Growing Up Playing Baseball in Hawaii: Coach Matt's Story

From Little League to Coaching the Next Generation on Oahu

Aloha, I’m Coach Matt — and I’m proud to call Hawaii both my home and the place where my love for baseball was born. Growing up on this island, baseball wasn’t just a sport. It was a lifestyle, a community, and a place to grow as a person.

In this post, I want to share a little bit about my story — how I got started, what baseball meant to me growing up in Hawai'i, and why I’m so passionate about coaching the next generation of players through Home Plate Hawaii.

My First Steps on the Field: Starting Baseball in Oahu

I've been playing baseball since I was four years old, but I started way before that. I have an older brother who is five years older than me and he played baseball as well. That means that I was at the field every single day swinging a bat, hitting rocks with sticks, or playing catch with my dad.

I played Waipio Little League all the way to high school until we had to join Pearl City little league for seniors. My dad and Coach Ron Mendiola has had the biggest impact on my career. My dad and Coach Ron coached me from when I was 10 until I got to high school. We were called the Orioles and we absolutely sucked for the first few seasons. But they taught me how to deal with failure and how to find the fun in it. They pushed us until we had nothing left in the tank at practice.

No matter how hard practice was, I always loved showing up to the field. I got to play a sport that I loved with my best friends. Playing for my dad and coach Ron, I learned at a young age that it was more than just baseball.

What Makes Baseball in Hawaii Special

Baseball here in Hawaii is not like anywhere else. Two things that stand out the most is that Hawaii kids are undersized, and we don't have the money or resources that everyone else has. But that's what makes Hawaii baseball so much different.

1. Undersized and Hard Working

Because we are undersized, we need to work extra hard on the field, we need to improve our baseball IQ, and we just have to play with a chip on our shoulder. Other places will have these million dollar facilities and fields with the most up to date technology. We have red dirt fields with weeds growing all over and iphones. But that is all we need.

2. Community Support

Here in Hawaii everyone is rooting for each other. Sure we may be playing against each other, but at the end of the day we want to see everyone make it out and be big. We don't have the luxury of travelling to another state to play in some travel tournament whenever we want. These kids have to work their butts off to fundraise for it and everyone always supports. And when the kids finally do travel and go play in that tournament, I promise that the energy levels not only from the kids, but the parents as well, is something that these mainland people aren't used to.

My Journey Through the Game

I wasn't always the best player on the team. Even if I was I didn't know it because either way I was going to outwork everyone so that I could become the best. But I didn't start to realize I was actually pretty decent at baseball until my freshman year of high school where I started at shortstop for JV. It finally hit me that I must be pretty good at baseball if I was the starting shortstop on varsity.

I had a decent high school career, playing for Team Hawaii and playing in the Hawaii Fall Show Case, which was the biggest show case for Hawaii athletes at the time. After High School, I went to Central Arizona community college for three years due to covid, and got to start playing right away. I helped our team win a National Championship in 2019 and runner ups in 2021. After Central I came to Hawaii where I didn't see much playing time and transferred out to Austin Peay.

I finished my career loving each and everyday. Once the final game of my college career came I kind of knew that this was it for me. I remember having my exit meeting and one of my coaches told me that it would be a shame for me to just walk away from baseball. At that moment I decided to start giving lessons. I would be able to stay around baseball and pass on all the knowledge that I have to the next generation. I thought that it would be a waste to just throw it all away. I really believed that with the knowledge that I had and my coaching style, I could impact a lot of kids.

Highlight From My Career

• Played in the Hawaii Fall Showcase, the top showcase for local talent at the time

• Represented Team Hawaii

• Played three years at Central Arizona College

  • Won the 2019 NJCAA National Championship

  • Finished runner-up in 2021

• Transferred to University of Hawaii, then to Austin Peay to finish my career

Advice for Young Hawaii Ballplayers

Enjoy the process. If baseball was easy anyone would do it. You need to continue to show up even when you don't feel like it. There should be no doubt in your mind that you worked harder than everyone else that day. If you're the best player, find a way to separate yourself from everyone else. If you're behind, find a way to lessen the gap between you and everyone. Success is different to me. It's not just showing up and hitting the ball or fielding every ball. Success to me getting new movements down regardless of results. Sometimes we get so caught up in results that we forget about the adjustments we want to make that will help us in the future.

Remember to focus on what you can control and not what you cannot control, and we cannot control results. The baseball gods are real. So if you decide to dog it in practice or game, I promise that ball will come to you and you will not make the play. You have to practice and play the game like it was your last day of baseball. You never know when the last day of baseball will come to where you need to hang up the cleats. I can say that after hanging it up, I don't have any regrets and I wouldn't have done anything differently. Will you be able to say the same thing if your career ended today?

Key Advice

• Enjoy the grind — Baseball is hard. But showing up every day is where the growth happens.

• Work when others rest — If you’re the best, find ways to stay ahead. If you’re behind, close the gap.

• Forget the stats — Focus on development, not results. Get better every rep.

• Respect the game — The baseball gods are real. Hustle. Stay sharp. Show gratitude.

• Leave no regrets — You never know when your last game will be. Give it everything.

  
  

Train With Me at Home Plate Hawaii

If your child is ready to level up their skills — whether it's hitting, fielding, or just learning to love the game — I’d be honored to work with them.

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