MIL BOYS & GIRLS BASKETBALL: LAHAINALUNA v. Kamehameha Schools Maui – January 14, 2012

Where are the sports pictures?

Is the self-proclaimed Lahainaluna Sports Shooter dropping the ball?

 Just in case you’re wondering, I missed my first MIL regular season boys and girls varsity basketball games in three years. The Lunas played the Warriors of Kamehameha Schools Maui on Saturday, January 14, 2012. Both teams came out victorious, as expected.  Unfortunately for me, I was not there to document it in photos.

My schedule indicated that the games would be played at their usual times – 5:30pm for girls and 7:00pm for the boys up at the KSM campus. Unbeknownst to me – after all, I am not a school or MIL official, just a fan – the games were moved up to the late morning/afternoon. My understanding was that it was to accommodate some kind of extracurricular activity (i.e., senior ball?) for one of the schools scheduled for that evening. Oh well. From what I hear, there were hardly anyone to watch the games.

 Being the anal retentive guy that I am, it just KILLS me to miss a game, especially when I had my schedule for that Saturday all laid out. Here was my schedule for that day:

                 9:30am                                Drive to Kihei

                10:00am-12:00pm            Shoot MIL swimming at Kihei Aquatic Center
                12:00pm-1:30pm              Shoot MIL Paddling at Ka Lae Beach park (Kihei)
                1:30pm                                Drive home to Wailuku, grab something to eat, shower, change
                3:00pm-4:30pm                 Shoot Lahainaluna JV Softball at Maui High
                4:30pm                                Drive up to Pukalani
                5:30pm-6:45pm                 Shoot Lahainaluna girls varsity basketball v. Kamehameha Maui
                7:00pm-8:30pm                 Shoot Lahainaluna boys varsity basketball v. Kamehameha Maui
                8:30pm                                Drive back to Wailuku, pick up dinner at Zippy’s
                9:59pm                                Say hello/good night to my wife
                10:00pm – 2:00am            Go through photos, edit and post on Facebook

 When did I find out that I missed out on the basketball games? I was shooting the Lady Lunas’ JV softball game at Maui High at about 4pm when I ran into Flint Nakamura. Flint is Haley Nakamura’s father, one of the players on the girls’ varsity team. I told him my schedule and that I was going to leave the softball game early to go up to Pukalani. Then he told me that the game was over already and that the boys game was probably almost done too! He then pointed to Haley, who was sitting in the Lunas’ dugout with her sister Brenna. Bummers!

 While I may be someone who enjoys taking photographs of the Lahainaluna teams at their events, I am first and foremost a fan.  I wish there were ways for the MIL or the schools or the media to somehow get the word out to fans such as me, regardless of whether or not I am there to take photos, when games are rescheduled. I’ve even encountered situations where the Maui News had no idea the time or venue had changed. It’s a shame. Imagine if Cheecho went and hitched a ride all the way up to Pukalani from Lahaina to watch the games – only to find out when he got there that the games were played earlier in the day? He’d have a right to be upset, don’t you think?

Fortunately, the Maui News got the memo on the time change. Click here for the article.