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By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
Sunday, June 27, 2004

HONOLULU—Don’t hate them just because they’re good.

Kaneohe, Koa Kai and Waikiki Beach Boys won their respective divisions decisively yesterday in the 31st Annual Windward Kai Canoe Regatta at Keehi Lagoon. For at least two of the clubs, cross-training has provided a competitive edge.

So save the hate, even though all three clubs have dominated their divisions since the Hui Wa’a season began. After five weeks, Kaneohe has won every competition at the AAA level (25-36 events). Yesterday, Kaneohe accumulated 83 points, well ahead of Lokahi and Manu O Ke Kai, which tallied 50 points apiece.

Koa Kai, which practices at Magic Island, has swept through the AA division (13-24 events). Koa Kai’s 56 points easily led the way. North Shore placed second with 20 points.

And the Waikiki Beach Boys have not surrendered the top spot in the A division (12 or fewer events) all summer. In fact, the Beach Boys are carried by a host of women who led the club to wins in five races yesterday, and a total of 31 points. Na Keiki O Ka Mo’i placed second with 21 points.

With all due respect to the original Waikiki Beach Boys, it would be accurate to call this club the Beach Girls. Four of the wins came in women’s divisions, and the fifth was in the Open 6 Mixed.

Kaneohe head coach Clint Anderson is still waving a flag of caution for his paddlers after five weeks of victories. “We don’t take nothing for granted,” said Anderson, whose club won 10 races, including four of the first five.

Kaneohe won the 12-and-under girls, 12 mixed, 13 girls and 13 boys races to start the day. The club went on to win the Novice B mixed, Golden Masters mixed, 15 girls, 16 boys, 18 girls and 18 boys races to amass an enormous lead halfway through the regatta.

Kaneohe tracked on a win in the Senior Masters mixed race near the end of the day.

Three of Kaneohe’s clubs are unbeaten: the Girls 12, Boys 13 and Boys 18. Anderson is rooting for all his paddlers, especially the Girls 12.

The crew is comprised of Kree Espinda, Brandi Kalihiwa, Cathy Sherman, Keani Wong, Keshy Langley and Kui Melemai. “They didn’t get into states last year. They kind of had a late start,” Anderson said of the crew, which won its quarter-mile sprint with a time of 2 minutes, 30.96 seconds. North Shore followed in 2:38.04.

Kaneohe’s Boys 13 captured its quarter-mile race in 2:04.87. Alapahoe was second at 2:15.28. “They’re working against the clock now. There’s plenty of competition,” Anderson said. “Our goal is to get all the kids into states.”

Koa Kai’s ascension has surprised its coaches as much as anyone else. “We’re very happy. We’re still improving. Last year, at this time, we hit a plateau,” men’s coach Dave Randall said. “We’re well-rounded, with the men, the women, and the youth crews. The difference this year is everybody’s improved. The times have gotten better.”

Instead of a plethora of third- and fourth-place finishes, Koa Kai is reaching new territory. Thanks to seven event wins, Koa Kai amassed the second-highest total of the day, surpassing AAA competitors Lokahi and Manu O Ke Kai.

“A lot more of our paddlers are cross-training. They’ll run, swim, paddle one-man,” he said. Koa Kai uses turns one workout each week into a cross-training exercise. “We do a one-man time trial, and we also do a swimming trial,” Randall added.

Vigorous dedication is paying off handsomely for the Beach Boys’ women. Their workouts include 5:30 a.m. swims—a 75-minute workout—with the masters swim club at the University of Hawaii. “Five to eight of us swim there four times a week,” second-year paddler Kelsa Teeters, 23, said.

Twice a week, the paddlers have one-man workouts. And then, of course, there are the “regular” paddling workouts in the afternoons. “I told them that if I had paddlers willing to commit to this in the off-season, I’d commit my time,” Beach Boys head coach Sean Monahan, 34, said of the voluntary cross-training workouts. “I think they’re in their best shape ever. It makes it easier on me at practice. I don’t have to worry about conditioning.”

Teeters, who didn’t paddle until arriving at the club, helped them win the Freshmen Women one-mile race in 8:31.60. Lokahi placed second at 9:10.23. The Beach Boys’ crew—Dana Gorecki, Kathleen Grubbs, Julie Shoup, Meredith Takara, Fern Yoon and Teeters—provided the most lopsided win of the day.

“We have fun doing it,” Teeters said of the demanding workouts. “Cross-training keeps it fun, and we’re enjoying being together.”

The Beach Boys’ women also won in the Novice B, Senior and Open 4 events before winning the Open 6 mixed races.

With one of the smallest clubs in the association, the Beach Boys are proving that work ethic makes a difference, even as it seems to border on obsession.

“That would be true,” Teeters said, grinning from ear to ear.

Monahan has insured a level of sanity for his paddlers. “We’ve scheduled in two six-day breaks from paddling so they don’t burn out,” said Monahan, who has guided the club the past four years, and seven years in all.

“Kelsa did the most work in the off-season, and she helps motivate the other girls,” he noted.

Monahan chuckled at the silly, but considerable suggestion of a club name change to ‘Beachgirls.’ “The ‘Boys used to carry the women. The men’s program is starting to pick up this year,” he said, referring to the hiring of a men’s coach this season.

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