They are rooted deeply, this core of born-and-bred Kailua Surfriders.
If the grass is truly greener where you water it, Kailua is the blueprint for grassroots football. The campus is their lab, and every year high school student-athletes develop into college student-athletes.
It was true for Joe Hauoli Wong, who went from Kailua to BYU to the NFL and now is back at Kailua as its football coach. His first son matriculated to UH and his second is headed, soon enough, to Cal. Esaiah Wong, the younger son, grew up playing with his current teammates in Waimanalo. The Surfriders are ranked No. 8 in the Star-Advertiser Football Top 10, a testament to trust, dreams with goals, and the verve to make them happen.
“The smarter way is to stay at home and play for Kailua. Maybe some of it is more of