For student athletes, navigating the recruiting process to collegiate athletics can be overwhelming and intimidating, despite the countless support opportunities that Punahou offers. This problem is perpetuated by the fact that students rarely hear firsthand accounts of the recruitment process from fellow athletes who have recently experienced it.
Punahou’s athletic culture includes all athletics. Whether athletes are looking to get recruited or are solely set on representing Punahou in high school, the athletic culture spreads far and wide throughout the school. Each sport has a different recruiting process and starts at a different time. The recruiting timeline can vary based on each person. It’s a complex process, and figuring out the starting point is challenging. For those who don’t know where to start, finding others in the athletic community at Punahou is the first step.
I discussed the recruitment process with Maya Yoshimura ‘26, who is currently verbally committed to playing D1 Women’s soccer at Ole Miss.
When asked about her recruiting process, Maya revealed,
“It was honestly both very exciting and stressful. I had a difficult time not comparing myself to other girls in Hawaii and my teammates, but I learned from this experience that you can’t compare your journey to others.”
Comparison and self-doubt can be a large part of an athlete’s mindset, although surrounding yourself with a positive and encouraging community can make all the difference for a serious athlete. I was curious to hear what Maya thought about the athletic culture at Punahou and if she believes it is truly a beneficial and valuable environment for prospective collegiate athletes.
Maya stated, “I can’t speak much about other sports, but I know that for Punahou soccer, it’s actually where I got a lot of my looks from college coaches. We made it to the state tournament, and there, I was lucky enough to be noticed by a college that I actually ended up going on a visit to.”
This affirmation of Punahou’s ability to get an athlete noticed by a top D1 school further proves the school’s commitment to providing abundant opportunities for student athletes.
When I brought up the topic of support from peers and coaches, Maya started by saying,
“I feel like I was very lucky to have a support system like my coaches from both Punahou and my club team, Leahi, because they are very well connected and always spoke well on my behalf to college coaches. But I do think that being a small, isolated state makes it more difficult to be seen by coaches from the mainland. My club team and I did a lot of travel to the mainland every year in order to get the looks we did.”
Being an athlete who wants to continue their athletic career in Hawai’i can be a challenge. However, many local athletes, like Maya, have shown this challenge can be overcome with hard work and dedication. Not only does Punahou offer outstanding athletic programs for every student, but each student in these communities offers support to each other.
Maya agreed when the topic of student-athlete support came up, saying she experienced this support firsthand through the Punahou girls Varsity soccer team.
“I think all sports like to support each other at Punahou. For soccer especially, we would always attend each other’s games and cheer each other on,” Maya added.
However, it isn’t just Punahou students who support each other. Countless students from other schools also attend these local sports events. This strong community found at Punahou extends throughout the entire island. Due to Hawaii’s remoteness, young athletes have a disadvantage for getting noticed by schools out of state. However, as a state, we have developed a strong athletic community that provides support and a sense of family.
Even though the recruitment journey can be both terrifying and daunting at times, the community found throughout Hawai’i is rooting for young athletes to succeed. The journey toward collegiate athletics may be filled with challenges, but at Punahou, no athlete has to face them alone.