JV Tennis Champs

Chanon Alcon knows Tennis. The former University of Hawaii assistant tennis coach, ILH champion at Kamehameha and 1st team All-WAC selection in singles and doubles, while at the University of Hawaii, has spent a lifetime around the tennis game.

So when he says that his JV tennis program had a good year, he knows what he is talking about.

"I can‟t remember a time that Mid-Pacific was second in boy‟s tennis," said Chanon. "The girls tied with Iolani, we played them in the final game for second place. It was a tough loss but a third overall and a Division II championship was great."

Mid-Pacific finished behind Punahou in both boys and girls JV tennis.

Alcon said that discipline and dedication paid dividends all season. The girls and boys practiced to-gether on the courts and enjoyed excellent parental support (including a donation of benches for the tennis program).

Led by Junior Aaron Machida on the boys side, who finished the season with only one loss, and Skyla Alcon on the girls side, whose only lose was the #1 ranked girl in the state, the JV squads steam rolled the competition, losing only one total set (a BJV 3-1 win vs. HBA) against any team other than "The Big Three" of Iolani, Kamehameha and Punahou.

The boys team finished 7-3 and the girls team finished 7-5.

It was the final JV go around for Aaron Machida, Skye Inakoshi and Karin Gradwohl who will all be encouraged to try out for varsity tennis in the spring

"I‟m proud of what these kids did this year," said Chanon. "I‟m excited to see what they will do at the varsity level."

When talking about how the JV teams were able to ascend to new heights, Alcon is quick to be modest in regards to his own impact and highlights the staff that he works with.

"This is the first year that we hired a conditioning coach for the JV level," said Chanon. "So not only are they getting high level tennis coaching from experts like David Izumi and Carolyn Katayama, they also get to work with Megan Clark & Ian Hunt on strength and conditioning, and Brad Yates, MPI's performance coach. I think the improvements really showed by winning the DII championships."

To pair resumes comparable to Alcon's in tennis at the high school level is not easy, but apparently Chanon is a master attractor of quality coaching talent as well.

David Izumi has been a top developer of tennis talent for the past 30 years after having a brilliant career at Punahou.

Carolyn Katayama was the former head collegiate coach at both UH and HPU and has three children that were state champions in tennis in Hawaii.

Ian Hunt and Brad Yates are masters of conditioning both the body and mind respectively.

Megan Clark, the newest member of the team, owns her own fitness company and has been training marines, firemen, police and athletes for the past 12 years. She brings a new and unique skill set to the MPI program.

Coach Alcon has steadily worked hard at developing a winner's mindset in Manoa and the hard work is paying off in the form championships at the JV level. The next challenge will be to win a title outright. During the winter, intermediate tennis will take center stage and then the varsity teams will attempt to overthrow those same "Big Three" that continue to stand in the way of overall ILH championships. No matter the outcome the program is good hands with Chanon.