Soccer season began with fresh legs. Freshmen Kalynn Ichinose-Talalotu, Leighton Panui, and Jordan Spencer joined the soccer teams and must prove themselves every day.

Each player appealed to the coaches during tryouts. “ She had great ball control and she’s able to work well with others,” Head Coach Courtney Brant said of Ichinose.

Spencer also has some skills of his own. “ He had very good field awareness,” Head Coach Christopher Baum said.
  
Even Panui caught Baum’s eye. “His general ball handling skills and just his general knowledge of the game,” Baum said of Panui’s assets.

On November 20 and 28, Ichinose got to prove her skills to her team mates against Waialua and Leilehua. Although Wai’anae lost to Waialua 0-2 and tied Leilehua 0-0, Ichinose demonstrated her ball skills and determination. “She’s fast, she could control the ball, and she just kept going and going,” team mate Allie Roman said.

As for Panui and Spencer, they only have practices to set themselves apart from the others. With no preseason games under their belt, they’re sprinting head first into the high school season. “It’s the drive to beat them,” Spencer said about what encourages him to work hard.

Coaches didn’t see any potential conflict among the players. “I thought she had skills and that she could play ball with any varsity member,” Coach Danyel Panui said.

Being young gives these three room to improve. As for Panui, “He has what we call ‘raw talent’ and his skills aren’t where they could be, but we can help him develop those skills,” Baum said.

With the season now in session, these three are going for the goal. Working hard to keep their spot on the team.