Kamehameha 2-sport standout Tausani Tavale is back and stronger than ever

Tausani Tavale is a family person and that’s one reason she is going to stay on Oahu after graduating from Kamehameha.

The senior center back for the Warriors girls soccer team will play for Hawaii Pacific next season.

“In my free time, my sisters drop off their kids and I babysit them and that’s one of the main reasons I’m staying home,” she said. “I want to be there for their growth.”

She has three nephews and one niece, all under 3 years old. Sometimes, teammate Kalia Kalua, one of Tavale’s best friends, comes over and helps her out.

“Sometimes it can be frustrating watching them at one time,” Tavale said. “One wants to eat. One wants to play outside. One wants to do something else. But I love spending time with family. We’re really family-oriented.”

Tavale took a year away from sports due to an ACL injury, but is back in the lineup for Kamehameha (8-0-2), which plays a Division I quarterfinal match in the Queen’s Medical Center/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships against Kamehameha-Maui on Thursday. The Warriors are the defending champions and the top seed.

Tavale also plans to play a third year of softball for Kamehameha this spring.

As a freshman and sophomore, Tavale was picked to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser All-State second team as an outfielder. Also in her sophomore year, Tavale made the Star-Advertiser All-State first team as a defender in soccer.

It was a long road back from the injury that required surgery and a lot of rehab.

Missy Moore, the Kamehameha coach, is happy Tavale is back. And she is impressed at the hard work the senior, who is one of the team’s three captains, put in to do it.

“When she was hurt, she said she was going to come back stronger than ever and that always sticks in my mind,” Moore said. “She did what she said she was going to do. Sometimes, when there are injuries, kids may not take the physical therapy or training seriously. She came back and she has done really well. She has the mentality to fight through when adversity comes. She knows how to roll with it.”

Tavale is the subject of a Star-Advertiser feature story in the Tuesday sports section which you can read here.