Close your eyes, take a deep breath and join me on a vacation to the north shore of Oahu. We are in the tiny coastal town of Laie. It’s 83 degrees.
You are resting on the beach, feet buried in the glistening sand. You can hear the crash of the waves. The water is so clear you can see fish swimming and seaweed milling about. The sun magnifies the vibrant tropical colors around you. The Hawaiian breeze hits your face, and as it blows past you, you can feel, viscerally, your stress being carried along with it.
You sense an unavoidable connection to the island and to this town. You think you know it. The beauty creates that illusion.
But you have to travel inland to truly understand this place. You have to find a grass field with two goalposts and white hashmarks. And you have to see the children of this community — of Laie, a town with a population of 6,111 — running and training, throwing and catching, doing the one thing they were always…
