Two ILH boys basketball coaching positions were filled last week when Saint Louis announced the hiring of Dan Hale on Monday and Mid-Pacific promoted assistant Robert Shklov to the head coaching spot vacated by Ryan Hirata, who left to take the ‘Iolani job last month.
Hale has been coaching high school basketball for more than 25 years, including at Punahou from 2004 to 2008.
During that time, the former University of Hawaii basketball player was the ILH coach of the year (2005) and led the Buffanblu to the state Division I title in 2008 and a runner-up finish in 2007. Before that he coached at Moanalua and was named OIA coach of the year in 2003.
He left the islands to be closer to his father, Ralph, in Northern Virginia.
“My youngest is in high school now, so all my older kids graduated from Marshall (George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Va.). My parents are moving back (to Hawaii). I have four kids and one is graduating this year from Marshall, and she’s going to UH. My son is finishing up at UH right now. My oldest daughter is moving back, modeling in Asia. So everyone’s moving back,” Hale said. “The timing is right when this thing came up. It’s kind of come fast and furious, but it’s the right time. And I always knew we would move back.”
Hale spent the past 10 years at Marshall. He led the Statesmen to the district championship in 2013 and was named the district coach of the year that season as well as every year from 2016 through 2019. In addition, he is the all-time winningest basketball coach in the school’s history.
In Sol Batoon’s two seasons at the helm, the Crusaders went 3-17 in league games and 0-2 in the playoffs.
“(Saint Louis has) a winning tradition in football and kids who grow up playing, and that’s a great opportunity to try and build it back to where it was, back in the day,” Hale said. “A lot of people don’t remember those days. I’m getting a little long in the tooth, but I can still remember those days. They’re doing well in baseball, too. Being a part of that is pretty exciting.”
Shklov, announced as head coach on Friday, prepped at Punahou and joined Hirata’s staff at MPI five years ago.
“I definitely felt a lot of support, especially from Coach Ryan. He mentored me while we were on staff together,” Shklov said. “I really wanted to be able to be the next guy. Of course, there were a lot of great applicants. I heard of a lot of great coaches who applied.”
Baldwin, KS-Hawaii open as top baseball seeds
MIL champion Baldwin received the No. 1 seed in Division I and a first-round bye in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA State Baseball Championships at Iron Maehara Stadium in Wailuku beginning Wednesday.
The Bears, who have won the D-I title two of the past three years, play the Waiakea/Saint Louis winner in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
The other Division I seeded teams are ILH champ Punahou at No. 2, BIIF champ Hilo at No. 3 and OIA champ Mililani at No. 4.
In the eight-team Division II tournament at Vidinha Stadium in Lihue, BIIF champ Kamehameha-Hawaii earned the top seed, with OIA champ Radford at No. 2, ILH champ St. Francis at No. 3, and KIF champ Waimea at No. 4.
