were Keilana Crane, Chandice Fujihara-Kaai, Mikki Fujimoto, Livi McClure, Khaylen Thompson and Kiara Thompson.
“All these girls have been paddling for a while and they are starting to find their rhythm,” Lindo said. “They are growing accustomed to each other, competing in the first long race of the season together before winning gold last week.”
Leading the group is Fujimoto and McClure. Both are in their final year of the junior program. Fujimoto is a former Keauhou Canoe Club scholarship winner, receiving $1,500 a year ago.
“She is a hard worker and has a can-do attitude,” Lindo said. “She helps drive the other kids.”
McClure left Keauhou for a couple of years to race for Kai Opua and her high school team at Kealakehe. However, she made the decision to return to Keauhou.
“It was great get her back and then she goes out and takes a gold,” Armer said. “Livi competed in over 50 races before finally winning a gold. She is a real bright spot for the 18-and-under crew.”
There has also been a lot of change in leadership at the top for Keauhou. The team has a new head coach in Moke Hauanio and new women’s coach in Dan Legler.
Hauanio comes from Oahu, where he was a battalion chief for the fire department.
“He is very knowledgeable and though he is a first time head coach, he is doing it like he has done it his entire life,” Armer said. “His leadership brings out the best in people and he has high expectations. Moke knows how to motivate people and is a strong believer in practice and work ethic. ”
Numbers game
In 2014, Keauhou won the state championship in the AAA Division, starting the season with 34 crews and sending 17 to the state regatta.
Numbers have been down the past few years, with the club competing in Division B at the Aunty Maile/Moku O Hawaii Championships last season, placing third.
The expectations are similar this year. Keauhou is starting out in the Division A, but it’s at a severe disadvantage with only 19-20 crews, the lowest number in the division. Growing Waikoloa Canoe Club had the second fewest with 22.
“We are really at a starting point with the adult program,” Armer said.
Start time is 8 a.m. for the second regatta of the season at Kailua Bay and the races are expected to go until the late afternoon.
