Passas Offers QB “Get Better” Camp Saturday
By Rodney S. Yap
Hawaii’s quarterback guru Vince Passas will conduct a QB “Get Better” Camp on Saturday, March 1, at War Memorial Stadium.
The former Saint Louis School quarterback and longtime coach will be on Maui to work with all quarterbacks grades 7-11, from noon to 3 p.m. The camp is free. All participating quarterbacks, however, need to bring their own football, water and several skilled players — receivers, running backs, defensive backs, and linebackers — or anyone wanting to work on catching skills.
Coaches from the Maui Interscholastic League, Maui’s Big Boyz League, and Maui Pop Warner Association are welcome to attend. Passas runs a free Quarterback / Receivers “Get Better” Camp every Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon at the St. Louis School field.
“Any of the Maui athletes or coaches are welcome to attend our camps on Oahu,” said Passas. “Our Sunday camps are blowing up with as many as 40 to 50+ quarterbacks and 70 to 100+ skilled players.”
Passas, who also coaches Saint Louis baseball, was here a year ago — during the same Baldwin baseball tournament coming up — and more than a dozen quarterbacks and 30 receivers attended.
“My mission is to help as many of God’s young men as possible, including coaches, if they want,” said the 57-year-old Passas, who is a real estate broker and a 1974 Crusader graduate who has served as an assistant coach for 40 years at the school and has been on the sidelines for all 16 state and Prep Bowl championships.
“I like working with kids and doing this is my way of giving back.”
Quarterbacks from all over the islands, ranging from Pop Warner to NFL, regularly attend his Sunday camps.
Passas has worked with many of the best quarterbacks from Hawaii, including Marcus Mariota of Oregon and former NCAA record-setting quarterbacks Timmy Chang (Hawaii) and Jason Gesser (Washington State). Chang and Gesser are both college offensive coordinators now at Jackson State and Idaho, respectively.
Current Baldwin offensive coordinator Dave Carino, who played football and baseball at Saint Louis and was a 1991 Interscholastic League of Honolulu all-star linebacker, will assist Passas at Saturday’s camp.
Passas developed many of the state’s best high school quarterbacks, including the list of players below:
Saint Louis
2010 — Marcus Mariota
2008-09 — Jeremy Higgins
2006-07 — Micah Mamiya
2005 — Cameron Higgins (also Jeremiah Masoli)
2004 — Stanley Nihipali
2003 — Kealii Perbera
2001-02 — Bobby George
2000 — Kelika Higa
1998-99 — Timmy Chang
1996-97 — Jason Gesser
1994-95 — Darnell Arceneaux
1993 — Joe Correia
1991-92 — Joel Lane
1989-90 — John Hao
1988 — Mike Nua
Kaiser
1982 — Jared Wong
1980-81 — Cliff Kaneiakala
1979 — Edmund Kakalia
1978 — Chris Whaley
1977 — Gary Keahohou