After a lifetime on the move, Payton Bosque found her roots.
The standout — fifth-team All-American — water polo player for perennial contender Kamehameha has seen quite a bit of this planet in a short time, from Arizona to New Jersey to South Korea to Peru. She’s nowhere near done.
Payton Bosque
Kamehameha water polo
Senior
Q&A & Favorites
>> Hobby outside of sports: I like hiking whenever we have time. I swim and and do water polo, so I don’t have time. I like waterfall hikes.
>> What are your top three hikes?: 1. Maunawili. I really like it. Even though it’s long, the cold water makes up for it at the end. It takes three hours to get there and back counting the time we were there swimming and taking pictures with our friends. It’s hilly and muddy.
2. Lulumahu. Off the Pali. It’s a pretty short hike, but the falls are still nice. If you go at the right time, it’s not that crowded. In the morning, you’ll see tourists.
3. I don’t really have a third best, but I’ve been wanting to do Laie Falls. I’ve been looking it up. That one is so long, too, but from what I’ve seen its so beautiful out there.
>> Movie: The Shawshank Redemption. I was in eighth grade when I saw it. It’s funny, my dad said you guys should really see it. I didn’t think I would like it, but I got hooked on it.
>> TV show: That 70s Show
>> Music artist: Miguel
>> Future plan: I want to become a physical therapist. Ive been involved with sports all my life and I know I wont be doing it forever. PT is a way for me to be involved in general without having to play it. My dad actually hurt his shoulder recently playing basketball and they had to do surgery and actually tore his shoulder to get full range back. He would have us help do the stretches at home. Its interesting how they isolate certain areas of the body. Its interesting because you can tell hes in pain, but after he says, Its more than I went yesterday or it feels better kind of thing.
“I want to visit each continent at least once,” the senior said on a sunny morning on the deck of Kamehameha’s sparkling pool.
The travel bug is the result, in large part, of her father’s career in the Air Force. The family — dad Jeffrey, mom Cheryl, and older sisters Doran and Brooke — has relocated multiple times. Originally from Maui, her parents brought the family back to the islands six years ago. Payton spent one year at Kapolei Middle School before being accepted at Kamehameha as a seventh-grader. That’s when her other passion caught fire.
“We grew up kind of on the mainland. Now I’m in Hawaiian (language) IV. I’m not fluent. I can understand OK and put sentences together,” said Bosque, which is pronounced boss-key. “Sometimes I have to look up a couple of words, but I can get a general idea. I felt like it would be a good way to get back with my Hawaiian identity.”
It’s also a contagious effect for Doran, who is minoring in Hawaiian at the University of Hawaii.
Bosque has her priorities in order, carrying a 3.5 grade-point average with an academic menu that included AP Physics last year.
“I wish I had cared more about (grades) more through high school, but I’m happy with it,” she said.
Her even-keeled approach to everything is highly appreciated by coach Randy Bart.
“She’s our best player and the center of everything, even on defense,” he said. “Very humble, a hard worker and she doesn’t draw attention to herself. She’ll deflect attention, really quiet. We try to get her to say something before a game because she’s very respected. Whether she likes it or not, she’s got leadership abilities.”
Kamehameha’s nemesis, Punahou, has dominated water polo over the years. Kamehameha has won one state title, back in 2006. Just about every spring, the Warriors are successful against other ILH programs, knock out other teams like OIA powerhouse Kahuku, and then fall to the dynastic Punahou Buffanblu in the final. Even this season, the Warriors have won with authority against most foes — 5-1 and 11-3 over ‘Iolani, 10-1 over Mid-Pacific — but lost to Punahou 10-3.
Bosque is a major scorer statewide, but Punahou seems to put a lid on her.
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” she said, echoing her favorite motto.
Punahou just won’t let her operate, and wisely so. As the hub (2M) of Kamehameha’s offense, Bosque’s athleticism, strength and vision are rarely matched. During the offseason, she signed with Hawaii.
On Monday morning, the Warriors were en route to San Diego, where they will test their progress against some of the area’s top teams.
“We’ll play Coronado, Carlsbad, La Jolla,” Bart said. “Seven games in five days. Four of those teams are among the top eight in San Diego.”
For Bosque, the transition from former longtime coach Keala O’Sullivan, her coach as a freshman and sophomore, to a new system the past two seasons has been invigorating.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have coaching from a lot of coaches. He’s not the traditional step-by-step thought process. I’m happy that he took us on and stuck with us for a second year,” she said. “Coach Keala had a very ODP (Olympic Development Program) kind of thought process, very set fundamentals. We still run fundamentals with Coach Randy. The system is very different. He uses a different mind-set.”
The results have been electrifying for Warriors fans. The team missed the state tourney in Bosque’s freshman season, then reached the state final the past two years.
“It’s the speed and depth of Punahou that gets us every year, but it’s something you can overcome,” Bart said. “It’s not impossible.”
Basque doesn’t dwell on it. It’s water off her back, something that gives her teammates the space to focus on the day-to-day work, even as Bart hopes she becomes more verbal.
“Punahou always changes it up and what they execute, they do it very well. You can’t say that it doesn’t get us down, but we are looking forward. Coach always says, ‘Concentrate on your 1 percent every day.’ As long as we’re progressing, that’s good,” Bosque said.
After the mainland trip, Kamehameha will host Punahou on March 31.
Jeffrey Bosque, currently stationed in North Dakota, makes his presence felt when he visits home. At Payton’s games, he belts out a personalized, Jurassic-era sound that informs all species that he is home, he is rooted, he is all-in for the Warriors.
“His yell is kind of weird,” Payton said. “To let us know he’s there, he yells, ‘Ka-kaaa!’ from the stands and all my friends know, ‘Oh, it’s your dad.’ Right before the whistle, it’s ‘Ka-kaaa!’ My sisters tried it. It’s not quite the same.”
