Damien coach Alvin Stephenson, second from left, poses with team members and supporters after their Feb. 23 Division II state championship win. (Photo courtesy Damien Memorial School)
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
It’s been 35 years for Maryknoll School. And it’s never happened before for Damien Memorial School.
In a Catholic schools sweep, both boys high school basketball teams won their respective divisions at this year’s state championships.
Damien’s boys basketball team took home its first-ever state title in the Division II final on Feb. 23 against Farrington High School, 73-50.
The Maryknoll boys basketball team won the Division I title against Punahou School, 50-34, that same day.
Like father, like son
Maryknoll last won the state boys basketball championship in 1984 when its now-coach, Kelly Grant, was a senior player.
Grant’s older son, Payton, is a senior player, and his younger son, Parker, is a freshman player, making the win extra memorable.
“It was such a pleasure to see my boys go up and cut down the net,” he said of the basketball tradition to cut off a basketball hoop’s netting after a championship game.
Grant said that some of his former players from the 2007 championship Kaimuki High School team, which he coached before coming to Maryknoll, and who his sons see as uncles, had built up the idea of winning the big game in his boys’ eyes over the years.
“This year the uncles were telling my older son, Payton, this is it. Now or never,” Grant said. “That kind of motivated him to work harder and focus.”
The coach said he himself felt added pressure to win. But Grant emphasized how proud he is of the entire team’s performance this year, not just his sons. Maryknoll finished the season with 30 wins to 2 losses.
“What I’m most happy for is winning for the Maryknoll community, especially the faculty and staff,” said Grant, who also teaches P.E. at the Honolulu co-ed Catholic school. “The faculty and staff played a big part in our success. I was blown away by how many fans were there to support us [at games].”
Maryknoll basketball players including Payton Grant, second from left, celebrate after their Feb. 23 Division I title win. (Photo courtesy Maryknoll School)
Impressive team
Over at Damien, Alvin Stephenson has coached the boys basketball team for the last eight years, seven of them as head coach. He is also a middle school counselor at the Kalihi 6-12 grade school.
Stephenson recalls that when he was first hired, then-Damien athletic director, Wally Aina, told him that his coaching focus should be on taking care of the boys and making sure that they felt like they belonged.
“That’s been my whole outlook of coaching, trying to really be that big uncle figure or father figure,” Stephenson said, recalling how much his own coaches over the years influenced him. “I know how impactful a coach is on kids.”
Many of the team’s members have been playing basketball at Damien since middle school, says Stephenson, so the win is a culmination of years of effort.
“To watch these boys grow has been very exciting,” he said.
Damien’s boys basketball team finished its season with 28 wins to 2 losses and will be entering the Hawaii High School Athletics Association’s Division I next year.
Stephenson said that while he knows there will be higher expectations on the team after winning the state title and going up a division, “We just leave everything in God’s hands, and wherever he leads us, that’s where we go.”
“That’s been our thing the whole year,” he said. The team prays before and after each game for their opponents, their family and friends, and their own sportsmanship.
Stephenson and his coaching staff sported their own team spirit at the Feb. 23 championships at the Stan Sheriff Center. They wore purple paisley vests and matching purple ties as an ode to one of the school’s colors. The attire was the idea and gift of religion teacher and assistant coach Gaston Gosselin.
Stephenson said that not only is this the best team he’s coached at Damien athletically but that it’s also the smartest team he’s seen. Three players have a higher than 4.0 GPA, and he doesn’t think any player has less than a 3.3 GPA.
“I’ve never seen players arguing over who has better grades or who’s going to get the highest points on a test,” he said. “It’s mind boggling.”
The larger Damien school body celebrated with the team at lunchtime on Feb. 27.
The winning Sacred Hearts/St. Louis cheerleading team. (Photo courtesy Sacred Hearts Academy )
Something to cheer about
Also celebrating a big win was Sacred Hearts Academy and St. Louis’ combined cheerleading team, which won the “Grand National Champion” title at the JAMZ Cheer and Dance competition in Las Vegas Feb. 22-23.
They also took home the Best Stunt Sequence Award, National Champions COED Sideline Performance Award and other honors.