The Boy’s Varsity bowling team won the ILH Division 2 title this year and finished in third place at the HHSAA State Championships.
The bowlers shared a sense of accomplishment as their season came to an end. Evan Tamashiro, a senior, said, “Our best achievement this year was shooting over 1000 pins as a team in one game. This was the first time we ever accomplished this as a team.” Justin Kanda, the assistant coach, also remembers that game proudly, noting that each bowler averaged 207 pins. After the game, he and head coach Greg Hayashi bought pizza for the team to celebrate the milestone. Another one of Kanda’s highlights for the season is seeing his team rally around senior Ryeder Yonesaki’s efforts to win a spot in the state championship. “While Yonesaki just missed qualifying as an individual for the state championship, he improved almost 40 pins from last season and stayed close to or within the cut the entire season,” Kanda wrote. For head coach Hayashi, coaching and seeing first-time bowlers get their first strikes is always a season highlight. “I enjoy seeing the smile on their faces when they bowl well and the camaraderie among teammates when they compete against other teams,” he said.
One of HBA’s most veteran athletic coaches, Hayashi started coaching bowling at the school in 1992. He also coached the girls basketball at the same time. The following year, he added the girls bowling team to his responsibilities and continues to coach both teams today. “I enjoy coaching my bowlers to improve their skills while competing for HBA. I also enjoy seeing them embrace bowling as a fun sport and the support they give to each other,” he said. Assistant coach Kanda was a high school bowler himself, and started coaching as a way to give back to the community. He wrote, “I had great opportunities to compete at the state, regional, national, and even international levels, and want to continue to keep the door open for youth bowlers to have the same or better opportunities I had, which include unique experiences and friendships that wouldn’t have happened outside of bowling.” Kanda also shared that his time as a coach thus far has been rewarding. “I’ve been blessed with students who love bowling enough to do it year-round, parents who are able to support that love with their time, money, and resources, and HBA’s administration and staff have been extremely supportive in making sure the program has what it needs and their students are supported. I enjoy getting to see students, especially those who stick it out 4+ years, grow in their bowling; in turn, that growth is also a reflection of their growth in their academics, character, and faith,” he wrote.
While the coaches had hoped to retain their state championship title this year, they were not disappointed at the boys’ eventual third-place finish. Hayashi was proud to see the boys bowl to the best of their abilities while “encouraging and supporting each other.” He added that he wanted the boys “to have fun and enjoy the competition as they are among the best bowlers from all the leagues in the state.”
