By Paul Honda
phonda@starbulletin.com
Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006

In the space of an hour, my afternoon of relaxation became extra fun.

No, I didn't win a lottery. After my nephew's flag football game was done, I met a man named Jimmy Yuen. Or Yoon. He was a nice guy, a longtime McKinley supporter, and mentioned that the Tigers play Farrington this weekend on the football field.

I knew this, of course, and we agreed that Bobby Grey has been a terrific coach there this season. I added that Tilton Kaluna is a very good quarterback, the kind of leader they haven't had since Abel Werner graduated.

Then Jimmy mentioned that Abel is here. I thought Abel would be away at college, working on his degree, so I was surprised. Jimmy mentioned also that Abel was in the gym behind us, officiating a basketball game. Really? Doubly surprised ... but when you think about Abel Werner, nothing is really that shocking.

So we strolled over to the gym, and there he was. On top of the calls, great fundamentals in his communication with the scorer's table. You know he would make a great official one day ... but really, haven't most of us already seen him as as great COACH instead?

Jimmy bid goodbye and went back to his wife, and I headed out to meet my nephew. On the way, I noticed a group of players wearing jerseys — nice black with red lettering, white trim — that read REBELS on top, Laie on the bottom. I was stunned. This team comes in from Laie to Kalihi Valley to play hoops?

I met the coach, Junior Fatai. I hope that spelling is correct, because Junior is one of my new heroes. Think about it. How many of us make the commitment to work with 12-and-under basketball players in the fall, driving them 35 miles each way, each Tuesday to play in a PAL league? We chatted for just a few seconds, but between Jimmy, Abel and Junior, I got a dose of what sports can be for so many of us. Supporting our alma mater. Officiating in a girls basketball league. Coaching kids and making the sacrifice for their athletic development.

It's pretty damn cool.

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