KAILUA-KONA — It’s just another Saturday for the Konawaena boys lacrosse team.
Gathered in Old Airport Recreation Park’s roller rink just north of downtown Kona, the boys begin to partake in their weekly summer ritual — friendly box lacrosse scrimmaging in the early-morning humidity while parents assist with barbecuing duties on the sidelines.
Friends, family and interested players are all encouraged to come watch the ‘shirts versus skins’ clash between the island’s best. It’s a unique tradition in the community.
But this particular Saturday is a little different than usual. On top of regularly competing with one another on the old roller rink, the Wildcats are celebrating a historic milestone for their team and the entire Big Island: Konawaena’s star midfielder — 2023 graduate Joshua Kelau — is participating for the final time at Old Airport before heading to Herkimer College in upstate New York to play lacrosse this fall.
Not only is Kelau the first Konawaena player to be recruited to play college lacrosse, but the first player ever to be recruited from the entire island.
“Very humbled,” Kelau said on making Big Island lacrosse history. “Obviously in Hawaii, there’s a different skill gap compared to the mainland, so I tend to keep myself very humbled.”
“This shows it all,” an emotional Chris Kelau, Joshua’s father, said pointing to his eyes — trying to hold back tears. “He had this dream and he brought it to life.”
Kelau’s journey to becoming a lacrosse inspiration wasn’t easy, as the odds were stacked against him from the moment he first put on pads. The lacrosse scene on the Big Island is miniscule, containing just two high school club teams — Konawaena and Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Getting exposure outside of the islands is a daunting challenge.
“The best way to describe the lacrosse scene on the island is grassroots,” Konawaena head coach Dan Curran said at the scrimmage. “A lot of these kids get involved with the program through word of mouth.
“Access to equipment is a big hurdle — it’s about $400 to $500 per outfit for one kid. On top of that, you need to find people that know enough about the game to coach the kids — and if they’re committed enough to show up and volunteer their time. And that’s kind of tough.”
A former player himself, Curran founded the team as a club sport in 2015 after the game was a success in his physical education class at Konawaena. Students expressed interest almost immediately, and the team grew enough to compete with schools from all over the state — most notably in Oahu at the annual Founder’s Cup, an inter-island championship lacrosse tournament.
Curran connected with Kelau when he was in middle school in the late 2010s. At the time, the eighth grader wasn’t playing sports — uninterested in the popular island games such as football, basketball and baseball. It wasn’t until his school’s recruiting day where playing lacrosse first crossed his mind, as Curran encouraged Kelau to come give it a try at one of the club practices.
From there, the rest was history. Kelau joined the high school club team as an eighth grader, being the first middle school player to ever join Konawaena’s team.
“I went to one of the practices, and then I just instantly fell in love with it,” Kelau said.
Kelau’s passion for the game only grew stronger as he continued to play. Due to the lack of resources of fundamental development on the island, the young star took team practices more seriously than your typical athlete, as well as gaining additional knowledge through YouTube videos and documentaries.
“I first knew he was different when I first started playing,” teammate Kelson Omori said. “He was always active and making sure that we came to practice.
“I used to play in the mornings with him before school started and before even the season started. And I could tell he was really inspired to play.”
Kelau’s work ethic certainly paid off. The star’s strong play helped catapult the Wildcats to three consecutive second-place finishes in the Founder’s Cup — recognizing Konawaena as one of the top lacrosse clubs in the state. One of his strongest games came during his senior season in the tournament, where he scored six of the team’s 11 goals against Windward (Oahu).
“To be recognized as a top player in the state of Hawaii… I mean that is any athlete’s dream to be a top player in their (respective) state,” Kelau said. “It’s just nice to see that you are actually noticed for your skillset and your achievements.”
“He’s always had the mentality of doing whatever it takes to win,” Curran said. “A big piece when you’re a coach is finding kids that want to soak up the information and love the sport. He really bought into the whole program and the culture.”
Chris Kelau also took notice of his son’s passion for the game early on — impressed by his desire to get better as the years went on.
“After the first week of him going to practice daily, he came back to me and I saw that fire in him,” Chris Kelau said. “I saw that twinkle in his eyes.’’
The proud father also noted that once his son told him during his junior year that he wanted to play collegiately, he wanted to support him in every way possible in order to help make the dream a reality — even if others thought it seemed impossible for a native Hawaiian to be recruited to play college lacrosse.
“He once looked at me and said, ‘This is my dream, not theirs,’” Chris Kelau recalled. “Nothing was gonna deter him or myself from supporting him in whatever endeavor he wanted to pursue.”
“I was the type of dad that your kid would yell ‘Dad, back up a little bit,’” he joked.
Kelau finally started to get the recognition he deserved heading into his senior year. Garnering interest from Division III programs such as Southern Maine and Spalding in Kentucky, Kelau ultimately elected to go the junior college route for a few reasons.
“I wanted to be more academically sound, and playing at community college allows players like myself to really up their skill level as a player and help them as a person,” Kelau explained.
Herkimer, located in the state where lacrosse was born, is widely known as one of the top community college lacrosse programs in the country — winning nine JuCo national championships and helping several players reach division schools. Curran played for the Generals from 2000 to 2002, and he couldn’t be more thrilled with Kelau’s decision — calling him an “inspiration.”
“Josh has taken a huge leap of courage traveling across the country and going to New York and playing at the next level Herkimer College — which is, in the world of lacrosse, a top-notch community college program,” he said. “And I think his journey out there is going to open up the eyes of others to see that this is an opportunity for kids to play at the next level and get an education.
“Just having the courage to go out there and do that shows kids that if you want to follow your dreams, anything is possible.”
Kelau has high ambitions of playing at a Division I school in the next few years after developing at Herkimer. His ultimate goal is to play in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), but wants to take it one step at a time.
“That’s the goal,” Kelau said of his PLL dream. “But college is step one.”
When Kelau’s lacrosse days are over, he wants to eventually return to the island to serve as one of the athletic directors at his alma mater. Although he has already cemented himself as a pillar in the Kona lacrosse community, Kelau wants to give back to his old stomping grounds by trying to expand the game in his hometown — just in a different way than before.
“I don’t want to be the only one to (come from the Big Island to play college lacrosse),” Kelau said. “I really want to push lacrosse as a sport. It’s different, it’s fun and it gives kids another opportunity outside of major sports in Hawaii.”
“He is the gateway (for other lacrosse players on the Big Island), because he’s willing to put himself out there — even if he’s scrutinized by everyone,” Chris Kelau said.
“I think the community is going to rally behind him and support him,” Curran said.
No matter where Kelau’s future leads, he emphasized that he will always look back at Konawaena lacrosse as a major life stepping stone that paved the way for his dreams.
He won’t forget the little moments that added up to where he is now — even those scorching Saturdays at Old Airport.
“These guys are my brothers, and without them, the community and Coach Dan, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
