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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<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Rams came to Maui last week as the team hosted the island\u2019s first-ever NFL mini camp, but the professional football players\u2019 visit went far beyond practice.<\/p>\n
Along with the Rams\u2019 on-the-field activities June 17-18 at War Memorial Stadium, players, cheerleaders and the team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 visit were easier to measure than others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s both uplifting and restores hope in our community,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
The mayor said the Rams\u2019 visit helped the county establish a firm partnership with \u201can incredible organization,\u201d and it showed what state and local government, specifically the Hawai\u2019i Tourism Authority and the county\u2019s Parks and Recreation Department, can do when they work together.<\/p>\n
Bissen said he hopes the Rams, who brought about 400 people with them to Maui, will come back again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible boost on (the economic) side of the ledger,\u201d Bissen said. \u201cBut I can\u2019t really measure how these kids are feeling about being so close to professional athletes. \u2026 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 \u2014 more than we could have asked for.\u201d<\/p>\n
A gift for the Lunas<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know it\u2019s taxing. It\u2019s going to be tough to get through, and it\u2019s going to be complicated, but we\u2019re all built with the spirit to get through it,\u201d the All-Pro lineman said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take community, the process to pull together, bond together and help one another, and that\u2019s what this is about. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about football. It\u2019s about the opportunity to inspire some young people, be a part of a community that\u2019s special to us and that we want to have a great relationship with, and also inspire ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s football team also served as a symbol of hope and resilience for the community. <\/p>\n
The NFL took notice and honored Lahainaluna\u2019s 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\u2019s journey was also chronicled in an NFL Films documentary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe football team is the community,\u201d Lunas football coach Dean Rickard said at last week\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I mean by that is we\u2019ve always taken pride in having players that come from the community,\u201d Rickard explained. \u201cWe 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\u2019m a product of that. I played at the school. I\u2019ve been coaching there since \u201987 and again, the majority of our coaching staff are alumni of the school. So there\u2019s certain traditions and values that were instilled in us by our coaches and their coaches before then that have still carried on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most importantly, Whitworth said, the Rams and their partners wanted to make a difference on the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope these young people feel this love, they feel special, they feel how much they mean to us,\u201d Whitworth said. \u201cAt a time of loss, a time when you have a setback, we\u2019re going to rally around you. No different than on a football team when we face adversity, life\u2019s the same way. That\u2019s why I love sports because it teaches us a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
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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<\/p>\n
New locker rooms<\/p>\n
The Lunas\u2019 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\u2019 new locker rooms.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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This rendering shows how the Lahainaluna High School boys locker room will look after a renovation that\u2019s being done this summer in a partnership between the Los Angeles Rams, Hollman Lockers and Forty Nine Degrees. Photo courtesy Hollman Lockers<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what we do,\u201d said Travis Hollman, CEO of Hollman Lockers, who explained that a locker is \u201ca very private space. It\u2019s where you put your personal stuff. It\u2019s where you hang your clothes. It\u2019s where you put memories of your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For Hollman, Maui holds a special place in his heart. His family has been coming to the island for decades, and it\u2019s where he got engaged. He said that more than anything, he hopes the Rams\u2019 minicamp and the new locker rooms for Lahainaluna will help keep a spotlight on the rebuilding effort in Lahaina.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that it, first of all, helps people feel like they\u2019re seen and that they\u2019re 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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This rendering shows how the Lahainaluna High School girls locker room will look after a renovation that\u2019s being done this summer in a partnership between the Los Angeles Rams, Hollman Lockers and Forty Nine Degrees. Photo courtesy Hollman Lockers<\/p>\n
Rebuilding homes<\/p>\n
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\u2019s builds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are out here having a whole lot of fun,\u201d said Chris \u201cPooh\u201d Paul Jr., who was selected in the fifth round of this year\u2019s NFL draft. He helped build a bathroom and a closet, and he learned how to use a table saw.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t complain,\u201d Paul said, while adding that it was a nice team bonding experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows that we care,\u201d he continued about the event. \u201cCalifornia 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\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
His and the other rookies\u2019 help was welcomed by Matthew Bachman, Habitat for Humanity\u2019s executive director, who said they were able to stand up eight walls June 17 with the Rams\u2019 help, something that would have taken the organization a week and a half.<\/p>\n
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The Los Angeles Rams rookies help Habitat for Humanity Maui rebuild a home in Lahaina on June 17. The Maui News\/Eli Pace<\/p>\n
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\u201cSome of the things we are doing, standing up the walls, are kind of the most emotionally charged thing you can do because you\u2019re actually seeing a house being built,\u201d Bachman said.<\/p>\n
For the nonprofit\u2019s director, it was great for Maui in general to have the Rams here and he can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the guys, \u2018You may not have the materials, (but) you definitely have the muscle and when you get the money, remember us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As for Habitat for Humanity Maui, Bachman said they can\u2019t get enough help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming,\u201d he said of the rebuilding effort in Lahaina. \u201cThe two-year anniversary is two months away, and to actually look down the street and see homes being built fills your heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then when you take other drives, you realize that there\u2019s not anything happening yet. And so what I think it is, is that we are finally entering a time of hope \u2026 but we have to remember that there are still many people that aren\u2019t sheltered in their homes and we can\u2019t do it fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n