The players and staff of the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine soccer program are hoping to put last season's outcome in the rearview mirror. Coming off of a 3-14-1 overall finish and 0-8 mark in Big West Conference play, it was apparent to sixth-year head coach Michelle Nagamine and her staff that goals were not being reached.

The biggest offseason hurdle for the program was rooting out the problem at its source, as the staff has remained largely consistent, but as with any team, the players are always changing.

"After last year, with some of the personality challenges that we had," Nagamine noted. "I felt like we needed to address our culture again and incorporate a new set of core values because our team has changed a lot."

Taking the recommendation of staff who work closely with the team, Nagamine recruited the services of sport psychologist Dr. SooJean Misailidis to aid in realigning a team losing two seniors, but 10 letterwinners, while also introducing 11 first-year wahine.

"We went in and determined that with our core values of 'ohana, respect and perseverance, we wanted to implement that sport psych part of things, where we built accountability and leadership," Nagamine said. "We identified the ways that each person could make the team better, through the areas of leadership that each player had."

Personality clashes were working against the goals of the team and hindering effective communication among the squadmates. Ultimately, that led to players holding back and missing the chance to realize the team's potential with plenty of talent on the roster.

"From my freshman year experience, the underclassmen felt more separated—that's something that needed to be changed because we're a team," senior centerback Storm Kenui recalled. "I was for sure scared my freshman year, so I didn't really play to my full potential. Going body-out with a senior, I felt like I was going to get in trouble. We have to work together and stick together."

With Misailidis beginning the culture-mending process with the returnees in the spring, the Rainbow Wahine opened fall practices on August 3, where the team took on the real task in building the Wahine 'ohana for the 2016 season. Right to work in all aspects, it was fitness assessments, lifting and then a working lunch with Misailidis to begin the journey and explain bonding activities and goals—then back to work with on-field training.

An important element of culture building is knowing where you come from. That early emphasis took the Wahine to the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum for a dose of local history, while closing the day meeting with program alumni.
Digging deeper into the local culture and beginning to develop greater teamwork, the squad traveled to He'eia to work with Kako?o ?Oiwi, getting down in the mud to help wetlands restoration. A camping and hiking trip was planned on the north shore before weather had a say—replaced with a day-hike up Mau'umae Trail, which provided lessons in support and built familiarity within the group.

Under Misailidis' guidance, the team held player-led team bonding and team watching of Olympic contests over the course of the week. UH then closed up camp with some adversity—heading to Fort Shafter for boot camp—the day before the team's lone exhibition.

Working these bonding and adversity events have helped the Wahine to boost communication and work as a team, learning to be thoughtful in how they treat program, the land and each other. An important lesson was that things aren't personal, everyone is there for the same reason—to play hard and compete in order to make the entire squad better.

"When SooJean first came out, we wouldn't really press each other to compete because we were very afraid of somebody saying something or making somebody mad," Nagamine said. "What she has helped us do is raise the intensity of our training sessions by getting people to understand that feedback is a good thing, no matter if it's what you want to hear or not."

Adversity faced or not, the Rainbow Wahine arrived at the final moment of the exhibition match against Tusculum victorious in a landslide 6-0 victory. Even facing a lower-division opponent, there's satisfaction for both players and staff in seeing the scoreboard light up, as the players come together to celebrate one another's success as one whole.

The camaraderie was well on display again into the next week, when the soccer squad challenged several players from the football team to a penalty kicks shootout following practice. Again the Rainbow Wahine arose triumphant in a 4-3 victory, celebrating each other in success and picking up players who faltered. The footage found its way to Bristol, Conn. and ESPN, where UH scored another victory with an appearance at No. 6 on Wednesday's SportsCenter Top Plays.

"We never really had teamwork, it was more individual," Kenui said. "She has taught us a lot of perspective, just knowing that it's not just you, it's everyone else in the same boat. She has really made us do a lot of great teamwork activities, working together."

Named to the all-Big West team, Kenui started 17 games with a .521 shot percentage on 2.67 shots per game last season. She will be looked to as a leader in the 2016 campaign—she's also bought into what Misailidis and the coaches have brought into the program this season.

"She's helped us build better connections with everyone," Kenui said. "We will think about how tired we are but then we think about the person next to us and how tired they are as well. When you look at your teammates, you just keep going. You look at your teammate and think 'I'm playing for her'."

Finding that respect for one another and the caring for the greater team has paid dividends in not only the culture of the squad off the field, but has provided the Rainbow Wahine the opportunity to get more out of training sessions.
Another leader in 2016, senior goalkeeper Monk Berger returns after 13 starts and 46 saves a year ago. She notes the change in thinking is a key in their success with Misailidis' approach.

"She taught us how to take ownership of a lot of things," senior goalkeeper Monk Berger said. "Instead of pointing the finger everywhere else as your first reaction when something happens, to say 'you did this wrong, you did that wrong.' Instead, you need to think about what you can do to make the situation better and find the cause of the problem. It's just coming together and figuring that out as a whole."

It's not to say there's an overnight transformation for the Rainbow Wahine, but the positive results are already pouring in through practice and off-field relationships, and the process is ongoing for the players and staff.

"There is no doubt that our team is more mentally tough than we were last year," Nagamine said. "Just the vibe and the personalities of the players we have, I feel like we have a very cohesive group that is very much on the same page. Everybody is starting to get how that mental side of the game impacts you, especially when things are not going your way."

The real test comes on Friday night when the lights come on, playing host to Pac-12 foe Oregon at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium at 7:00 p.m. The Ducks finished 6-13 last season with a 3-8 conference record. The Rainbow Wahine will also meet Mountain West opponent Nevada on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at the WPSS.

"I'm really proud of them," Nagamine said. "It's been a really long road, but it's nice to see the fruits of their labor come out."