Iolani Raiders Booster Club

ONE TEAM Perspectives

Mr. Ben Almadova is a 1951 alumnus of Iolani School who played football, basketball, and baseball for Father Bray. He went on to play the same three sports at Pasadena City College in California. Ben at end, and fellow Iolani alumnus Allen Napoleon at running back, played on the national Junior College Football Championship teams of 1951 and 1952 for Pasadena City College.

After a career in the Hawaii Army National Guard, he now continues to work part-time with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency. He also devotes much time at Iolani School passing on Father Bray’s One Team philosophy and watching his grandson play sports for Iolani. Here’s Ben’s Perspective of ONE TEAM:

“Iolani One Team” – that is the sports motto at Iolani today. But do we really know the meaning of One Team?

Father Bray’s philosophy on the concept of One Team is and I quote from his letter written to the 1950 championship football team, “You are not individuals greedy for individual honors but members of a team eager for team achievement.”

It easy to say “One Team” but to practice its philosophy is another story. I had to learn it by living it.

Iolani “One Team” – that is the phrase I heard when I attended my first varsity football practice as a freshman. Being a young boy from the island of Kauai I had to learn the meaning of One Team. Well, it didn’t take long for me to learn Father Bray’s philosophy on his One Team concept – all those thoughts about becoming a football, basketball, and baseball star disappeared very quickly.

My first football game at the old Honolulu Stadium against Kapaa of Kauai was when I experienced my first taste of Iolani One Team:

We all got out of the bus and I was anxiously getting ready to run into the Stadium to the cheers of the Iolani fans. But it didn’t happen that way – all the players just walked quietly behind Father Bray to the team bench. We then did simple warm ups. After the game we gathered at the bench and walked as a team to the bus.

The day after the game there was something written in the morning paper about a one-handed catch I made. Well it didn’t take long for Father Bray to humble me when he had a veteran player tell me not to let the article go to my head.

My next lesson came during a game against Kamehameha. I was put in the game for an injured player. A couple of plays later I hurt my shoulder tackling their big fullback and took myself out of the game. Father Bray made me kneel next to him and he raised his voice and told me ”Don’t you ever tell me when you are hurt. I know when you’re hurt. Get back in there.” Lesson learned: To have tolerance for physical pain.

Father Bray was a very demanding coach. He expected your loyalty. He demanded discipline off the athletic field as well as on it. Good attitude, concentration, and physical conditioning were a must. Our practices were rigorous but nobody complained. We all encouraged one another to hang tough. Father Bray always emphasized One Team. His philosophy was that everybody was important on the team: no stars, no showing off, no celebrating, and nobody calling attention to themselves. Father Bray was also a stickler on the proper wearing of your uniform. Our shoes had to be cleaned and shined, shirts tucked in, and caps worn properly, both on and off the field.

Father Bray made Seabiscuit, the race horse, an example to Iolani football players. The small horse with the big heart became the Raiders’ reminder that the underdog deserves respect.

I can see now why Father Bray had so much admiration for Seabiscuit. A quote in one of the books written about Seabiscuit read, “It is not so much what he has done in life that counts, the victories, the glorious defeats, the fabulous money earned. It is, in the final analysis, the kindly, courageous, honest manner in which he had lived. Thus will the fine flame of his soul burn in the tunnel of time forever.” In 1940 an award was given to Seabiscuit with the inscription “In recognition of noteworthy courage and triumph. The main issue in life is not the victory but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won but to have fought well.”

What I learned from Father Bray’s teaching of the One Team spirit has greatly influenced my life. He taught me to shoulder a deserved blame, admit a mistake, control my temper, to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. One Team is not about me, but we.