Team Player

Go ahead and ask Viane Vaina for the shirt off his back. Before handing it over, he’ll probably ask if you prefer it washed and ironed. That’s just the type of guy he is.

Before a recent preseason game against Kaimuki, Vaina, Farrington’s hulking 6-foot-6 senior center, approached head coach Allan Silva and suggested that he exclusively play the team’s younger bench players.

"They deserved a chance to show their stuff," Vaina said. "They need to show Coach how good they are."

"I never, in all my years, had a player come up to me and say, ‘Coach, you need to give my teammates a shot,’ " said Silva, a 20-year coaching veteran who led Farrington to two Division II state championships, including last year’s 58-45 victory over Pahoa. "He’s a good basketball player but an even better person."

With the seemingly unstoppable spread of the Arrogant Athlete Syndrome from the pro ranks down to impressionable high schoolers everywhere, self-effacing players like Vaina are fast becoming the exception to the norm. He speaks confidently about Farrington’s chances for a repeat, and is quick to heap praise on his teammates and coaches. But when the topic of conversation turns to himself, Vaina becomes noticeably uncomfortable.

Which aspects of his game need improvement?

"Everything," according to Vaina. "Dribbling, inside moves, rebounding, communication. I have a long way to go."

"Viane is a very humble man," Silva said. "Basketball takes five players, but we need him to be our foundation."

Vaina’s humility  comes from consistently finding himself on the losing end of one-on-one basketball battles with his father. It also comes from his participation in Lawakua, a martial arts training and mentoring program geared predominantly for residents of Kuhio Park Terrace.

The program’s founder, Matt Levi, teaches kajukenbo. It’s a mixed martial art that originated at Palama Settlement in the late 1940s as a way to teach practical self-defense and instill discipline.

Vaina, now a green belt, joined the program when he was 9 years old. His older sister, Daphne, is an instructor.

"Viane never talks about himself, but he’s tough when he has to be and kind when he needs to be," Levi said. "The term ‘role model’ seems to be overused, but I think it aptly describes him."

The program also teaches restraint. Vaina admittedly had trouble controlling his temper on the court, but credits Lawakua with helping him become more level-headed.

"I brought what I learned at (Lawakua) to the basketball court," Vaina said. "I learned to find different ways to vent my anger without throwing an elbow or a punch."

His preferred method of controlling his emotions? Dance.

"I’m calling it the ‘Vaina Shuffle,’ " said Silva, who, along with others, has noticed Vaina’s habit of dancing during tense moments on the court.

"I dance on the court when I’m mad," Vaina said. "I don’t want to do or say anything I shouldn’t, so I joke around instead."

With his emotions in check, and his teammates responding to his quiet leadership, Vaina seems determined to lead Farrington to a second consecutive state title.

Although the team’s primary goal is to repeat, Vaina also wants to "prove the OIA wrong."

Despite having one of the state’s largest public school enrollments and a No. 9 ranking in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10, Farrington continues to compete in the OIA White Division.

Farrington will get a chance to state its case for future Red Division membership this year, as the Governors will play against both White and Red competition during the regular season.

In Hawaiian, "lawakua" means "to have a strong back, both physically and spiritually."

If you are the type to root for nice guys to finish first, then you are hoping Vaina puts his team on his back, en route to a second straight Division II crown.