High school sports are a quintessential community experience. Gather your neighbors, family, friends, and even rival politicians to cheer on your hometown team. The atmosphere is buzzing with the energy of the crowd, the bright stadium lights, and the excitement of the players on the field.
Tomorrow, my hometown team, Mililani High School, will play Kahuku in the inaugural Hawaiian Bank Football State Championship. Since I’m away from home again, I’ve already asked my sister to FaceTime the game.
First, I’ll admit that balance is my only physical skill. That means I can stand on a paddle board and manage most single leg yoga positions. All high school sports were beyond my ability. Fortunately, my sister has excellent hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, and a long attention span, so she has time to observe the community-building power of team sports. There was enough.
I’m one of those people who only likes Olympic or World Cup sports, but I’ll watch anything with garlic fries at the Stan Sheriff Center. But high school sports are a completely different proposition.
For spectators, there’s nothing quite like attending a public high school football game. The sheer number of players, cheerleaders, and band members draws a large crowd of supporters to every play, cheering, groaning, and gasping. Emotions are evident in these matches, and not just when the outcome of the match is at stake.
The camaraderie, teamwork, and unwavering determination of Hawaii’s youth on the field is inspiring. These teams bring together players from different backgrounds and social circles to unite towards a common goal. High school sports provide athletes and their surrounding communities with a sense of belonging that is missing in many of our lives.
Feeling out of place affects every area of your life and can lead to depression, anxiety, stress, and poor health. Young people who participate in team sports are more resistant to these consequences. Research shows that high school athletes have higher academic performance, do better in the labor market, have fewer mental health problems, and have better health outcomes later in life. They’re also more likely to volunteer, vote, and follow the news closely.
As adults, we need to support youth when they choose to dedicate their time and energy to the team. With mental health issues and absenteeism on the rise among Hawaii’s teens, supporting local athletes is a positive way to reverse the state’s declining trend. But joining your local team, or at least attending a match, can also help strengthen the broader community.
When communities come together to support their local teams, it creates a sense of common identity and common purpose that is difficult to find elsewhere. These collective experiences create bonds across barriers that have value beyond sport. Because these bonds are the same ones we seek when communities face hardship or disaster.
Last month, we saw Maui residents gather at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku to cheer on the Lahainaluna soccer team in their first game of the season because of the devastating fires. As Civil Beat’s Paula Dobbin reported, “the game that many call Lahaina’s lifeblood” gives the community an opportunity to exchange stories, share frustrations, find hope and heal together. provided.
Kahuku’s Red Raiders are another great example. In January, NFL 360 featured the Red Raiders in the short documentary “Kahuku Mana,” showcasing the team’s lasting impact on the North Shore community.
Kahuku head coach Sterling Carvalho explained to NFL 360 viewers: And as the football team progresses, so does the community. ”
The piece depicts supporters with red flags and shirts lining the streets before every game to wish the team well, and the guidance that helped the team process the untimely deaths of coaches and players. I am interviewing people. It emphasizes that investing in such community bonds builds systems of resilience, pride, and a sense of shared responsibility that go beyond the sport itself.
Lahainaluna High School and Kahuku High School are examples, but each of our communities has a stronger community that knows how to follow in their footsteps and improve the lives of Hawaii’s youth, celebrating, grieving, and overcoming together. There is an opportunity to rally around a team that can build.