Gray clouds hovered over Manoa valley Friday morning. But University of Hawaii soccer coach Michele "Bud" Nagamine and her Rainbow Wahine can find the sunny side of a hard-boiled egg. Maybe even a rotten one.

There’s been slow and steady improvement since Nagamine took over in 2011 and UH finally reached .500 last year. Continuation of the ascent could be at risk due to a season-ending-before-it-even-started injury to 10-goal scorer Tiana Fujimoto and an inexperienced back line. Kama Pascua, second on the team with four goals last year, is also unavailable for the opener Sunday against Arizona State at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

At least on the surface that hasn’t affected anyone’s mood.

"People ask why we’re so happy," Nagamine said in her high-decibel rasp. "Hey, we’re undefeated."

That could change quickly for the Wahine and UH overall in the team’s and the school’s first sports event of the 2014-15 academic year.

Despite their challenges, the Rainbow Wahine have reason for some confidence against the Sun Devils since they beat two Pac-12 schools, Oregon and Oregon State, on the road last year.

And Nagamine will accept nothing less than a positive attitude. "Get a straw, suck it up," she tells the rare complainer."

Raised in Pearl City and educated at Kamehameha and Santa Clara, Nagamine has a knack for inspirational and motivational communication with both halves of her roster — the one from Hawaii and the one from California. (Senior midfielder and co-captain Hayden Gibson of Sedalia, Colo., and Louisiana-Lafayette is the lone exception to those demographics.)

The generous sprinkling of local idioms in Nagamine’s tactical instructions and pep talks has unified the team more than confused it.

Junior defender Lidia Battaglia of Santa Monica, Calif. — with informal instruction from Nagamine and teammates like senior midfielder/forward Ashley "Muki" Haruki, of Mililani and Hawaii Baptist Academy — has become one of the team’s more avid pidgin speakers.

Her favorite expressions include "bus’ up," "howzit," "like scrap?" and "shoots."

"People ask me what part of the island I’m from," Battaglia said with pride after Friday’s practice.

"But you still say ‘soy sauce’ instead of ‘shoyu,’ " interjected Haruki, who like Battaglia was a Big West all-academic selection last season on a UH team with a combined GPA over 3.0 the past two years.

Nagamine joined in: "Don’t forget ‘Broke da mout’.’"

And there’s the team motto, #getchance … loose translation: whatever bad situation the Wahine find themselves in they won’t give up, because if they stick together they’ll have a chance to win.

"Coach Bud’s enthusiasm and love of the game makes her a great coach," athletic director Ben Jay said. "She is such a positive influence."

The Rainbow Wahine might not continue the trend of annual improvement in the win-loss columns.

But they’re going to have fun regardless, as will anyone within earshot of Nagamine. And that’s a fairly extensive radius.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.