From sun-up to the midnight hour, Brady Lee has no margin for error.
There is always work to be done, which is why sitting still for an hour on Sunday night to transform his hair isn’t ideal. The Moanalua judo team gets blue and pink streaks the week of state championships.
“We’ve been doing it for seven or eight years,” coach Brandon Maki said.
“It’s kind of annoying,” Lee admitted. “But it’s getting there. I get extra confidence, that’s all. And it helps my mom and dad see me.”
As a sophomore last year, Lee won the judo state championship in the 198 weight class. This spring, he has already repeated as OIA champion in the same weight class — while tipping the scales at a mere 181 pounds. He is likely to be the top seed at The Odom Corporation/HHSAA Judo State Championships on Saturday at SimpliFi Arena.
The rub is that Lee chose a harder path. He played baseball last season, a switch-hitting outfielder and right-handed pitcher for Na Menehune. This year, Lee dropped a beloved sport for golf.
“I miss baseball a lot, I do. Just playing. In the end, they supported me,” Lee said. “Coach Pete (Arakawa) still talks to me.”
The switch has been worthwhile. Last week, Lee placed 13th in the OIA championships out of 42 golfers and qualified for the state tournament. Not too shabby for a young golfer who never played competitively until now.
“I don’t know of anyone who played these sports, and I’ve been coaching here since 2007,” Maki said. “There might be one, but not at the level Brady’s doing it at.”
Lee has gone from occasional rounds on the links with his father, Keli, to playing for an OIA championship team. On most OIA teams, his two-round 162 would rank first or second. At Moanalua, he wasn’t a point scorer on a team that features league champion Dylan Sakasegawa, Nate Choi, Gunnar Lee, James Fujita and Jensen Chung.
On the other hand, he is a rarity, a student-athlete playing in two state championships this spring. After the judo state tourney, he will fly to Kauai with his team to play in the David Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Golf State Championships on May 11-12 at Wailua Golf Course.
“Going in, I didn’t imagine anything. Just go out there, do the best I can,” Lee said. “I know the team is good. I just give my teammates good vibes and try to score as low as I can. I don’t really like to focus on that stuff. I know other people can see the scores, but there’s not much talk about it.”
Though golf coach Andy Hopoi gave him the option to rest, Lee sometimes meets his teammates for weight training and yoga at 7 a.m.
“I try to tell him, ‘Brady, really, do not come to weight training.’ He shows up. He doesn’t really need that strength training,” Hopoi said.
Lee can’t turn down a chance to get better.
“I did show up sometimes to get some extra work, just get a little more strength, more of an edge on my opponents in judo,” he said.
After school, the golf team practices from 3 to 6 p.m. From there, his provisional driver’s license comes in handy. He goes from Pearl Country Club directly back to Moanalua for judo practice. By the time he gets home, it’s pushing 10 p.m. and there’s dinner, homework and some sleep.
It’s enough snooze time to maintain a 3.1 grade-point average.
“I have some regrets about school. I should’ve studied more even though I’m tired,” he said.
Maintaining the time of his life takes a lot. Lee quaffs the occasional Monster energy drink in the morning. His parents keep him on a high-quality nutritional diet. In the middle of a busy day, however, Lee has his go-to source of fuel.
“Honey Stinger waffles. That gives me more energy, especially when I’m golfing,” he said. “Judo, on the mat, it’s business, but after matches, I’ll still talk to my opponents. It’s a lot of respect. Golf, it’s more intense because you’re trying to play good and you don’t want to be off your game. You have to stay focused more, I think.”
At Pearl Country Club, Na Menehune walk the wondrous course, which has its share of slopes.
“We bought a bunch of Honey Stinger waffles online,” Lee noted.
On the mat, Lee is fully comfortable. He has played judo since he was a toddler.
“My first sport was judo when I was 4. My mom and dad saw an advertisement and asked me, ‘Do you want to try judo?’ The rolling and tumbling, it was fun,” he recalled.
Baseball and soccer came along when he was 6. Judo stuck. The same discipline and humility it takes to survive and thrive on the mat applies to the golf course. Hopoi believes golf is good for the soul.
“He’s a fun kid to be around. When he comes to golf practice, everyone likes to laugh and joke around. They don’t do that in judo,” he said. “I’ve known Brady for a while because I’ve been friends with his father for a long time. I was surprised he came out for golf this year. He is pretty good for a kid in his first year of competitive golf. You could see his scores keep dropping.”
It might be fair to say that Lee is simply a natural.
“The kid is just an athlete. He could take up bowling and be good at it,” Hopoi said. “His demeanor is perfect for golf. That’s probably why he’s so good in judo. He’s so receptive, so respectful when you talk to him. The most humble kid you could ever meet.”
Lee has carded a low round of 79 this season. Hopoi believes the potential, if Lee sticks with the sticks, is promising.
“In between the ears, he has an ability to focus and concentrate. He doesn’t have the experience other kids have. This is what I’m capable of and I’m not going to try anything else. The kids help him with alignments and he takes everything in,” Hopoi said.
It is a small world in Moanalua athletics.
“Coach Hopoi was one of my wrestling coaches when I was in high school. When he says that Brady is the real deal, I respect that,” Maki said.
Time is on Lee’s side. Judo is not a scholarship sport at the college level. He approaches everything like it could be his last match, or last practice.
“There’s no downshifting at practice. It’s 100 percent with that guy,” Maki said.
In 2021, Lee was a freshman and contact sports like judo were still tightly regulated due to the pandemic. No hand-to-hand contact, strictly conditioning. The friendships were built before anything else.
“I didn’t get to see his skills yet, but we would have conditioning workouts for judo and it would be so much fun around him and our teammates,” Joshua Adiniwin said. “Brady connects with everyone no matter what, so he’s a very social guy. He is trustworthy.”
Moanalua coaches didn’t have a chance to see their judoka battle for another year.
“2022 was the first time I saw him fight in practice,” Maki said. “I’d see video of him at nationals, but to see him in person, he’s super talented and you could tell he put in a lot of training. He has an impeccable timing of weight shifts, when to attack and not attack.”
Lee’s willingness to sacrifice for his team goes beyond talent and skill. At the OIA team championships two weeks ago, Moanalua was shorthanded in the 178-pound division.
“He cut 3 pounds and won at 178. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the team title. We came in second to Kapolei. Going into the individual tournaments, it’s better for us that he’s back at 198,” Maki said. “He moved up because of the team. We can spread out the boys and score as many points as possible. We talked to him about it and he said, ‘Whatever you guys need me to do.’ “
The program has also needed Lee to lead. He is a captain this season.
“He has developed his communication, being a great leader. When he first came here, he was quiet and shy,” Maki said. “He kind of opened up as he got to know more people. The sky is the limit with whatever he chooses to do in college.”
He has been invited to compete in judo at the Junior Olympics, but it remains a bit of a mystery, as is a plan for college sports.
“What can I really do with my judo? Am I that good enough for golf? Judo, honestly, I don’t know what I can do. I got invited to Junior Olympics multiple times, but I haven’t gone,” Lee said. “The past one, the tournament was someplace close to Ukraine.”
Lee plans to invest time on the course.
“I do see myself putting in serious work. I’ve been doing work with my dad, getting my swing better,” he said.
During winter season, Lee joined the Moanalua paddling team for the first time. He plans to paddle again next winter.
“It was good fun. It helped me out a lot. Pulling all that water, it helps with my strength, with my back, a lot. We made it to states,” he said.
Shifting to judo captaincy is a part of his evolution.
“It’s more of a newer group. Quiet, not that talkative, still getting that bond. We have a lot of returnees, a lot of new guys, but we’re getting there. They work hard,” Lee said. “They’re pretty disciplined and understand the job and what they have to do.”
BRADY LEE FAVORITES
Moanalua junior • Judo, golf, paddling
>> Top 3 movies/shows: 1. “Stranger Things,” 2. “Rocky” movies, 3. “John Wick” movies
>> Top 3 food/snacks/drinks: 1. Loco moco (Rainbow Drive-In), 2. Poke bowl (Tamura’s), 3. Honey Stinger waffles. “(Honey Stinger waffles) give me more energy, especially when I’m golfing. So we bought a bunch online.”
>> Top 3 homemade foods: 1. Dad’s BBQ pork belly, 2. Mom’s beef stew, 3. Mom’s ox tail soup “My dad (Keli) might have a secret ingredient, but I think he just perfected it. My mom (Robyn) makes beef stew a lot. She puts a little extra care into it. I tried making it and it wasn’t the same.”
>> Top 3 music artists (and your favorite song by each): 1. Maoli (“Jealous”), 2. Kolohe Kai, 3. Luke Combs.
>> Favorite class: Algebra III
>> Favorite teacher: Mr. (Joe) Cabansag, sixth grade (Saint Louis). “The way he taught, he always made class enjoyable. He used to be my baseball coach too.”
>> Favorite athlete/team: Shohei Ohtani/ Los Angeles Angels
>> Funniest teammate: James Fujita. “He just talks about whatever’s on his mind, situations he gets in.”
>> Smartest teammate: Nate Choi. “I think the way that he presents himself, the way he talks, his vocabulary, he’s very smart. Pays attention in class, asks a lot of questions.”
>> GPA: 3.1
>> Hidden talent: Flexibility. “I do yoga. I’m ambidextrous too. I can switch-hit in baseball.”
>> New life skill: Driving. “I have my provisional license.”
>> Bucket list: “I’ve always wanted to train at the Kodokan in Japan. That’s the birthplace of judo. You can go in and watch as a tourist, but you can’t train there unless you’re invited.”
>> Shoutouts: “Shout out to my mom, dad, all my coaches, just pushing me, making me better every day. I enjoy it. I appreciate them a lot. I don’t think I could’ve gotten this far without them.”
