It’s just a group of guys playing tennis … but it’s more than
that.
It all started a few years ago when a couple of guys from Kalawahine Streamside,
a Hawaiian homestead community above Roosevelt High School, asked Butch Ayau to
teach them to play tennis. “They told me, ‘Eh, Uncle, put one team togeddah,”
recalls the Kalawahine resident, who, along with his wife, Aulani, has competed
in United States Tennis Association (USTA) play for years.
Ayau, 67, asked his daughter, Keawe, a three-time state high school doubles champion
(1994-96) at Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama, to help him teach and train the
newbies, none of whom had any experience playing competitive tennis. “Mainly,
it was a bunch of native Hawaiians who got together and got their skills up and
decided to take the friendly competition to a more organized [level],” says
Dirk Soma, one of the early enthusiasts.
In 2006, the men’s team – all of whom have native Hawaiian blood – won
the USTA regional team championship in Hawai‘i at the adult 2.5 level for
beginning players. They then captured third place in their division at the USTA
national tournament in Palm Springs, Calif. Newcomers from the neighborhood, sprinkled
with a few outside players, joined the group over the next two years, and they took
the 2.5 division regional title again in 2007 and 2008. Last year, the men captured
the novice team championship in local Hawaii Pacific Tennis Association play.
Every Sunday afternoon, the group trickles down the hill in ones and twos from Kalawahine
to the pock-marked courts for practice. Ayau matches up the men and a couple of
neighborhood wahine in singles and doubles, helping them hone their skills and develop
winning combinations. The men and women compete hard, but also call out praise after
their opponents hit a nice volley or stroke a smart passing shot. Meanwhile, their
teammates and neighbors talk story, munch on snacks, and watch the action. “The
main thing: Have fun,” Ayau tells his team. Then, he pauses for a moment before
adding, “But go out there and kick butt, also!”
Don’t let Ayau’s infectious good humor fool you, though. He’s
a competitor who will challenge the men with gentle teasing and a twinkle in his
eye. “They call me ‘Uncle’ ‘cause I’m the oldest,”
he says with a good-natured laugh. “But nobody [on the team] can beat me yet!”