Nā Koa Football Club took Head Coach Nick Rolovich and his coaching staff to Kauai and Hilo this summer in an outreach effort to our neighbor island Warrior fans giving them a taste of UH football and showing our appreciation for their support while helping to raise some much-needed funds for the program. Kauai’s Meet the Coach was held on June 14-15 and Hilo’s Meet the Coach was held the following week on June 20.

Kauai’s Meet the Coach would not have been possible without the efforts of Mark Oyama of Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering and Dave Hinazumi of Grove Farms. Together, they organized three successful events: (1) a Wednesday night barbeque at Omao Ranch for 50 VIP package folks and friends with the majority of the coaching staff following a Kid’s Camp the coaches conducted, co-sponsored by Kauai County; (2) a nine hole golf tournament for the VIP package folks at Puakea Golf Course on Thursday; followed by (3) a heavy pupu and cocktail reception at Kauai Community College attended by over 100 devoted fans.

A big MAHALO is extended to the following sponsors:

Alexander and Baldwin

Bow Construction Management Services

Esaki Surveying & Mapping

First Hawaiian Bank

Grove Farm

Hawaii Gas

David Iha

Kauai Realty

Kodani & Associates

Allan Smith

Title Guaranty

Peter Yukimura

Special acknowledgement goes to:

Mark Oyama, Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering

Dave Hinazumi, Grove Farm

Daryl Kaneshiro and Michelle Emura, Omao Ranch Lands

Dan Urwiler, Puakea Golf Course

Baltazar Aggasid

Toby Arakawa, Tropic Fish Hawaii

Arthur Brun

Dickie Chang, Walaau Productions

Ben Ednilao

Dennis Fujimoto, The Garden Island Newspaper

Del-Marc Fujita

Boyd & Gaylene Gayagas and the Ace Team

Bob Gunter, Koloa Rum

Russell Hata, Y. Hata & Co.

Kaneshiro Farms

Kelekoma Ohana

Sakda Meephol

Danny Morioka, Dani’s Restaurant

Kurt Osaki

Jonathan Ota, Tip Top Cafe

Nophadon Seechachet

Kevin Shojinaga, Paradise Beverage

Ralph Suniga, Coca-Cola Bottling Company

Victor Watabu, Hawaiian Isles Enterprises

Wirat Yothachai

Rodney and Karol Haraguchi, W.T. Haraguchi Farm

Hilo’s Meet the Coach, although on a smaller scale than Kauai, was another successful neighbor island event largely due to the efforts of committee chairs Jason Fujimoto of HPM Building Supply, Craig Takamine of Takamine Construction, and Layne Oki of Cronies Bar & Grill.

Coaches Nick Rolovich and Jacob Yoro were on hand to meet and mingle with approximately 100 Hilo football fans at a heavy pupu and cocktail reception at Cronies.

Special acknowledgement goes to :

Jason Fujimoto of HPM Building Supply (Co-Chair)

Craig Takamine of Takamine Construction (Co-Chair)

Layne Oki of Cronies Bar & Grill (Co-Chair)

Will Lee of Will Kill Termites & Pests

Robert Shimabuku of State Farm Insurance

Kerry Umamoto of Hilo Fish

Caleb Yamanaka of Iokua Residential

Garth Yamanaka of Yamanaka Enterprise

Brian Ninomoto of Hawaii Sheetmetal

Marc Miranda of Pacific Radio

Joe Marsh of Business Insurance

Kapena Lum of Morgan Stanley

Josh Pacheco of ESPN 1420 Radio

Nico Verissimo, UH Foundation-Hilo

Together, both Kauai and Hilo Meet the Coaches raised over $15,000 which will help Nā Koa meet their goal of providing education, health and safety needs for our Warrior football team.

Photos of both events can be found on the Na Koa Facebook page: @NaKoaFootballClub. Like us and follow us on Facebook.