Established in 1957, the Searider mascot for Wai‘anae High School derives from a mysterious figure on O‘ahu's west side.
According to Wai‘anae's Searider Productions, a young chief named Mākaha was often seen patrolling the waters and protecting the land with a spear in hand. His legacy as the original Searider continues to live on in Wai‘anae lore.
Community pride is a staple at Wai‘anae High School, which had an enrollment of 1,643 in the fall of 2024 per Hawai‘i Academies.
“To me, to be a Wai‘anae Searider, it's about community pride, right? That's what it is," head coach Vince Nihipali told Aloha State Daily. "We're by the ocean, so the name make sense, but it's all about community here, right? It's all about the people. And when you're born and raised here, this is special. … This is very, very rewarding, working with these kids.”
A Wai‘anae native, Nihipali attended Wai‘anae Elementary School, then Wai‘anae Intermediate School, who are known as the Jr. Seariders.
Nihipali attended Wai‘anae High School as a freshman before finishing up at Kamehameha-Kapālama, where he graduated in 1990. His three decades in coaching football included a stint as Moanalua High School's head football, stepping down after two seasons in 2022.
When the Wai‘anae job opened up in 2024, Nihipali felt a special calling.
"Being at Moanalua has its own little different things. Being here has its own little different things. But one thing for here, I’m from here, right? One thing that's always been here is the pride and how these kids work hard," Nihipali said. "These kids don't have the easiest life. I didn't have an easy one growing up, either. But these kids face a lot of adversity, a lot of issues, and they still come out every day. They work hard. I love coaching these type of kids. It's a different demographic than Moanalua, who have great kids, too, don't get me wrong. It's just different type of kids. This is more, I grew up with this type of kid, so it feels very rewarding when you work with these kids.”
Iconic Native Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwoʻole briefly attended the school before dropping out. Perhaps Wai‘anae's High School's most famous graduate is global mixed martial arts superstar Max Holloway, a 2010 alumnus.
Holloway is set to defend his UFC BMF belt on July 19 against Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 in New Orleans.
Nihipali and his team will be hard at work on their new field all summer in preparation for the 2025 high school football season, but by the time that particular Saturday rolls around, practice will be well wrapped up on fight day.
“When Max gets on and shuts down the whole town, it’s awesome, right? It's kind of like Kahuku. You got something going on, the whole town shuts down when Max is doing his thing. A lot of pride," Nihipali said. "And when a Wai‘anae boy does well, when a Wai‘anae girl does well, you got Braiesey Rosa over at Oregon, is doing great on the softball field right now, that's all prideful stuff, right?
"You just look at that like, this is awesome. Kids from Wai‘anae, people from Wai‘anae can get out there and do huge things. They're not limited. We can do it all."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
