The local soccer community was rocked with another shocking loss this weekend with the death of Pearl City High School sophomore Tiffany Nakagawa.
Nakagawa collapsed at home Saturday morning from an apparent brain aneurysm and was transported in critical condition to Pali Momi Medical Center.
She was removed from life support Sunday evening.
"It was a real shock, just a real tragedy," said Travis Watanabe, who coached Nakagawa for three years with the Hawaii Rush 97 Nike Girls club team. "Talk about a girl who did all the right things. She was a hard worker, smart, always smiling. She was just a good person, a good teammate and a role model for all the other girls."
Nakagawa played fullback on the Pearl City girls varsity soccer team and was active in club soccer. She was also a standout cross-country runner for the Chargers.
Watanabe said he last spoke to Nakagawa on Thursday and was expecting to coach her in a game Saturday. Instead, he awoke to phone and text messages informing him of her hospitalization.
Scores of Nakagawa’s friends and teammates turned up at the hospital to lend their support.
Pearl City coach Tracee Kono spent time with Nakagawa in the hospital emergency room and later in the intensive care unit.
"This is a huge loss for the team and for the school," said Kono, who also taught Nakagawa in a college preparatory program. "She was really good kid, and she was determined to excel both in athletics and in school."
Nakagawa’s death at age 16 comes less than a month after the mother of Kalani High School soccer star Leo Klink collapsed from an apparent brain hemorrhage during the state championship game and later died.
The soccer community is also mourning the death of longtime referee Robert Kaainoni, who died Feb. 17 after working a game at Central Oahu Regional Park.
At Pearl City High School on Monday, Nakagawa’s teammates wore black ribbons bearing their fallen teammate’s name and jersey number. Other students made it a point to wear blue, Nakagawa’s favorite color.
"As teachers and coaches, we sometimes help kids deal with the loss of parents or grandparents," Kono said. "It’s another thing to try to deal with the death of a classmate and teammate. It’s a very traumatic experience for everyone."
