➳ When the junior boys crew from the Outrigger Canoe Club crossed the finish line at the Moloka‘i Hoe last fall, plac- ing third in their division with a time of 5:40:06, it marked more than a strong showing. They were signaling the return of a program on the rise. “We restructured Outrigger’s pro- gram, attracted top young athletes, and really struck a home run with our coach- ing staff,” says Walter Guild, Team Cap- tain for the Club’s Junior Boys Program. “It geared up in 2025 to that high level, and going into this next year, there’s been a lot of excitement.” Building on a strong foundation es- tablished in 2024 with the help of coach Kai Wilding, the junior boys are gaining momentum in ways the program hasn’t seen in recent years—fueled by ris- ing young talent, a dedicated group of coaches, and a shift toward year-round training. “You get a couple of good wins, some good practices, and word of mouth spreads,” says Guy Pere, a longtime Ha- wai‘i waterman and Outrigger Canoe Club member who now coaches the junior boys red team. “Then before you
know it, you’ve got quite a few high level athletes coming out for it.” Alongside fellow coaches Dolan Eversole and Robi Solmssen, Pere is part of a new wave of leadership helping to reshape the program—coaches who not only bring high-level experience, but also a personal stake as fathers of paddlers in the program. Pere’s oldest son, Toa, is helping lead the program’s top paddlers in the gold crew, while his younger son, Tama, is just getting started with the junior boys white team under coaches Leighton Miyachi and Keoni Kino. “He’s excited about this season. This will be his first time paddling,” Pere says. “I’m probably the hardest on my own kid—and I would say the same thing for these other dads, too.” Another game changer has been the way the program trains. Guild says he and the coaching staff have made it a priority to utilize the Club’s fleet of one-man canoes, expanding access and giving more paddlers, especially those new to the sport, the opportunity to gain experience and train year-round. “We’ve had a few boys that came out
may/june 2026 | AMA 25
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