Alex and Yvonne Bennett, the husband-and-wife team behind Keiki Kicks Hawaii, started their Oahu business shortly after their first child was born. Since 2021, the now parents of two have blended life experiences with their passions of teaching and soccer to launch courses for players ages one to eight.
"Alex thought I was crazy at first when I said we needed to do something for one-year-olds and just have the parents play with them. That class is fun chaos,” Yvonne said. “The program for 1- to 2-year-olds is the most popular. People seem to be drawn to it because classes are not tournament based, but are more practicing fundamental skills and, obviously, having fun is very important, too.”
Alex, who grew up playing and following soccer in England, said Keiki Kicks began with a few locations and has “grown all throughout Oahu.” The pair lived in the United Kingdom for five years and moved to Hawaii in 2011. Yvonne was born and raised here and works full-time as a special education teacher, while helping Alex run the business, along with eight part-time coaches and staff.
“When you’re expanding, you want to make sure you’re doing it at the right pace,” Alex added. “For 2025, we’re focused on maintaining our quality programming. Your program will only be as good as your staff. Staff is king.”
Despite hiring challenges, many coaches and staff “have been with us for years,” he said. “We look for people who love working with kids first, and then at their soccer experience. We have a curriculum we teach off of with different drills and games.”
The Bennett’s opened registration mid-November for the new season, which kicks off Jan. 6 and runs for eight weeks. In preparation, the pair updated the website with the new classes and schedules, ordered equipment and checked-in with locations. Seasons are year-round, with approximately four to five seasons per year. About 500 youth players are registered per season, which is the company’s primary source of revenue, Alex noted.
“I’m most looking forward to teaching new and returning kids,” he said about the year ahead. “We’re all about community. We’ve managed to bring our own community together.”
One goal for the new year is for Keiki Kicks to provide more community meetups, the pair said. Keeping costs down for families is another.
"We pride ourselves in being an affordable program. We don’t want price to be a barrier of entry, and we have provided scholarships for families in need,” said Alex, whose coaching style is influenced by several professional and personal coaches.
“As a former teacher, I also use classroom management tactics and aim to speak to the kids in a way that they can understand,” he said. “It’s a balancing act. We’re a young family ourselves and that’s what we try to reflect in our programs.”
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
