Beyond the ball

Kevin Wong’s world is full of oysters, each one containing a pearl-shaped volleyball. All are of equal importance, regardless of size or scope, continually being strung together on an expanding state-wide necklace.

For all the success that Wong has had — NCAA indoor volleyball champion, beach volleyball Olympian and pro, Olympic broadcaster — the 41-year-old remains focused on growing the game he loves at the grassroots level.

His three priorities?

"Community, community and community," Wong said.

What started as a free twice-weekly program for fourth-graders at Ala Wai Elementary School has grown into a year-round organization that offers close to 300 days of activities a year. Wong estimates that more than 1,500 youngsters participated in one or more activities sponsored by Spike And Serve, ranging from beach clinics and tournaments to indoor camps and club play.

In some respects, Wong has brought the Olympics to Hawaii with international influence. Former University of Hawaii player Josh Walker, whose pro club team recently won the Danish Cup, is a clinician; another former UH player and current pro JP Marks, runs an affiliated program in his native Germany.

"We have kids from Japan, Italy, Canada and China at our camps," he said. "Kids fly in from the Big Island or drive in from Kahuku or Waianae every single weekend. It’s so exciting for me to have kids as young as 5 years old getting instruction from world-class coaches."

The education goes beyond volleyball skills. There is an effort to make the sport relatable and relevant with a coaching staff that includes current Rainbow Warrior Taylor Averill, who is taking a break to train with the U.S. national team this month in Anaheim, Calif.; and Ali Longo, who just finished her indoor and sand career with the Rainbow Wahine.

There are also history lessons that bring a sense of pride in Hawaii’s role in volleyball.

Birthplace of beach volleyball? Waikiki Beach in 1915.

Team captain of the first U.S. men’s Olympic volleyball team? Papakolea’s Pedro Velasco in 1964.

Team captain of the second U.S. men’s Olympic volleyball team? The late Tom "Daddy" Haine, a Roosevelt High graduate.

"There’s so much history here, there’s so much knowledge and wisdom here," Wong said. "Velasco, Haine, the invention of beach volleyball. And there’s (UH coach) Dave Shoji, the all-time winningest coach in collegiate women’s volleyball. This is a volleyball state."

Before Wong heads off to Nanjing, China, as a broadcaster for the Summer Youth Olympics, there will be a continuation of the "Mauka to Makai" philosophy with a free weeklong clinic at the Papakolea Community Center for area youth. Velasco will be a part of it, a living reminder of the area that produced other volleyball Olympians such as Jake Highland (1964) and Fanny Hopeau (1968), and UH All-American Tita Ahuna, captain of the Rainbow Wahine’s last national title in 1987.

There’s a couple other volleyballs that Wong is juggling. With the NCAA sponsoring sand volleyball as a championship sport in spring 2016, Wong and his brother Scott, UH’s head sand and associate indoor coach, are working to have Hawaii become the permanent home of the NCAA championship tournament.

Kevin Wong also has been at the forefront of having sand volleyball become an official high school sport and organized the inaugural state prep beach championship last fall. He has the backing of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, but as has happened with trying to make surfing an interscholastic sport, it is up to the leagues to agree to sponsor the sport.

Wong does have hope. He was reminded that high school football did not have a state tournament for many years, with the Prep Bowl considered the championship.

Volleyball is just part of the life experience being offered. Participants don’t have to be a star to become a valuable team member.

One player’s skill is as a videographer. He recorded a tournament on GoPro and put together what has become a promotional video for potential sponsors.

Another’s gift is organization. She runs beach clinics.

"Every kid has to fall in love with that one thing," Wong said. "The program is going for excellence in volleyball, but in reality, it’s about everything else. They’re active, they’re motivated, they’re working out and learning healthy habits.

"At the end of the day, what we care about is who will be the next doctor or the next great inventor."