 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book also titled Beyond the Lines and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and building winning teams. If you have already read my book, you will know my special guest today. When I was head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team, he won not one but two state singles championships for us. And now he is the head coach of that team and Punahou's tennis director. He is Ikaika Job and today we are going beyond tennis. Ikaika, I know you for so long. Yeah, it's good to be here coach. Yeah, I love watching your development through the years and so many people who have read the book. They absolutely love the Ikaika Job story that's in chapter nine, finding your passion. Yeah, so I know you went to Punahou obviously, but when did you start Punahou? I started Punahou in the third grade. And how was your experience? Great experience, pretty normal. Yeah. Normal experience, I would say. Did you play any other sports too? I played a little bit of basketball. Wow. Okay, now after graduating Punahou, what college did you go to? I spent my first three years at St. Louis University. Okay. And then I transferred to Boise State thereafter. And you were there for tennis, but also for aviation? Yeah, I was in the professional pilot program at St. Louis University, so we were flying planes and learning about aviation. Nice. And then Ikaika, when exactly did you first start tennis? I think I picked up a racket when I was about two years old. Nice. And what I remember is taking tennis lessons as early as about nine and a half years old, getting serious. Okay. And in terms of your family, I know your entire family for many years. You're one of three brothers and your younger brother, Sean, the middle brother, he won the state doubles championship for our team, but can you tell everybody about your family? Yeah. I got two younger brothers, Sean being the middle brother, Micah, the youngest brother. I also have a half sister named Chesere, and my father, Virgil, and mother, Chikety. And how was your mom and dad's influence? I mean, because they both played tennis. How did they help you and support you with tennis? Yeah. So I think they met playing racket ball together. And they kind of gravitated towards tennis. And so they put me in the sport when I was pretty young and set some goals and guided me along the way. Yeah. And Ike, what is it about tennis that you like so much about? I'd have to say I like the problem-solving aspect and that it's kind of like a chess match, but a physical one. Yeah. So yeah, I think that applies to anything you do in life and problem-solving using both your physical and mental capacities. And obviously, I mean, you're so strong in tennis, what do you feel were your strengths as a tennis player? I'd have to say probably my serve and agility. I like to get up to the net and ballie. For sure. And your forehand. Forehand, yeah. I love your forehand. Yeah. Yeah, you helped me with that. And through the years, I love your backhand, too. Yeah. That was a fun one, too. And Ike, after you graduated college, you went on the pro tour for a while. And after playing on the pro tour, you went to law school. What law school did you go to? I went here, the William S. Richardson at the University of Hawaii. What did you study? What kind of law? It was pretty a broad law program, but I ended up leading more towards a trust in estates. Okay. While you were practicing law, you became head coach for our Punahou Girls varsity tennis team. Yes. How was your experience coaching the girls? Great experience. I'd been coaching the men's team at UH while in law school and then transferred over to the girls at Punahou. And it was a great experience. I learned a lot as a first time head coach. I found the girls, they're very eager to learn and then help them with tactics, especially girls really like the tactics. So what do you find is the difference between coaching boys and coaching girls? Find that girls tend to listen a little better. And the boys really just want to play. So it's kind of instilling that discipline, practice the right things before getting out there to play with the boys. Yeah. No, that's true. And I retired as head coach for the boys in 2015 and you are my successor in 2016. I'm very proud of you. And what is your team culture like for the boys right now? I think there's a culture of discipline, but I've really shifted towards building good habits, whatever that might be, in practice. And I feel like those good habits will transfer to match situations. Yeah. And you took the team just over this past spring break to Orange County, California. So how was that experience? It was a great experience, eye-opening, but I also, while there was a lot of good players up there, I think our team learned that, hey, we're just as good as any of those mainland teams and with a little extra work, they're just as competitive. So was it a big team format where you're playing against other schools? Yeah. There was a 16 teams overall and we'd play a dual match format, five singles and three doubles matches. And how did you guys end up? We had some wins, some losses, there was some wins, some defeats, but I think what we really took away from the experience was that we're right there with the other teams in the country. Yeah. And I want to ask you, I mean, we've talked a ton, you and I, and I know this was a tough decision for you. Why did you leave law to become the tennis director of Punahou in 2017? Well, I like law. Yeah. I enjoyed the practice I was in, but I really love tennis and I had been coaching tennis all the way through law school, so it was a natural progression, I would say, but I also felt I could use a lot of the skills I learned through the law profession in tennis. Yeah. And what kind of law were you practicing? I mostly trust in estates, both the planning and the litigation platforms. Okay. And what is it about being tennis director at Punahou that really attracted you to that position? Well, I thought it would be a great opportunity to have influence over a lot of students and instilling good habits for their futures in tennis or lifelong pursuits beyond tennis. Yeah, totally. And I mean, no one better to be in that position than you because you've gone through the Punahou program. I mean, you've seen it all and now you're the one leading it. Now, I remember when you were 10 years old and I was coaching you in the Rising Stars program and I already knew that you were a strong, talented player, but tell everybody what your attitude was like when you were that young. Well, I tended to get a little frazzled, heated, but I was full of passion. Yeah, that's why I had to put you in that chapter nine, finding your passion in the book. Yeah, you had so much talent, but we just had to kind of guide you. And through the years, I mean, when you were on varsity, I mean, you were amazing. I mean, as great of an individual as you were in tennis, you were a great team player for us on varsity. And I could just see that your character was developing even more and you were just becoming a greater person, which was incidentally helping you play a higher level of tennis. Now, I want to ask you, last year you partnered with Katrina Corpus to compete in the US Open Qualifying. Was that it? Yeah, I think it was maybe two years ago. Two years ago? Yeah. That experience, and how you had to qualify for the qualifying of the US Open? Yeah, so it's kind of a grassroots type of journey to try and get into the US Open. So they have regional tournaments throughout the country, one being in Hawaii. And we teamed up and some hard-fought matches, but we won our regional tournament and we ended up going up to Levis, Connecticut, during one of the WTA tournaments to compete for a chance to get into the US Open. Now, Katrina is such a strong player, and she was one of the top in the state, obviously. And she's currently at Navy. So how was your experience with her? I mean, obviously, for her to be playing with you, that's a win-win situation. But how was it with her? Yeah, I think it was a great combination of maybe experience, and someone like her who plays with no fear, hits that ball really hard, tenacious. So it was a lot of fun, and I think it was a great combination, and I think we did a great job. Yeah, and I heard she's doing absolutely fantastic at Navy right now. Are you still in touch with her? Yeah, yeah, yeah. In touch with her here and there, and I got her posts, and yeah, it looks like she's having a great time, and also being a great contributing teammate. Yeah, and talk about discipline, I mean, you have to have discipline to go to the military academy. So I think she's one of the few that really can succeed and it's going to really excel in that situation. Ikeika, you took some of your younger advanced players to the Kona tournament last year to really compete and to really help them in terms of having coaches there, so you brought some of your staff. How was that experience? It was a great experience. The younger students, which are middle school, I would say, get the opportunity to travel with a group of coaches and their teammates, and it's great, it's kind of the culmination of the tennis year in our program, and we get to coach them in between their matches, see how they perform in an Outer Island tournament, and I think it was a good time all around, good opportunity both for the players and for the coaches to see these players in action. That's good that you provide situations like that because it totally helps the kids to have the coaches there to really guide them when they're winning or losing, to be there to kind of talk about it so that they can learn a lot. Now, your tennis staff at Punahou, it's a huge staff, how many staff members approximately do you have right now? Yeah, I would say to any time approximately 15 or so. And you provide learning opportunities and growth opportunities for your staff. In fact, Reese, just this past year, Pat Cash was here doing a tennis clinic that you had your staff attend. How was that for you guys? It was a lot of fun with one of the legends of the game, and even Pat Cash showed that he's a lifelong learner as well and was able to stow some of that knowledge onto our staff, and it was a great time. But what was some of the takeaways that you guys had from Pat Cash there? I think some of them were to look at the game a little differently, think about biomechanics. He was big into biomechanics, but also keeping things simple. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's good. I like when things are simple and impactful. Now, Ikeika, in terms of your tennis program that you have at Punahou, tell everyone from what grade or ages that you have tennis for for the students. Yeah, we're very fortunate at Punahou to be able to teach kindergarteners tennis through our PE programs, and then in our after school programs we start working with them as early as first grade, and our programs go all the way through the 12th grade, so we get a whole spectrum of levels and abilities and ages. Yeah. I like that you brought up the kindergarten because through the many years that I was there, when the kindergarten program got started, we actually have state singles champions and state doubles champions that actually started tennis in that kindergarten program. That was amazing. Yeah. That's correct, and I think that's a real important facet of the program is to introduce the students early through a program like that, and they just, you know, if they enjoy it and are inspired by the coaches, you know, it takes off and they continue playing. Yeah, and then you also have adults that you have at Punahou, and you have a PTC. Is it kind of like a club-like situation? Yeah, we have friends of Punahou tennis, which those that are affiliated with Punahou or in the community can join and they can play on certain days, but, you know, they're also there to support our program and our teams. Fantastic. I like that you basically have something for everyone at the eight tennis courts there at the Punahou facility. Yeah. Ikaika, we're going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond tennis. All right. You are watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest Ikaika Job. We will be back in 60 seconds. Aloha and Mabuhay. My name is Amy Ortega Anderson, inviting you to join us every Tuesday here on Pinoy Power Hawaii with Think Tech Hawaii. We come to your home at 12 noon every Tuesday. We invite you to listen, watch for our mission of empowerment. We aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain, and we hope to empower. Again, maraming, salamat po, Mabuhay, and aloha. Hey, Stan the Energy Man here on Think Tech Hawaii, and they won't let me do political commentary, so I'm stuck doing energy stuff, but I really like energy stuff, so I'm going to keep on doing it. So join me every Friday on Stan the Energy Man at lunchtime, at noon on my lunch hour. We're going to talk about everything energy, especially if it begins with the word hydrogen. We're going to definitely be talking about it. We'll talk about how we can make Hawaii cleaner, how we can make the world a better place, just basically save the planet. Even Miss America can't even talk about stuff like that anymore. We got it nailed down here. So we'll see you on Friday at noon with Stan the Energy Man. Aloha. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is very special to me, because I have a long history with him. He is my two-time state singles champion and current head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team and director of tennis. He is Ikaika Job, and today we are going beyond tennis. Ikaika, let's talk about Mikey McKinnon. Mikey McKinnon is my long-time tennis student who passed away in a car accident, and he was your teammate. He was two years older than you, I believe, three years. And such an amazing person, such an amazing family that he has, you know, his parents, Sue and Scott, and brother and sister, Robbie and Heather. Tell me about Mikey McKinnon. What do you respect about Mikey? I respected that Mikey was a fierce competitor, but also he had a good attitude. And I remember specifically I was a freshman the year I got to spend with him on our varsity team. And he was a senior. So his last year, my first year. And we were basically one and two on the team in the singles. So I was his closest competitor. Exactly. What I remember about him is that he always treated me with respect, was always kind, but we battled hard. And even though I really wanted to beat him and he really wanted to beat me, you know, at the end of the day, he was a great teammate and something someone I could look up to for the rest of my time in varsity and beyond. So tell me about when you guys played each other at States. What happened? Well, I'm pretty sure we split sets. Yep. And it was just a really tough battle. We both respected each other and kept fighting. But he took me out in the end. And yeah, it was just a fun competition with him. You beat a ton of players, a ton of great players, but you never beat Mikey. No, never beat Mikey. Yeah, he's actually the only guy to beat me in Hawaii High School tennis. That's right, wow. And beyond being such a great guy and inspiring so many people, what do you think was his strengths on the tennis court? I thought he had a very good discipline. Shot tolerance as a player. He could move around the court pretty well and finish points. So he could keep the ball in and he could finish when he wanted to. Now, his parents, Sue and Scott, they established the Mike McKinnon Scholarship Foundation through Punahou School. Can you talk about that? Yeah, we're very lucky to have this scholarship opportunity for our students that the McKinnon family had set up. And they offer three different scholarships, one for the middle school, one for a high school student, and then one specifically for one of the boys on the varsity team. And it gives us additional opportunities to work with these students who have some of the same characteristics as Mikey, good attitude, good work ethic, and fierce competitor. So very lucky to have that opportunity through the McKinnon family for our students. Yeah, and every year we have the Mike McKinnon luncheon to really talk and present with the three award recipients. And it really highlights and showcases their character and we're able to share stories about Mikey as well, so to really share with them who he was and how they reflect situations that we see from Mikey as well. But how is it helping? Because you've been a part of it for many years or some years now with these kids who win that scholarship. I mean, what kind of impact are you seeing when they receive that award? I think usually at first they're pretty surprised. But usually these are the students that are coming up on their own after school in addition to their normal practices. And they're really excited. And then they're also excited to learn about why they receive the scholarship and what kind of person Mikey was. And I think it gives them a little bit of inspiration as well. For sure, I totally agree with you. I also have the Mike McKinnon story in my book. And that's an amazing story right there. So people who have read the book, they'll know. Talking about the book, Ike, what do you like about the book Beyond the Line? I like that the book talks about important concepts to be a leader, but also a team player. And I feel like it keeps things simple. But I also really like the examples that you give like the Mike McKinnon story or like my story in Finding Your Passion. So it makes the book very usable and I think fun to read. Yeah, I've had two fourth grade students that read the book Ike, and they just absolutely love it. They're telling their parents and me about the examples and the stories in it. And some they have experienced already and some they haven't. And they're saying that the ones that they haven't experienced, they're going to know how to face it when it comes. I'm thinking, well, that's pretty good. Now, in terms of the book, I also say we have to welcome adversity. We have to look forward to challenges. And you are someone that always had that mindset. You always looked forward to a challenge. You never feared it. You always embraced it. Tell me about that mindset of yours. Yeah, I think adversity is, while it's challenging, it's what builds your character and what makes you learn under pressure. And some of the adversity I faced was probably my junior year when I injured my shoulder. And I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to play tennis again. And so I did focus on some other things. At that time, one, maybe getting into better shape. Two, taking care of my body better if I was ever able to return to tennis. And three, I focused on schoolwork and trying to be a more diligent student. Punahou is a tough school. I remember when you injured your shoulder. I was there. I was trying to pick up those broken pieces of Ikaika and putting it back together. Now, what's another big adversity that you faced in your life? I think I would say it's something probably a lot of people deal with. But public speaking was always something that I found tough to do. And part of the reason I went to law school, because I knew you'd have to get up there eventually and speak in front of people, get in front of the judge. So I definitely remember my first time getting in front of a judge and going through my case. That's awesome. Now, you're kind of doing public speaking now with me in front of a ton of people. See how far you've come? Now, Ikaika, what's an important lesson you've learned in your life so far? I would say it's important to think about other people when you're doing things in related to coaching, maybe leading people. But I think specifically in what I'm doing is empowering people, empowering the students on my team to help them become better leaders and then also empowering those on my staff to help stay creative, help staying on the cutting edge of things that would make our program better. Yeah, in the book I talk about boss versus leader. And you know about how bosses want to micromanage, but leaders delegate. And you are delegating, and you're trusting in your assistant coaches or your staff to really get the job done with the best interests of the students. How are the boys varsity team doing right now? They're in season with you right now. Yeah, we're in season right now, just beyond middle point of the season. We've got a great coaching staff. And so I feel very comfortable delegating. But yeah, I think we're facing adversity. We're always trying to get better and preparing ourselves for some bigger matches coming up this week and next and also at the end of the season. Yeah. Ike, I want to ask you, and this is an interesting question. How would you define leadership? How do you define leadership? I would define it as being able to empathize with those that you're leading, but also empowering them and growing with them and attaining a goal collectively. Yeah. That's really good. Now, how would you define success? Because I look at your short career so far in your life and you're very successful. How do you define success? I would say that starts with a goal. And you would take a look back on your goals and whether you're being successful with those goals. Whether that's in a coaching platform or directing platform, really, yeah. So what is your goal right now as director of tennis? My goal is to, I guess, teach the sport to as many students there are while providing them optimal levels of progression where they can play the sport through that whole spectrum that we offer. And so there's different levels and abilities. And I really want the students to love the sport, love the game because it's a lifelong sport and there's a lot of lifelong lessons that can be learned by playing the sport. And you're doing a great job with that. And Ikeika, before we close, I want to ask you one more thing. Who is someone that is a big inspiration to you that's really impacted your life in a positive way? I'd have to say my father. Yeah. He was a really hard worker and did a good job raising me and my brothers and also a smart worker. He was very efficient in the things that he did. And that's something I take away with me is trying to find efficiencies in everything that I do and maximizing time. I totally agree. Virgil was a great man. Ikeika, I want to thank you for being on the show today and sharing some insights. And I have to tell you that I'm so proud of you to be a part of your development through these years of your character and enhancing your character into the outstanding person that you are today. Really, really proud of you, Ikeika. I appreciate it. And it's an honor to be here with you. Oh, thank you. Thanks, coach. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii and a special thank you to my clothing sponsor Eolani Incorporated. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com. And my book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all Costco stores in Hawaii. I hope that Ikeika and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.