Shyanne Kuwahara has taken on the head coach role for the cheerleading team. With 37 titles ranging from the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) level to the national level, the Radford Cheer team is experiencing a new age. Kuwahara was a cheerleader herself and fulfilled her daughter Taejah-Ray’s wishes to cheer with Radford since she was three years old. After a history with this program and two years of closely observing Dr. Lawrence Frank’s coaching style, Kuwahara is now upholding the program’s legacy of success.

The cheer team has maintained a reputation under Dr. Frank who teaches physical education. After many years of countless titles, it is, for the first time, in the hands of a different head coach.

“…when he retired I was like ‘I’m taking it, I don’t want it to go to anyone else,’ ” said Kuwahara. “I didn’t want it to go to anyone else because I knew the standard.”

The diversity among the cheer team mirrors a cultural exchange. Kuwahara explained that it is an opportunity for military children to understand Hawaii’s culture. A shared understanding of where each individual comes from is essential to working together.

“It’s really just getting people on the same page culturally,” said Kuwahara. “We have kids coming in from the military and we have local kids who have lived here all their lives.”

Apart from cultural exchange, maintaining a successful program when athletes are often coming in and out is never easy. Kuwahara highlights that the cheer program rebuilds itself as often as every year in order to adapt. She even notes that there are more military than local kids competing on the team this year. This adds to the need for future and current adaptation.

“… it’s never going to be easy being Radford with all the change, the ins and the outs,” Kuwahara stated. “So I think that’s the biggest challenge, but also the biggest blessing. I think that’s why we can adapt to all that.”