Former NFL Rams lineman Andrew Whitworth announces that Lahainaluna High School will be getting new boys and girls locker rooms during a press conference June 17 at War Memorial Stadium. The Maui News/Eli Pace

The Los Angeles Rams came to Maui last week as the team hosted the island’s first-ever NFL mini camp, but the professional football players’ visit went far beyond practice.

Along with the Rams’ on-the-field activities June 17-18 at War Memorial Stadium, players, cheerleaders and the team’s support staff took time to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, host skills camps with local football and flag football players and reveal that Lahainaluna High School will be getting new pro-style boys and girls locker rooms for the student-athletes.

All things considered, it all worked out pretty well, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, who said some of the benefits from the Rams’ visit were easier to measure than others.

“It’s both uplifting and restores hope in our community,” Bissen said at the stadium on June 18 with about 1,200 children participating in an event designed to promote healthy lifestyles happening in the background.

The mayor said the Rams’ visit helped the county establish a firm partnership with “an incredible organization,” and it showed what state and local government, specifically the Hawai’i Tourism Authority and the county’s Parks and Recreation Department, can do when they work together.

Bissen said he hopes the Rams, who brought about 400 people with them to Maui, will come back again.

“It’s been an incredible boost on (the economic) side of the ledger,” Bissen said. “But I can’t really measure how these kids are feeling about being so close to professional athletes. … They had shoulder-to-shoulder drills with them, and then, of course, uplifting us by rebuilding the lockers at Lahainaluna High School. Them just coming alone would have been a big thing, even if we just watched them from afar, but for them to be so engaged, so involved in the community, is incredible — more than we could have asked for.”

A gift for the Lunas

While announcing Lahainaluna High School will be getting new locker rooms during a press conference attended by dozens of Lunas student-athletes on June 17 at War Memorial Stadium, former Ram and Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth described how Maui and Los Angeles share a special bond following the Southern California wildfires in January and the August 2023 Maui wildfires.

“We all know it’s taxing. It’s going to be tough to get through, and it’s going to be complicated, but we’re all built with the spirit to get through it,” the All-Pro lineman said. “It’s going to take community, the process to pull together, bond together and help one another, and that’s what this is about.

“It’s not just about football. It’s about the opportunity to inspire some young people, be a part of a community that’s special to us and that we want to have a great relationship with, and also inspire ourselves.”

During the wildfire that killed over 100 people and destroyed much of Lahaina, more than 450 student-athletes and coaches lost their homes, as did many of their loved ones. But during that time, the school’s football team also served as a symbol of hope and resilience for the community.

The NFL took notice and honored Lahainaluna’s players and coaches as honorary coin toss captains at Super Bowl LVIII with quarterback Marcus Mariota narrating a tribute to the Lunas, and the team’s journey was also chronicled in an NFL Films documentary.

“The football team is the community,” Lunas football coach Dean Rickard said at last week’s press conference.

“What I mean by that is we’ve always taken pride in having players that come from the community,” Rickard explained. “We take pride in knowing that we have generational players. We have players that their grandfathers, great grandfathers, uncles and cousins played on the football program. I’m a product of that. I played at the school. I’ve been coaching there since ’87 and again, the majority of our coaching staff are alumni of the school. So there’s certain traditions and values that were instilled in us by our coaches and their coaches before then that have still carried on.”

Most importantly, Whitworth said, the Rams and their partners wanted to make a difference on the island.

“We hope these young people feel this love, they feel special, they feel how much they mean to us,” Whitworth said. “At a time of loss, a time when you have a setback, we’re going to rally around you. No different than on a football team when we face adversity, life’s the same way. That’s why I love sports because it teaches us a lot of things.”

Former NFL Rams lineman Andrew Whitworth announces that Lahainaluna High School will be getting new boys and girls locker rooms during a press conference June 17 at War Memorial Stadium. The Maui News/Eli Pace

New locker rooms

The Lunas’ locker rooms are being redone through a partnership that involves the Rams working with Hollman Lockers, the leading manufacturer of athletic locker rooms, as well as the design firm Forty Nine Degrees, which will create the graphics and branding for the Lunas’ new locker rooms.

Handling the meat and potatoes of the build, Hollman has manufactured more than 10 million lockers for teams playing at the professional, collegiate and high school levels in addition to other projects at organizations like private golf clubs.

This rendering shows how the Lahainaluna High School boys locker room will look after a renovation that’s being done this summer in a partnership between the Los Angeles Rams, Hollman Lockers and Forty Nine Degrees. Photo courtesy Hollman Lockers

“This is what we do,” said Travis Hollman, CEO of Hollman Lockers, who explained that a locker is “a very private space. It’s where you put your personal stuff. It’s where you hang your clothes. It’s where you put memories of your family.”

The redesign at Lahainaluna will feature custom-built lockers, each with integrated seating and storage, graphics and dedication areas that honor Lahaina. The locker rooms are expected to be completed at the end of July in time for the new school year. They will be used by all Lunas sports teams, not just football.

For Hollman, Maui holds a special place in his heart. His family has been coming to the island for decades, and it’s where he got engaged. He said that more than anything, he hopes the Rams’ minicamp and the new locker rooms for Lahainaluna will help keep a spotlight on the rebuilding effort in Lahaina.

“I hope that it, first of all, helps people feel like they’re seen and that they’re appreciated and that we care about them, and then I hope that it brings some attention back to the region because they need some of that,” he said.

This rendering shows how the Lahainaluna High School girls locker room will look after a renovation that’s being done this summer in a partnership between the Los Angeles Rams, Hollman Lockers and Forty Nine Degrees. Photo courtesy Hollman Lockers

Rebuilding homes

Following the press conference about the locker rooms, Rams veterans went to work with local high school players at skills camps, and the Rams rookies took a bus ride to Lahaina to help Habitat for Humanity-Maui with one of the nonprofit’s builds.

“We are out here having a whole lot of fun,” said Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr., who was selected in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft. He helped build a bathroom and a closet, and he learned how to use a table saw.

“I can’t complain,” Paul said, while adding that it was a nice team bonding experience.

“It shows that we care,” he continued about the event. “California also had its fair share with the wildfire so we understand what the people of Maui are going through. Us being able to come out here and set some time aside from our team activities just shows that we’re surrounded by a great group of guys with a great mindset, as well as giving back to the community and the people who support us the most.”

His and the other rookies’ help was welcomed by Matthew Bachman, Habitat for Humanity’s executive director, who said they were able to stand up eight walls June 17 with the Rams’ help, something that would have taken the organization a week and a half.

The Los Angeles Rams rookies help Habitat for Humanity Maui rebuild a home in Lahaina on June 17. The Maui News/Eli Pace

“Some of the things we are doing, standing up the walls, are kind of the most emotionally charged thing you can do because you’re actually seeing a house being built,” Bachman said.

For the nonprofit’s director, it was great for Maui in general to have the Rams here and he can’t wait to welcome them back again. In terms of rebuilding homes, Bachman said it really comes down to having three things: materials, muscle and money.

“I told the guys, ‘You may not have the materials, (but) you definitely have the muscle and when you get the money, remember us,” he said.

As for Habitat for Humanity Maui, Bachman said they can’t get enough help.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said of the rebuilding effort in Lahaina. “The two-year anniversary is two months away, and to actually look down the street and see homes being built fills your heart.

“But then when you take other drives, you realize that there’s not anything happening yet. And so what I think it is, is that we are finally entering a time of hope … but we have to remember that there are still many people that aren’t sheltered in their homes and we can’t do it fast enough.”

People can support Habitat for Humanity Maui by donating financially or to Habitat For Humanity Restore, volunteering or shopping at the Restore. For more about the organization, go to Habitat-Maui.org.