Perkins ‘graduates’ to Kamehameha varsity coach

Kamehameha didn’t go far to find its new baseball coach.

Tom Perkins, the intermediate baseball coach at the school since 1996, is well-versed in all aspects of Warriors baseball and that should serve him well in his new job at the varsity level.

The 1974 Kamehameha graduate said Monday that it’s “an honor” to have been chosen.

“Some of the players who played for me at the younger level asked me if I was going to apply for the (varsity) job,” Perkins said. “I asked them, ‘Are you going to listen?’ I thought about it and figured now’s the chance to give it a try.”

Perkins, 58, takes over for Billy Pieper, who spent one year as the Warriors head coach. Pieper followed Vern Ramie, who was the coach from 1991 through the 2013 season.

Even before being hired, Perkins helped the Kamehameha baseball players in summer and fall ball, including the organization of two American Legion teams.

“I wanted to help the kids keep on playing baseball, so they would be ready for the new coach, whoever it was that they planned to hire,” he said.

Perkins said he is big on baseball fundamentals and, in the broad sense, thinks of coaching as: “We emphasize getting their game together so everything they do becomes natural, where they’re not really thinking about what they’re doing and just doing it — that train of thought.”

Perkins always thought the Warriors varsity position would be a “great job” and said the hiring process was “competitive” and that there were “a bunch of good candidates.”

Perkins was a Warriors outfielder who played a little bit in the infield under coaches Cal Chai and Al Apo in the early 70s.

“I was very fortunate to play for some great coaches,” he said. “My brothers who played for Kamehameha are all telling me they’re going to come out and watch the games and watch me coach and so it’s great to have that kind of support.”