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This fall, former University of Hawaii and Kaimuki defensive end Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole is busy watching his twin sons mature into men.
It was only 18 years ago that he was a freshman in college and embarking on a multi-pronged highway that combined fatherhood and college football. The only other option to abject failure was maturity, and Kamakawiwo‘ole accomplished the latter — quickly.
On Friday, Kamakawiwo‘ole will watch his fraternal twin boys — Kila and Kalanikau — play against each other as seniors in an intense ILH football rivalry. Kila is a linebacker for No. 1 Saint Louis. Kalani is a defensive end for No. 7 Kamehameha.
“In my senior year, I had to pretty much mature faster than everybody else as a person,” he said. “As a player, my boys are a lot more mature than I was then. They have aspirations to play in college. They’ve put in a lot of work this past summer and all year. It’s been a grind for them.”
Even though the dad has taught them as much as he can from his football experience, he didn’t have to push them into the sport.
“Watching my father play at UH and seeing all the hype there, I wanted to be like him, if not better,” Kalani said. “In his first year in college, he had me and my brother. He sacrificed for us, so we’re trying our hardest to make him proud in any way possible.”
Kila is two minutes older than Kalani, and by the family’s accounts, they are similar in many ways. On the field, Kila is the more brainy type and Kalani is the more physical.
“I like to bring things back from what Coach Cal teaches me,” Kila said, referring to Crusaders coach Cal Lee. “Coach Cal gets us to want to hit every day, and that makes it fun. If (Kalani) is clueless on something, I will help him with his thought process. That’s not to say he doesn’t know things well. He has Coach Abu (Ma’afala) over there, so he knows what is expected. He (Kalani) will help me on things that are more speed-wise, on blitzes, on having a nose for the ball like him. He has more speed that I do.”
According to Kalani, they don’t talk much smack to each other.
“It only causes tension,” he said. “We just try to help each other out.”
Kila, however, likes to remind his brother that he has two state Open Division championships at Saint Louis in the past two years.
“It bothers him, knowing that I have two titles under my belt already,” Kila said during a Saturday morning interview at Saint Louis School — right in front of Kalani. “It bothers him a lot. I’ve seen it in his eyes that he wants one himself. I always say, ‘You always wanted to be a Crusader,’ but he denies it every time.”
Kalani let the dig roll right off his back.
As with any set of twins, they have their share of high jinks.
“When we went to Maunawili Elementary, we would run home right away after school, put our bags down in the room, grab the basketball and played 1-on-1 every day. We would play until we saw our dad’s car and run back in the house all scared and grab our books and make it look like we were reading.”
Schoolwork is something the the elder Kila takes seriously.
“Their (football) work ethic is there; they have a desire to do it themselves,” he said. “But I really push academics. If you ask them, they’ll probably get mad about it. But that’s the one thing that is a priority in college.”
The twins also find inspiration from their famous great uncle, the late legendary recording artist and Hawaiian sovereignty activist Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole.
“I listen to all of (his music),” Kalani said. “Those are my go-to songs during pregame sometimes. Right when we get to the stadium cutoff, I’ll play an Israel song. Those songs give me peace. Before a game, sometimes I get too nervous, get so stressed out, so listening when I get to games gives me energy.”
Kila’s favorite class right now is an elective where he learns hula from Kumu Kealii Puchalski.
“It’s blessing to me that I’ve learned something from our Hawaiian ancestors,” he said. “Just learning the meanings behind each hula. Growing up, I only watched it and never knew the meaning. Each mele has a meaning behind it.”
On Friday night, there will be one winner and one loser, but the whole family will win just having both players on the field.
They originally wanted to play together in high school, but Kila acknowledged that he did not make it into Kamehameha.
“I still got into a good school,” Kila said. “From there, it was Kamehameha-Saint Louis in our family.”
They have indelible memories of playing together in the Big Boyz league for the Metro Tigers.
“It’s something I’ll never forget,” Kalani said. “The brother bond is something you cannot break.”
KALANIKAU KAMAKAWIWO‘OLE
>> School: Kamehameha
>> Grade: Senior
>> Position: Defensive line
>> Height/Weight: 6-0 / 215 pounds
>> Jersey number: 11
>> Favorite sports team: 2018 Hawaii Warriors football
>> About brother Kila: “People are afraid to go his way because of his high football IQ. They know he’s always going to be there.”
>> Father Kila on Kalani: “He is a go-getter.”
KILA KAMAKAWIWO‘OLE
>> School: Saint Louis
>> Grade: Senior
>> Position: Linebacker
>> Height/Weight: 5-11 / 217 pounds
>> Jersey number: 1
>> Favorite sports team: New England Patriots
>> About brother Kalanikau: “(In Big Boyz league), we would get on each other during games and practices, but having him next to me, knowing that he knew where the ball was and what I was going to do, it was just a relief on my shoulders.”
>> Father Kila on the younger Kila: “He has the football smarts.”
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