The “scholar” aspect of scholar-athlete is essential to those who wish to make the jump from high school to college athletics.
Exhibit A is Kamehameha senior Makamae Gomera-Stevens. Finishing the season off with the rest of the Warriors’ girls soccer team has been a rarity in past years.
“I haven’t been the best student-athlete,” Gomera-Stevens said. “I wasn’t able to complete my sophomore and junior seasons due to academic probation, so I think that was my biggest setback as a high school student, so it’s nice that I get to actually finish this season.”
Since then, Gomera-Stevens has turned it around in the classroom. She’s now college eligible and has committed to play for Washington State, where she only has to pay for a year of school. For the three years after that, she’s on a full athletic scholarship.
| MAKAMAE GOMERA-STEVENS
Class: Senior
Position: Forward
Hometown: Kapolei
Favorite soccer team and player: U.S. women’s national team/Alex Morgan
Pregame ritual: Saying the Lord’s Prayer
Intended college major: Psychology or athletic training
On why 7 is her jersey number: “I was influenced by my dad. He said it’s the same number as Cristiano Ronaldo. I looked up to him too when I was younger and I was blessed to wear this number in high school because nobody else wanted it.”
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“I’m really blessed. The coach (Todd Shulenberger) took a chance on me, so I was really lucky,” she said. “It’s good timing, because last year was his first season there and one of his assistants saw me at one of the camps here. I had to work on my grades and I got the ones that I needed to, so that was nice.”
With the academic burden lifted off her shoulders, the über-talented forward has dominated this season, scoring 27 goals in 10 matches. That’s more than four other teams, and nine more than any other player in the ILH.
“My team has been the key to that. It’s not an individual sport and everybody needs to work hard for each other,” she said. “The fact that my teammates are finding me and passing the ball to me is pretty much the key to my success.”
Before making her commitment to the Cougars official on National Letter of Intent signing day on Feb. 1, Gomera-Stevens and the Kamehameha girls soccer team face a crucial week ahead.
At 8-1-1, the Warriors are right in the thick of the ILH soccer race. They play Punahou today and ‘Iolani on Saturday. The Buffanblu and Raiders are the only teams that the Warriors haven’t defeated this season. Having Gomera-Stevens available at the back end of the season will certainly help Kamehameha’s run toward its first state championship since 2014.
“Definitely having Makamae has been a tremendous asset,” Kamehameha coach Melissa Moore said. “She’s extremely athletic and has worked hard in every training and in every game. Her ability to assist and score goals has been very helpful for us, obviously.
“Last year’s issues are behind her. She’s worked very hard on not just her play, but (on) herself as a person, and I definitely think she’s matured very much as far as getting her time managed. It’s very nice to have her for the second round (of the season), that’s for sure.”
Like many soccer players across the country, Gomera-Stevens lists her parents, as well as the U.S. women’s soccer team, as inspiration. In particular, she looks up to Alex Morgan, a star forward and California alum.
“I always looked up to her since I was a freshman because of her success and she’s just so hungry when she’s playing,” Gomera-Stevens said. “I want to follow her footsteps and try to be as successful as her.”
Gomera-Stevens will soon have the first step down, which is playing college soccer in the Pac-12. It’s there that Moore believes she can thrive.
“If she keeps moving forward and progressing in the way that she is personally and physically, she’s definitely going through the roof,” Moore said. “I think at the next level, she’s going to be fantastic. She’s extremely gifted, very strong and I think she’s just going to get better and better.”
