They say that when you hit rock bottom, the only other way is up. That saying could not ring truer for the Bulldogs of Waialua.

Despite not having a JV program the past two years (due to low numbers), and not recording a win the past season, Waialua head coach Lincoln Barit has a lot to look forward to in his 11th year of coaching.

"Last year we only had 9 seniors," said Barit. "The rest were all underclassmen. We were pretty much a JV team last year playing against varsity guys."
 
Coach Barit hopes that the experience and "growing pains" of last season can pay dividends this year. Last year Waialua had several freshmen at the skill positions, four freshmen in the trenches, as well as having three sophomores starting on defense.

One of the key Bulldogs returning will be the 5-foot-7, 155-lb senior quarterback in Taleon Lele. In addition to pioneering the Waialua spread offense, Lele will also see some snaps at free safety.

"Good leader, fast (and) strong," says Barit of his signal caller. "We're going to look a lot to him to lead the team. He can stand in the pocket and pass, and has the speed to get on the outside."

That speed will be put to good use as Lele will also line up at running back on some occasions. Waialua has another able passer in junior Caelan Alejandro allowing coach Barit to take advantage of Lele’s play making abilities.

On the defensive side of the ball, coach Barit predicts defensive end Josiah Kalama will have a standout year. The 5-foot-11, 230-lb sophomore is a speedy pass-rusher that can get around offensive tackles, and possesses a nice swim technique to help provide interior pressure on opposing offenses.

The Bulldogs will also have a trio of transfers joining the program in 2013 which include:

- DB/WR Royce Gaspar from Kaimuki
- LB/RB Joseph Roland from St. Louis
- OL/DL Kainan Kuewa from Kahuku

Regardless of wins or losses, Barit relishes the opportunity to coach the kids. He uses the illustration of a pottery maker to explain his coaching method.

"Us coaches, we got to coach," explains Barit. "We throw our clay on the (wheel) and we got to mold our kids, versus teams having it glazed on the shelf already."

Most of the kids in the Waialua football program did not play football until high school, which should provide an exciting challenge that coach Barit and his coaching staff are willing to take on.

All of these positives should translate to a better season than the last. It might be another year or so till the boys of the 96791 are in OIA White playoff contention, but this season should be a huge stepping stone towards that goal.

Waialua played their first game of the year last Friday in a 28-7, respectable loss to OIA Red East opponent Kaimuki. They kickoff OIA White regular season play this Saturday at Nanakuli.