WAILUKU — As the longstanding Menehune Basketball League opens sign-ups and tryouts for the upcoming 2023 season, coach Joe Blackburn recalled his first game in Lahaina back in 1975 and the thousands of players and their families who have benefited from the program since.

Despite recent hardships, he hopes to keep the program going for years to come.

For nearly 60 years, Menehune basketball has opened opportunities for intermediate school kids to put their competitive energy into a sport and to see what future they might have in basketball, Blackburn said from his Wailuku office. Many have gone on to have successful careers in basketball, too, because the league challenged them and taught the athletes about “commitment, dedication and accountability to their team,” he said. 

By-district/school tryouts for the Menehune league will be held Jan. 4-6 for students in grades 6-8. So far, there are about 14 teams — three of them girls squads — from Lahaina, Wailuku and Kahului interested in competing in the upcoming season. 

Molokai and Lanai have also reached out to field potential teams, Blackburn said. 

All participants, including players and coaches, must register with the American Athletic Union and submit their registration numbers with their team’s roster.

Though the program has been around for decades, these past few years have been bumpy.

Most recently, the league has been looking for sponsors, donations and volunteers to help keep Menehune running and remain free for families. 

In past years, Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation sponsorships have offset several fees for nonprofit Central Maui Sports Ohana to cover the costs of insurance to run the Menehune league and player participation. Funding also went toward permitting, hiring of officials and scorekeepers, among other expenses. 

However, that funding was cut as the county began its own basketball program this fall. It’s a more recreational version of Menehune in order to “increase participation as well as provide a youth basketball league for middle school children of all abilities,” said Mary Kielty, the county’s Chief of Recreation. 

One of the main changes that the department implemented was to eliminate the tryout and draft system that has been a part of the Menehune Basketball League for decades. 

Department staff were responsible for forming the 10 teams and making them “as equal as possible,” Kielty said. All youth who submitted an application were placed on a team. 

“This change is significant as now no child will be turned away,” Kielty said. 

According to Menehune officials, the league’s tryout and draft system provide a more competitive atmosphere than recreational programs that prepare athletes for higher level of play.

“When you move to high school, those are going to be your teammates, so it’s a great foundational league,” Menehune coach Cliff Alakai added. “For a long time, this has been the primer for high school.”

Stephanie Castro, who had teamed up with Blackburn to work with Maui County officials to get the HI Definition Basketball League going for a two-month run in May and June 2021, said that her son benefited from the Menehune league before transitioning into high school at Kamehameha Schools Maui. 

“Like I said, I think it’s a great filter program to the high schools and it gives some of them a competitive vibe that they need in order to get ready,” Castro said. “Menehune has always been competitive and it should stay that way because there’s so many new leagues now and the concept of it being free and a program that kids look forward to, you can’t surpass that.” 

Although the county is taking a new direction this year, Blackburn and volunteer coaches will continue to host the original Menehune league for the upcoming 2023 season. 

“We do appreciate all the years that the county has given to the program and we want them to continue the partnership with the community,” Alakai said. “(The Menehune league) is proven successful, it has changed lives, it has created relationships and we really want the program to continue.” 

In the future, Menehune organizers are hoping to work together with the county’s developmental programs, perhaps having the two coexist so that youth can transition into the more competitive league as they advance their skills. 

So far, Eddie Tam and South Maui gyms have been secured for games. 

The league was also halted for a season following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Last year, there were only 11 teams — nine boys and two girls. 

Blackburn said they hope to revive the program to pre-pandemic numbers of 18 to 20 teams playing in Menehune, which will include a preseason tournament on Jan. 21 and postseason tournament in March as well as at least 10 regular-season games that begin Jan. 28.

Menehune so far this year is moving in the right direction, Blackburn noted, but is still in need of more officials and Upcountry coaches. Without county funds, organizers are also looking for sponsors, donations and volunteers. 

The nonprofit is also in the process of seeking grants.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” he said. “We’d like to make sure that the kids who don’t make the team at least have an avenue of practice for competition.”

A coaches meeting will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at 104 North Market street in Wailuku.  A video link will be available for those who cannot attend in person, and will be sent out before the meeting. 

For more information, email mauibasketball@gmail.com.

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.