Former Pearl City Player Takes Over As Head Volleyball Coach
Since his own playing days at Pearl City, making a difference with student-athletes has been a high priority for Bryan Camello.
“I had some coaches who put a lot of effort into me,” he said. “I remember thanking Doug Hee, who was our head coach during my freshman year, for the time he put into me, and he had told me to pay forward and help others.
“I repay them (his own coaches) by passing on the lessons I learned to others.”
Camello is a longtime coach in the volleyball community, having spent a highly successful 10-year run at Roosevelt from 1997 to 2007 as girls varsity coach, in addition to his work at Impact Hawaii Volleyball Club.
His latest challenge is restoring the Pearl City High School program, which he recently took over as the new head varsity coach. Camello replaces Kory Toyo, who is now the head varsity coach at Aiea.
“I’m excited to be back home at my alma mater,” said Camello, a 1990 Pearl City graduate. “There’s a lot of tradition there to uphold. The biggest thing is that I want us to get back to being a mainstay in the state tournament every year.”
Under Camello, Roosevelt had become an OIA volleyball power the past several years, advancing to the state quarterfinals in 2003, taking second in the OIA and reaching the state semifinals in 2005, and then in 2006 winning their first league title since 1979.
Pearl City finished 11-7 overall last fall under Toyo. The Chargers took second to Mililani in the OIA Red West season and finished sixth overall at its post-season tournament to earn a league berths for the state tournament.
The Chargers currently are in the midst of their summer workouts in preparation for the official fall camp during the last week of July.
“I’m excited with the group we have coming out,” he said. “It’s a very athletic bunch and, physically we’re tall. They are there athletically, but we still have lot of work to do technically. I’m excited for the challenge, and the kids are up to it.
“I’m also excited about the staff that we have,” he added. It includes Mele Yamashiro, Davis Kagawa, Nate Cambra, Natasha Fong and Kent Kudo.
“The kids are real coachable, and they have good attitudes. The combination of our staff and the kids’ receptiveness, I think, will help us be competitive in the OIA. It’s a good mix, and we have a lot of support from the administration there.”
Camello expects Pearl City to have 24 practices under their belt by the beginning of fall camp.
“Getting everyone on the same page is a lot of work,” he admitted. “The kids are working hard. It’s exciting, but like anything else, this is a game and it should be fun. We want them to keep enjoying working hard.
“We have big plans and big aspirations for what we can do here.”
