LIHUE — Colson Okinaka is still a few weeks away from being eligible for the Kauai Police Activities League boxing program.
But he was in the midst of a group of about a dozen young student-athletes Monday evening going through boxing exercises led by Kauai Police Department’s Mark Ozaki and coach Marty Amaro.
“He’s Mark’s grandchild,” said Crystal Kaya, a KPAL director. “He’s been helping getting this place ready for today’s opening. He wanted to join the boxing program, but he’s still a few weeks too young. When we agreed to let him try out to see if he could handle the program, he got so excited.”
The new facility at the Kukui Grove Center, located across the walkway from Starbucks, opened to the boxing class Monday evening.
“This place is about three times bigger than our old place at Vidinha Stadium,” Ozaki said. “It’s about 4,400 square feet, and we can do a lot more. We got a lot of help from the department’s special resource officers in getting everything ready to open, and we’re going to do it right with a proper blessing and dedication once everything gets placed.”
Kaya said one of the improvements is the bigger boxing ring.
“Our plan is to be open at least five days of the week,” Ozaki said. “We’re doing boxing, including all-girl boxing on Thursday, wrestling, and jiu jitsu. With this room, we can add more programs.”
Those programs could be kaji kenpo, gymnastics, and cheerleading. They also want to add a classroom element where students can work on homework, separated from the workout area with either a wall or curtain.
The Kauai Police Activities League is a nonprofit organization devoted to developing character, self-discipline, and healthy lifestyles among Kauai’s youth as well as strengthen police and community relations.
Last year, K-PAL programs reached more than 1,100 youth around the island.
Information: 241-1647
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
