Guy Enriques fondly remembers his first year as the Kamehameha volleyball coach in 2003, when there were only freshmen and sophomores on the roster and rough swords to sharpen.
The Warriors had their share of growing pains, took their lumps and finished that BIIF season with a 1-13 record.
Back then his four young sons, Evan, Emmett, and twins Addison and Avery, were running around Koi‘a Gym, which has served as a college springboard for the Enriques boys and other Warriors.
In 2004, the Warriors followed Enriques’ ball-control blueprint (serve tough and pass clean), went 14-2 and lost in the BIIF semifinals to Kohala for a spot to the HHSAA state tournament.
The next year, statewide classification started in 2005, and Kamehameha has made annual trips to the Division I state tourney ever since.
The Warriors open their BIIF season against Hawaii Prep at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday night at Koa‘i Gym in their first step toward their fourth straight league title.
“This is the best team I’ve had because of the depth,” Enriques said. “They’ve been playing together since they were 8 years old. As far as ball control, we have it.
“We’ve been grooming the kids for so long. The twins are solid because they play all year long. It’s the other areas — the middles, setting, and blocking — that will make the difference.”
Waiakea lost five starters and has a new coach in Napua Canda, a 2005 Waiakea graduate, who replaces long-time coach Ecko Osorio.
Hilo is also in a rebuilding mode with the loss of four starters.
This season is unlike any other for Enriques, who’s won everywhere he’s been. He was also the coach when Ka‘u qualified for its first state appearance in 2002.
“This is the last line of the Enriques boys,” said the 15th year coach, nodding to his two left-side hitting seniors, Addison and Avery.
Evan (a 2014 Kamehameha graduate) is a junior libero at Stanford. Emmett (2015 Kamehameha) is a sophomore libero at Cal Baptist.
Their dad knows that old adage by heart: How time flies.
Addison has already signed with Concordia Irvine and Avery with Grand Canyon. Both will be liberos like their brothers.
They’re also following family tradition and will double as L1 hitters for the Warriors, who’ll play a two-setter lineup with seniors Kameron Moses and Jai Makuakane.
Chase Carter and Makana Manoa, a pair of seniors, will share time at the opposite or right-side hitting spot. Jarvis Benito, another senior, and junior Nalu Kahapea are returning starters at middle blocker.
Tristan Cross figures to be the only new starter at libero. He’s also a senior, one of nine on the team. Sophomore Kamahaou Kawelu will push for playing time as well.
At Kamehameha, a starting position is earned at practice, where five statisticians track every single result, such as kills, digs, blocks, and passes.
As Enriques pointed out, he doesn’t decide who starts. It’s his players who determine that.
“It’s like playing one-on-one basketball every day,” he said. “Every kid is ranked from 1 to 16th on our scoreboard. Whoever has the highest grade gets the start.
“The three things we really track every day are our ball control, serving, and receiving. And we’ll have six rotations of good servers. If you’re one of our better servers but not a starter, we’ll get you in. The twins and Nalu and Jarvis are good servers.”
For over a decade, despite being undersized, the Warriors have made strong runs at the state tournament because their ball-control gives them a fighting chance.
Kamehameha is the top libero factory in the state. It’s not just the Enriques boys who have landed college scholarships but also Ryan Thomas (2012 graduate) to the University of Mount Olive and Kekaulike Alameda (2015) to Barton College, both in North Carolina.
On the flip side of the coin, a team needs to be able to return fire. That’s where second-year starters Moses and Makuakane will make a difference.
“They’ve been playing volleyball together since they were 8 years old,” Enriques said. “They know each other very well and read each other’s mind. Being in their second year of running the offense, they’re a little more consistent in location.”
The Warriors also make annual road trips — three to Oahu and one to the mainland this season — to strengthen themselves for states.
Punahou, the ILH’s Goliath, has pocketed the last five Division I state championships. Kamehameha has finished runner-up in 2012, ’14, and ’15.
“Punahou is like a two-headed dragon,” Enriques said. “You chop one head off and two more grow back. They’re always tough and have great players in their pipeline.”
It’s more probable than not that the Warriors, blessed again with ball control, will qualify for states, and because they’re deeper than usual they’ll carry more swords.