If this were the 1950s, St. Francis senior Bubba Akana would be the cool guy with the varsity letter sweater, talking to his buddies in the hallway about the big ballgame coming up.
For the most part, kids no longer do what Akana is doing in his high school sports career. He played four years of varsity baseball and added three years of varsity football and basketball to that. And he wasn’t scrubbing along in any of them. He was the shortstop, the quarterback and the big post man.
In Akana’s mind, though, the best is ahead. He is tuned in and determined with a singular goal and is ready to tackle whatever roadblocks pop up in his way.
“Professional baseball is what I want to do,” Akana said in a Sunday interview. “It’s a dream of mine to make it.”
The next stop on that path is the University of Hawaii baseball team, which he committed to at the beginning of his junior year.
“They recruited me to play infield and I can’t wait to be a part of it,” he said. “Baseball is definitely my favorite sport. When you set goals and stick to it and see all the results come through, it brings a sense of peace. I can’t ask for anything more. It’s the best game ever to play.”
It’s doubtful that anyone would question his love and his passion, but what about the team aspect? No problem there, either, and that is illuminated in his attitude toward his time on the basketball team.
“I couldn’t dribble the ball,” he said. “I would go and get rebounds. You gotta know your role.”
Akana’s role with the baseball team is that of leader and defensive master and as a clutch, powerful hitter.
He credits a book his uncle gave him — “Heads-Up Baseball 2.0” — with getting a clearer picture of what it takes to be successful.
“It teaches you to win every pitch and how to be prepared for every single pitch and compete,” he said. “When I step into that box, I try to win every single pitch, control what I can control, and whatever I can’t control don’t let it get to me.”
His father, Kip, who is also his football and baseball coach, has given the 6-foot, 2-inch, 194-pound Kaimanuwai (Bubba’s real first name) lots of sage advice.
“One of the most important things he told me was that you never know who is watching, so always play your heart out and give 110 percent,” Bubba said.
One time, Bubba learned that the hard way. His intermediate team coach (not his father) was watching the time Bubba was laughing in the batter’s box. After the game, he had to run for 15 minutes.
“I was up to bat and one of our pitchers was yelling from the dugout,” he said. “It was the last inning with two outs. He was cheering for me and was hitting puberty because his voice cracked and that’s why I started laughing.”
Akana considers last fall’s football season as his greatest accomplishment with the Saints.
“We went 9-0, but the season got forfeited (for an ineligible player),” he said. “Still, I’m very proud of what our team did and how we came through to get to that point.”
Akana was also part of two ILH D-II baseball title teams (as a freshman and senior), two D-II basketball state championship teams, and three ILH D-II basketball title teams, and he’ll be with the Saints on their trip to Kauai for the D-II state baseball tournament, which starts Thursday.
Kip Akana loves his oldest boy’s work ethic, but calls him long and lanky and someone who will benefit from offseason strength training in college.
“It’s ridiculous,” the coach said. “He’ll wake up at 5 a.m. to lift weights in his patio, go to school, go to practice, come home, go back to the patio after practice to take another 100 or so more swings, do his homework then take 15 minutes to study ‘Heads-Up Baseball 2.0’ to work on his mental game. He does this daily.”
Unselfishness is one trait of Bubba’s that his father is extremely proud of.
“The kid genuinely cares about others,” Kip added.
Knowing St. Francis is closing after the school year is not a pleasant feeling for Bubba.
“When I got the news, it honestly hurt inside,” he said. “I’ve been there since sixth grade. I am blessed to have had a bunch of opportunities at the school to do what I like to do, make new friends and try to succeed in life. All my teachers and coaches have helped me a lot along the way.”
KAIMANUWAI “BUBBA” AKANA
>> School: St. Francis
>> Grade: Senior
>> Sports and positions: Baseball shortstop, football quarterback, basketball post
>> Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
>> Weight: 194 pounds
>> College commitment: University of Hawaii baseball team
>> Nonathletic high school accolade: Member of the National Honor Society
>> Possible major: Psychology
>> Career goal: Pro baseball
>> Family: Father Kip, mother Lani, brothers Cady, Cody, Chase and Kaeo, and sister Kawai Landford
>> Favorite sports teams: Atlanta Braves and New England Patriots
>> Favorite athlete: Mike Trout
>> Favorite video games: “Fortnite” and “Call of Duty”
>> Favorite movies: “The Best of Me” and “Where the Red Fern Grows”
>> Favorite book: “Heads-Up Baseball 2.0”
