Lunas’ Rickard: If players, parents are in, Lahainaluna coaching staff ‘ready to go’

The Lahainaluna High School football team would play the 2023 Maui Interscholastic League season, if they are allowed and the situation is right to do so, co-head coach Dean Rickard said in the wake of the wildfire that leveled Lahaina.

The Maui Interscholastic League athletic directors met Monday afternoon to address league schedules going forward for all fall sports and the main area of discussion was whether Lahainaluna would be included in the schedules.

The MIL ADs are expected to meet again today -- and quite likely throughout the week -- as the situation is still not fully clear on whether school will be held at Lahainaluna, whether the Lunas' student body will have to attend other schools, and, if school is in session at the West Maui high school, whether they will have enough to field a football team.

"Well, my understanding is our AD (Jonathan Conrad) just told us that they're discussing that very topic, I believe they're in a meeting right now," Rickard said Monday afternoon. "Any possibilities or whatever scenarios they're going to see if they can salvage an MIL season with Lahainaluna being part of it. The important part is they tried to get input from us to see if we would want to participate.

"I told our AD that it all depends on the families and the individual players. We have some kids that want to take their minds off all the tragedies that's going on and salvage whatever's left of this season. We have the interests of the players in mind, but of course we're going to have to get the parents to buy into that, too."

Rickard himself is living with his brother Troy in Central Maui, on a property where 24 total Rickards are staying. Joey Tihada, Garret Tihada, Kekoa Mowat, Mike Arakawa and Randy Arakawa are among the seven Lunas football coaches who lost their homes.

"Many of our players are displaced and they are going to need whatever help they can (provide) at home -- if the parents are able to break away momentarily and take their minds off of what's going on in the daily effects of the tragedy, maybe that might be a good thing, good for morale, their emotional growth, I guess," Rickard said. "We've got interest from the players, no doubt."

Hawaii High School Athletic Association Executive Director Chris Chun said he is standing by for the MIL's decision on fall sports.

"I'm waiting for them to decide what they're going to do as a league," Chun said. "I told them that I'd help them in any way that they needed. So, I'm just waiting to see how they're going to resume. ... I've told them what needs to happen under our rules for the heat acclimatization and the return to practice and stuff, but I just have to wait to see what they're going to do. They just resume from the point that they were at."

Most MIL schools will return with students on Wednesday. All seven preseason football games involving MIL schools were canceled and league play is currently slated to start Aug. 25 with King Kekaulike visiting Lahainaluna.

On the Hawaii state Department of Education website, Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a letter to Lahaina families: "For students and families who were displaced by the fires and are living outside of Lahaina, we encourage you to enroll your keiki in the neighborhood school where you are staying, even if your housing situation is temporary."

Said Chun: "I think the MIL came up with their own plan and it looked good and I told them as such, but they have to take into account what's right for their students and coaches and everything. They have to deal with the mental health aspect and the air quality aspect and everything, so I'm just waiting to see what they need."

On possible transfers, Chun said the HHSAA "would work with the MIL, but I think in cases like this that we're going to do what's best for the student-athletes to make sure that they can play and participate."

Rickard said his team has enough coaches to play, if they can. Rickard's house is still standing in Lahaina, but the houses of his mom and dad, his brother Todd, and two houses of his children are gone.

"We've lost four family members," Rickard said. "I don't know the status of any of the other players, so my recommendation, what I told Jon (Conrad) would be we would have to have just a varsity team. We wouldn't be able to field a (junior varsity) because we're not going to have 100 percent return rate for the varsity kids, so we would have to probably use JV kids with what we have coming back."

Rickard does know that many of his players want to play in the Lunas' red and black.

"I know the seniors are in because they've been contacting me," he said. "I saw two of them today when we went to Walmart to continue shopping for personal items. They were like, 'Coach, we just have got to get out there and get our minds off of things.'

"I asked, 'Where you guys headed to now?' And they said, 'Coach, we're going to buy fishing poles because we gotta get out and go to the beach.' They're looking for some other avenue to take their minds off of the constant reminder with what we've got to deal with and the long road to recovery, yeah."

Rickard knows that many of the Lunas' football players have relocated already.

"Families are all over the place," he said. "Something that we've got to figure out is if it's even possible. If it gets too chaotic, I'm good with that, too, but I don't want to disappoint kids that are really, truly counting on us to continue."

Rickard added, "If the kids are in, the parents are in, the coaching staff is ready to go."

Rickard said that if the Lunas can play at Sue Cooley Stadium "I think that would be bringing this community together, personally I think, but at the same time that's something that's really got to be evaluated. The hurt and the pain is still there, but maybe at the same time it shows the resiliency of this community.

"We're going to rise up from this and go above and beyond. As a community we're going to be pushing forward doing what we know how for do best and that is giving it our all. I think that's something that this community can look forward to, but at the same time it's got to be done with sensitivity and gotta be done the right way, too."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.