Here Today, He’s Gone to Maui

KAHULUI, Hawaii —  Had it been a question about poi or pork lau lau, the cashier at Ah Fook’s Super Market might have looked a bit less bewildered. Sure, she might have said, our poi’s great--delivered fresh three times weekly. And the lau lau? Ah, no ka oi. It’s the best!

But it was a question about football--Kaahumanu Hou High School football. Surely the cashier had to know something about Maui’s newest team. After all, wasn’t it one of only five varsity squads on the entire island of Maui? Wasn’t the campus just around the corner?

“The only thing I know,” she said lowering her voice, “is they’re not a very good team.”

But they will be--some day. Or so Dave Marocco promises. The former Orange County coach is principal, athletic director and football coach at Kaahumanu Hou, a private kindergarten-through-12th-grade school just a few blocks from Kahului Bay.

(A bayside location is a must for the only high school in Hawaii that offers windsurfing as part of its curriculum).

Twelve years ago, Marocco was the coach at now-defunct Melodyland High in Anaheim, directly across the street from Disneyland. Today, his workplace fronts the palm-lined Maui Land & Pineapple Co.

From Harbor Boulevard to the Hana Highway? From the man-made Matterhorn to the 10,000-foot Mt. Haleakala? Not a bad change of scenery.

“Sure,” says Marocco, 47, with a sigh. “As if I ever have time to see it.”

Don’t get Marocco wrong. Maui’s a magical place. It’s just that his school of 250 students (100 if you’re just counting those in high school) has its share of frustrations.

For one, the campus used to be located just down the street in a combination church/roller rink (hold those Holy Roller jokes). But now Kaahumanu Hou is squeezed inside a small Christian church. At the beginning of each week, rooms are partitioned off using sheets of Styrofoam and plywood. It all comes down again in time for church on Sunday.

A piecemeal operation? Try the school’s football program, 26 players strong. Marocco started the program two years ago, but last week the Lions weren’t even practicing. The Maui Interscholastic League--made up of the island’s four other high schools--has yet to accept Kaahumanu as a member. As with everything else here, patience is a virtue. That goes twice for haoles , or mainlanders.

Says Maui News sports editor Rick Hoff: “You can’t just get off the boat from Disneyland and say, ‘I want to be in this league and I’m going to win all these games.’ You have to put in your time, go through all the channels.”

Until then, you find games where you can. If it means flying to a neighbor island, fine. To the mainland? OK. Paddling an outrigger canoe to Fiji and back? Hey, a team’s got to play.

Right now, in fact, Marocco says he’s offering $1,000 to any mainland team willing to fly over and play. Of course, there are stipulations: “Hey,” Marocco says, “I don’t want any Bishop Amat or Servite showing up!”

Two weeks ago, the Lions--accompanied by the school’s award-winning Polynesian dance troupe--traveled to Texas to take on the state’s Small Schools champion, Trinity Christian. Paradise lost, 73-0.

Next was Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana--a 25-7 Lion loss. Add that to their two previous preseason losses--62-0 to Lahainaluna of Maui and 14-8 to Honokaa of Hawaii--and Kaahumanu has been outscored this season, 174-15. It’s enough to send a coach screaming up a coconut tree.

Check out the local sports pages. The Lions get less coverage than sumo wrestling. Last week, the Maui News published a special football section. Each of the league’s four schools had a full-page preview. Kaahumanu? It had a corner of Page 9; the rest of the page was filled with cheerleading photos.

But Marocco keeps smiling. He built the Melodyland program from scratch, and had a 30-3 record over a three-year span. He convinced several NFL players to fly in for Kaahumanu’s annual “Pros Against Drugs” rally. He has paved the way for a new academic/athletic facility--complete with health spa and roller rink--due for completion next spring.

So he’s yet to master the name of the state fish, Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. So he doesn’t yet know that “ukulele” actually translates to “jumping flea.” Give Marocco time. He’s a can-do man.

“What keeps me here is the excitement of building this program,” Marocco says. “The kids are just learning the game of football. Our line averages 250 pounds. I envision great things.”

Like state championships. And plenty of press. And hearing “Kaahumanu Football” talked about everywhere from the aisles of Ah Fook’s to Buddy Fo’s Hawaiian Country Barbeque.

“Hey,” someone will say. “Did you hear? The Lions beat Lahainaluna today, 62-0.”

“Yeah,” a friend will answer. “Remember back when all they were known for was their windsurfing?”