Chaminade University announced Jayson Abe as the new head coach of the men’s soccer program on Jan. 11. Abe is the program’s sixth coach since 2009, their fourth coach in the past four years, and the seventh coach in program history.

Abe developed a passion for soccer at the young age of 5. Throughout the years his relationship with the sport has grown closer, as he not only enjoyed to play the game, but he also learned many things that would help him off the field as well.

“The game of soccer has a lot to offer,” said Abe, “from character building, to discipline, to the ability to see your success from hard work.”

The Hawaii native experienced quite a bit of success while at the helm of the Mid-Pacific boys varsity team, leading the school to three Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II championships in only six years. Abe also was awarded back-to-back ILH Coach of the Year honors (2015 and 2016)  and was named the 2015 State Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).  

As Abe transitions to the next level, he hopes to bring the same success to the Swords, as his duties of head coach have already started. Abe was simple in his response after being asked why make the jump from high school to college?

“It’s time for a new challenge,” said Abe.

Through all his past success and proven records and accolades, Abe still feels a rush of emotions going into coaching his first collegiate season.

“It’s a combination of a little bit of nervous and excitement as well,” said Abe. “Nerves of the unknown is huge. There’s a long road ahead of us. We need to improve our fitness level, and our overall level of play needs to improve. But that comes with some time. Right now we are focusing on us and becoming the best we can be.”

Abe is looking at an uphill battle after taking control of the men’s soccer program. The Swords’ win-loss record of late does not reflect how hard they’ve been working. Since the 2009 season the Swords have been 16-127-10. Last season they were 1-14-1, which followed their most successful season — a 6-10 campaign.

It’s been a challenging run for Chaminade. Since 2013, the Swords have had three coaches come in for a year and leave after the season. This disrupting much of the chemistry, confidence, and trust amongst the players and coaches.

“It seems like in the past, coaches and players have quit on each other,” said Abe. “But that will not be the case in the upcoming years. It starts with the commitment from the coaches all the way down to each player. We must be committed to working hard, and we must respect one another. I’m a big believer in hard work beats talent.”

The Swords lost some key seniors who have been huge for them in past year, players including Nicolas Ferro, Lukas Pousset, Giovanni Reader and James Meaney. On the bright side the Swords are returning sophomore goalkeeper Bernd Buescherhoff, sophomore defender Avinash Singh and junior defender Mitchell Fasolo.

The men’s program will play preseason games this spring, first against a local men’s club team called International and a second match against crosstown rival Hawaii-Pacific University.