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[{"type":"text","text":"\"When my husband asks me what we did today...\""}]

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<title>Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026</title>

"When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

 &quot;When my husband asks me what we did today...&quot;

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

LĀ‘IE — For the Le Jardin boys volleyball team, destiny was decided by a vote. 

With O‘ahu battered by heavy rain, flooding and lightning strikes on Friday, the possibility of postponing the HHSAA Division II championship match between Le Jardin and Pearl City at BYU-Hawai‘i's Cannon Activities Center to a later date was floated to both teams. 

Back in Kailua, Le Jardin already loaded its team bus on campus. Head coach Makana Wade told his team they didn't have to play on Friday if they didn't want to, that tournament organizers could move some things around to get the match played later in the weekend. Wade asked his players to raise their hands if they wanted to play on Friday.

"Everybody's hand went straight up," setter Brennan Nakayama said. "We just knew we were ready for this, and we knew what we needed to do."

Following a commute to the North Shore that lasted three hours due to traffic brought on by the weather, the Bulldogs arrived prepared to do something the school had never done before. With a 25-18, 25-9, 25-21 sweep over Pearl City, Le Jardin won its first HHSAA boys volleyball championship in school history. 

"Just a real surreal feeling," Wade told Aloha State Daily following the match. "When I took this job, this is the last thing I could ever dream of, was being here. I'm just so happy for Le Jardin and everybody there for believing in me and giving me this job. And so blessed to be able to coach these amazing players."

When he saw the look of determination in his team, Wade knew they were destined to take the title home. 

"I wish everybody could have seen inside our bus for three hours. You would have thought we were gonna play UH or something," Wade said. "The guys were so locked in, having fun. I kept getting calls from our AD, my dad asking, 'Sure you wanna play tonight, coach?' I'm asking the guys, 'Are you sure?' And they're yelling at me, like, yes, of course. There's no way we weren't going to play this match tonight. I think we really took what was ours tonight."

The notion of playing against UH is something Wade would have deep knowledge of. The son of Hawai‘i head coach 

, Makana Wade was a UH men's volleyball assistant coach for multiple seasons. He departed the program in January in order to take the position of Le Jardin head coach, as NCAA rules prohibit one from coaching high school and collegiate teams of the same gender and sport in the same season.

leading Hawai‘i to a national title on Monday

 since arriving back to Honolulu on Tuesday. After taking care of business on Monday, Charlie Wade made it clear where his priorities were during the program's celebration event on Wednesday. Ahead of a scheduled autograph session, Wade told the thousands of fans gathered at the Stan Sheriff Center that he'd have to leave early in order to watch his son coach. 

On Friday, Charlie Wade sat courtside across from the Le Jardin bench, locked in on the match. When the Bulldogs secured the victory, father and son shared multiple long embraces following the match, the look of pride in Charlie Wade's eyes undeniable. 

"Very cool," he told ASD. "He's been coaching with me at the club level, and obviously the last couple years at the collegiate level. He's always kind of had that analytical brain that it takes to be a good coach, and he and I have spent uncountable hours out walking the dogs at night and talking about coaching. He's asked me about a lot of different stuff over the years, and it's great to see him take on that role as a head coach and have to deal with playing time and all that other stuff that is not coaching that's a part of it, but not the X's and O's part. He's doing a great job and has a lot of passion for it, so fun to see him have some success."

"I don't think we have enough time to talk about what I've learned, but I think the basic is just be a guy that people can lean on and trust," Makana Wade said when asked what he learned from his father. "My dad has taught me countless things, and I'm just so happy to be able to learn from him every day, really. I wouldn't be here without him."

For the 2026 season in particular, Makana Wade worked closely with UH associate head coach Kupono Fey on analytics and strategy. He suddenly received the opportunity to run his own program at just 21 years old. 

"It was really hard to leave," Makana Wade said. "I love those guys to death. It was only gonna be a special job like this, a place like this, where there's amazing people, amazing kids. ... It was pretty crazy. I got hired, couple weeks later, we had tryouts, and then next week we're playing our tournament, then we're playing ILH. It's been a pretty hectic couple months, but it's all worth it in the end."

Makana Wade, a UH-Mānoa junior, also had a French final exam he had to take on Friday morning. "It's been a crazy day, but it's been awesome," he said. 

On Friday night, the Bulldogs were in control for the entirety of the match. Nakayama paced the offense with 39 assists, while La‘akea Kamahale had 20 kills on 31 swings. Following a commanding win in Set 2, Le Jardin took a comfortable 24-19 lead in Set 3. After consecutive Pearl City points to cut the lead to 24-21, a calm Makana Wade called timeout to make sure his team was composed. The Bulldogs finished their 2026 campaign 16-1 and state champions for the first time in school history.

"Our whole team can't thank him enough for how lucky we are to have him," Nakayama said of Makana Wade. "The knowledge and experience is super cool. The scouting reports, and how tight he keeps the team and everything, all the way to the bus rides, everything you want. I think we started a legacy."

For the Wade family, the week started with Charlie and Kainoa Wade winning an NCAA championship. On Friday, Makana Wade coached his own team to a championship, capping an unforgettable week for a family that has no plans to stop chasing greatness in the sport for the foreseeable future. 

"Monday seems like a long time ago," Charlie Wade said. "It doesn't seem like it's the same week, but obviously very cool, a lot of positive stuff."

Added Makana Wade: "I'm just so happy for my dad, and they worked really hard this season. To be able to do this too is just a surreal feeling."

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Makana Wade 051626

<title>Makana Wade coaches Le Jardin to first state title in boys volleyball</title>

Makana Wade, the son of UH men's volleyball head coach Charlie Wade, led the Bulldogs to the HHSAA title in his first season at the helm.

Makana Wade coaches Le Jardin to first state title in boys volleyball

University of Hawai‘i standout opposite hitter Kristian Titriyski is getting an early start on his professional career. 

 will forgo the final two seasons of his collegiate career to play for his hometown team, 

A starter when healthy, Titriyski played in 21 matches in both the 2025 season and 2026 seasons, as injuries limited both campaigns for him. When he was on the floor, he was often leading the team in kills. 

In the national championship match on Monday, Titriyski hammered the game-winning kill in a four-set win over UC Irvine. His 16 kills were a match high. 

Although he's leaving two years of college ball on the table, Titriyski says he has no regrets in coming to the Islands, an experience he'll carry withb him for the rest of his life. 

"It's definitely a special place, and it for sure will be one of my favorite places the entire world," Titriyski said on Thursday. "I met so many friends here, so many new people, and I grew here in my first time living alone outside of home. I learned so many new things here, but definitely the most important thing is the people, just all the friends I made, the fans, coaches, everything here.

"The volleyball here is such where everyone supports it, watches it, and cares about it. And that's what kind of opened my eyes about the fans, is that they don't only support the team, but they actually care about you as a person, 'How are you doing?' When you meet them outside somewhere on the beach or wherever, they say hi. They're always positive. I just like appreciate these two years so much, and I have no regrets coming here. Thanks to Charlie (

) for bringing me here, and for everyone that supports the team for making it possible. That's kind of a dream that came true, because originally, I had no idea of coming to study here. I wanted to come to Hawai‘i, not only because of Rado Parapunov, but I was watching. I still remember, it was the 2023 season where they didn't win it, but they still reach the final. ... Since then, I've been following the team and watching the team."

Titriyski will go out a champion and will continue to follow the program from afar. He knows that from a support standpoint, the program is in great hands. 

"Just don't stop supporting a team that is something special," Titriyski says to the fans of Hawai‘i. "That's the thing that only Hawai‘i has, and maybe nowhere else in the world the crowd is that involved into the sport and into the whole team. That's something special I've never seen, and probably it will be hard to surpass. But yeah, to all the fans, we appreciate that, and we actually feel the love, feel the support. So don't stop with this. Keep going. Get more and get loud."

Kristian Titriyski 050326

<title>Hawai‘i men's volleyball standout Kristian Titriyski to turn pro early</title>

Titriyski is forgoing his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility to turn pro in his native Bulgaria.

Hawai‘i men's volleyball standout Kristian Titriyski to turn pro early

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Columnists

Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama owe the City and County of Honolulu 

 for two illegal short-term rentals. One is a waterfront property in Kāneʻohe, listed at $1,000 a night with a three-night minimum.

After Civil Beat called the property owner for comment, the listing was quietly changed to a 30-day minimum. The fines remain unpaid.

Readers new to the Kalamas may need a brief introduction. Alongside their rental properties, they run three businesses. The first is fixing and flipping: they buy old houses, renovate them, and sell them. The second is a television show on HGTV, "Renovation Aloha," which shows the work. The third is a learning group called Flip Tribe, where they teach their methods through workshops, mentorship, and conferences.

Kamohai handles the numbers — purchase analysis and contractor management. Tristyn handles the design. They are husband and wife, and their "Renovation Aloha" episodes make for compelling viewing.

The Kalamas say they create jobs for locals, support the skilled trades, and keep families housed. There is truth in this. Old houses need renovating. Their work creates real jobs for contractors and tradespeople. Most homeowners cannot manage routine upkeep on their own house. That is part of why these properties fall into disrepair. Renovating a home requires financing, contractor management, and a tolerance for risk. It is real work.

There is a difference between running a business and teaching others how to run one. Competence is enough for the first. The second asks for mastery, the kind that earns the right to teach.

The Le family bought one of the show’s first houses — a Kalihi home with a 

. The renovation, as televised, cost $425,000. It involved major structural work. One house was jacked up and joined to a second to create a single-level home. The permits filed with the city only covered some windows and a carport, with a value of $80,000.

After moving in, the Le family noticed mold in their son’s room. When they ripped off the drywall, they found cracks in the concrete siding wide enough for daylight to pass through.

Civil Beat reporter Christina Jedra found the same pattern on 

 in the show’s first season: Construction began before a permit was issued. The fines totaled about $20,000 across four projects. The show claimed $1.3 million in profits. Season 2 

Some business models start work before permits issue and treat the resulting fines as a budget line. The people running these businesses may not be ready to teach others. The fines, in that arrangement, are not overhead, they are the cost of not yet knowing the trade.

The Kalamas, in this, are part of something larger. A popular television show and a few hundred thousand Instagram followers do not, by themselves, demonstrate competence. They demonstrate celebrity. We have begun to confuse the two. A whole industry has grown up around the confusion. The Kalamas sell three-day workshops at 

. They also sell membership in a mentorship community, promising students their first flip in six months.

There used to be a clearer line between apprentice and master. You learned a trade by serving under someone who had practiced it. Mastery was slow and quiet, and it was the only kind of mastery there was. We have replaced it, in much of life, with a short course — three days, six months, your first flip. It promises the result without the formation.

The appetite is common to all of us. We prefer to be slightly more than we are, slightly sooner — and we prefer not to wait. The writer of Proverbs saw the pattern long ago: wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

The Kalamas do not put their faith forward on air the way Chip and Joanna Gaines do. But they do mention it often on their social media. Their company is named Stand Firm Developments. The phrase is one of Paul’s recurring themes, a call to endure, to hold one’s ground.

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, the Proverbs say. The question is not whether renovating old homes has value. It does. The question is whether the people most visible doing the work are the right people to teach it — and what the rest of us are buying when we sign up for the course.

Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama HGT Vs Renovation Hawaii 1 lr 0

<title>Earning the right to teach</title>

Fame is not the same as mastery, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa, as he contemplates the careers of Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama, stars of "Renovation Aloha." The duo was in trouble again recently, this time for having run two illegal short-term rentals.

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

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Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

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