HONOLULU – Happy holidays from the crew at Hawaii Sports Radio Network and the HPU softball team, as Ku’ulei Agbayani filled in this week for usual Sharks Weekly host Jason Genegabus for an in-studio sit down with Sharks softball head coach Jarnett Lono.

The duo kicked off the interview discussing the “time off” that finally comes for the softball coaching staff during the holidays and how it is a very brief break in the schedule and the maintenance that goes into keeping the fields ready for when the season kicks off.

Lono then discussed her love for the San Francisco 49ers and where her love for the “Bang Bang, Niners Gang” originated. While discussing favorite teams, Lono talked about her grandmother’s love for the Atlanta Braves contributing to her playing baseball growing up and eventually bringing her into the world of softball.

With experience as both a high-level softball player and as a head softball coach, Lono also illustrated what she believes to be important as a coach and what players both need and look for during their time playing the sport at the collegiate level.

Agbayani welcomes listeners back for the second segment (13:48) by having Coach Lono discuss the 2021-22 season coming out of COVID-19, the challenges that came with the period and how the team was able to survive having just 13 players, only two of which saw time pitching.

Before talking about the incoming recruits, Lono touched on the returning players for her team for this upcoming season. The most excitement from Lono came when discussing her four “super seniors” that she expects to be big contributors for the Sharks in 2023.

The conversation then shifts to the style and method to which HPU softball tries to use when recruiting. Lono, a former middle-infielder herself, admitted an affinity for the “more athletic” softball players who have the ability to play the backbone of the Sharks defense up the middle.

The show’s third segment (24:32) moves the discussion over to the upcoming season’s worth of competition and any games that might mean a little bit more to the Sharks and Coach Lono this season.

Lono then puts the goals of the Sharks out over the airwaves, talking about the goals of the HPU softball team in both the conference and overall for the 2023 spring season. She also takes time to name all the players expected to help contribute this year.

The Sharks’ skipper then took a trip back to the old days, as she told which teams from her playing days she still has a target on now that she coaches at her alma mater. 

The show’s final segment (37:25) has Agbayani and Lono dive into winter break’s effects on the college athletes that have their season come up in the spring and the way that they need to take care of themselves when they return back to school.

Sharks Weekly wraps up with Lono giving one last message of her hopes for the season ahead and what she promises from her and her coaching staff to the kids competing at the end of the day.

You can catch Sharks Weekly every Monday at 9:00 AM HST on HSRN 95.1 FM/760 AM, at hawaiisportsradio.com or in our podcenter following the completion of the show.