WELCOME!

Thanks for visiting my blog! By writing this blog, I hope to be able to share with you the latest news on Lahainaluna sports.

Oldest school west of the Rockies

Why am I doing this? For many years, I always felt that the "mainstream media" (i.e., the Maui News) focused on sports primarily in Central Maui (i.e., Baldwin and Maui High) and ignored Lahaina. Makes logical sense - the Maui News is based in central Maui. Easier for them to get to the games there and to cover the teams. As I got older and wiser, I learned that guys like Matthew Thayer, Amanda Cowan and Rob Collias do a heckuva job covering sports on Maui, including Lahainaluna. It is just there there are so much things going on and the Maui News can't be everywhere.

Thankfully, we in Lahaina have the Lahaina News. Walter Chihara has done a tremendous job over the years in spotlighting Lahainaluna and West Maui athletics. Still, it is a paper that publishes only once a week and cannot cover sports on a daily basis.

That's where I come in. I am neither a professional sports photographer nor am I a journalist. I am actually a full-time attorney. Taking sports action photos has become a hobby of mine. Combining that with my lifelong passion for Lahainaluna and sports, I wanted to somehow find a way to give the Lahainaluna student-athletes the recognition that they deserve for the hard-work, countless hours and dedication they put into their respective sports. That is why I began taking pictures at Lahainaluna athletic events. A little football, a lot of basketball and quite a bit of tennis. I posted the pictures on the CU section of the Maui News on-line. I also started posting photos on Facebook. Soon, I learned that a lot of the athletes and their parents were enjoying my photos. It made me feel good.

This past year, I expanded my coverage to include volleyball, wrestling, swimming, water polo, wrestling, soccer and track. It was hectic but tremendously gratifying as this past school year turned out to be one of the most successful years in Lahainaluna sports history - 8 bars on the "L" representing MIL team championships for football (Division II), boys basketball, girls basketball, boys wrestling, girls wrestling, water polo, softball and boys' golf. It was a blast!

Members of the 2011 MIL champion Lahainaluna softball and water polo teams

can be seen adding their stripes (and one for boys' golf) to the "L" in time for graduation.

Will Lahainaluna be able to repeat the success of 2010-11? I hope so!

Good luck to the Lahainaluna teams and athletes this year! I will try my best to capture the action and share what news I can about Lahainaluna sports. Imua Lunas!