Less than two weeks after winning the 2026 Senior League World Series in Easley, S.C., the victory tour for Pearl City Little League is far from over.
After a 5-0 victory over Curacao on Aug. 8, Pearl City returned home to an impromptu celebration at the airport. Even Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi made an appearance.
On Saturday, the 15- and 16-year-olds will be celebrated with a championship parade through Pearl City that begins at 4 p.m. The trip starts at Momilani Elementary School, then ends at Pacheco Park.
Aloha State Daily caught up with Pearl City Little League manager Ty Takahashi, a 2003 Leilehua alumnus that has coached Pearl City All-Star teams for years, including a trip to the 2023 50/70 Intermediate World Series in Livermore, Calif. That year, Pearl City lost in the United States championship game to a team from Florida.
Three years later, the core of that team, which included Tytan Takahashi, Ty's son, returned to the big stage, determined to finish the job. Pearl City won the West Region tournament in Oakland, Calif. on July 28, despite losing its first game on July 22. They also dropped their opener at the World Series, but strung together five consecutive wins in six days to take home the world title.
Upon returning home, Ty Takahashi's job as a substation electrician for Hawaiian Electric has certainly kept him busy, but he still took the time to answer a few questions.
Aloha State Daily: Nearly two weeks after the World Series title, has it sunk in yet?
Ty Takahashi: It's still sinking in because we have a lot of stuff that we're still doing, so I didn't really have a break to let it sink in, I guess. Plus, with all this bad weather and trying to get acclimated back to the time zone, it's been a little tough.
ASD: How much did you enjoy the summer of baseball with your team? Other than winning, you guys got to see some different parts of the country.
Takahashi: It was a very awesome experience. We were really excited to go again because we went (to the Intermediate 50/70 World Series) three years ago. I want to say about half of the boys were on that team too, so we were really excited. At the same time, we just had to get one game at a time, because it's such a long road. It was fun and a little nerve-wracking because we lost our first game in both tournaments. We lost our first game in the regional and made it all the way through, and then we lost our first game in World Series and made it all the way through. It was fun and crazy at the same time.
Pearl City Little League had a team prayer before each game in the Senior League World Series. (Courtesy Ty Takahashi) 
Pearl City Little League won the 2026 Senior League World Series with a 5-0 victory over Curacao in the championship game. (Courtesy Ty Takahashi)
ASD: Like you mentioned, you lost your opening game at regionals and during the World Series. How much were both titles a testament to the resilience of the group?
Takahashi: It says a lot. We work really hard. I push the boys to always work hard and always be positive and believe that anything is possible, right? I think it all paid off. We had our own struggles and sat some starters, which is a big reason why I feel we lost the first game. I felt we still could win, but I had to for disciplinary reasons, and I had to just stick to it, and I believe it made us stronger.
ASD: When and how did you get into coaching?
Takahashi: I always liked working with kids from when I was younger. I've taught martial arts for kids and adults from when I was in high school, so I've enjoyed it from back then. I just enjoy coaching and helping others, and I love baseball and martial arts. My kids were growing up, and it was a passion for me to want to help the kids in baseball. So then I started doing that and less martial arts.
ASD: What kind of martial arts?
Takahashi: The main one that my family does is escrima. But I did jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing. I've trained in all of it, but I just didn't go deep into it like I did for escrima. I wanted to do MMA, so that's why I did all the different stuff. But, the one that I was in the longest is escrima. My family had our own school (Pedoy's School of Escrima). We had our own school and gym for a long time, and it's not open now. But we want to open it again one day.
ASD: In your baseball team's travels this summer, was there a favorite activity among the team?
Takahashi: They like to play kendama. ... The way I teach the kids and coach them is at practice, we take it serious and just stay focused for those two or three hours. When we go on these trips, it's for baseball, we don't really go out. We eat, we practice or we have the game, and then I take them to go stretch or have a light recovery at night before bed.
ASD: How did coaching this group for years help you earlier this month at the World Series?
Takahashi: At least half the team that I brought to the World Series, I knew them all since tee ball. I feel that that's big because Little League is more community-based, right? For us, Pearl City is a small community. Even though our pool of players are smaller, I think our bond is a lot stronger.
ASD: What's been the coolest part of the victory tour?
Takahashi: I don't know which stands out the most, but I don't really care for publicity, honestly (laughs). I'm just happy for the boys. It just keeps kind of getting crazier because being welcomed home by all your friends and family is so awesome, right? And then the mayor was there, and then we're going to meet council members. It gets kind of crazy.
ASD: What's your job title, and how long have you been doing it?
Takahashi: I'm a substation electrician. I've done different jobs here, but I've been at HECO for 15 years.
ASD: You must be really busy these days.
Takahashi: Very busy. Working a lot. ... It's been tough, but it's been rewarding knowing that we're helping keep the lights on, and at the same time, it can be tough because we can't sometimes. When the weather is bad, it's not like at a snap of our finger. I know it can be frustrating, but we're just doing what we can and trying our best.
ASD: Any advice for another potential storm in the coming days?
Takahashi: Shoot. ... I guess if I was talking to my family, it would be to try to get a generator and be prepared with all your necessities. I hope that the power stays on, but with bad weather comes a lot of outages, too.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
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