November 6, 2015

More than 25 parents and alumni gathered in Roppongi for the first event of the year: the 2015-16 Season Kick-Off Party. Attendees enjoyed a night out with beer and traditional American cuisine (e.g. french fries, pizza, nachos, chicken) while laughing and chatting about wrestling and other random subjects.

The night opened up with a surprise gift from the Parent Booster Club leader, Matt Krcelic, for all the moms that were their. He has kindly made and donated a “Titan Wrestling Mom” shirt for all the moms on the team. On the back of the shirt reads “Some people have to wait their entire lives to meet their favorite wrestler; I raised mine”. The shirts will be distributed to the wrestlers and their mothers for those who missed the event.

All grade level parents were represented as they shared their experiences, worries, and advice for their boys on the upcoming season.

Another great tradition that keeps growing is the involvement of the wrestling alumni. 11 former Titan wrestlers (including Coach Yabui) showed up representing 4 decades of classes. Of the 10, seven were Far East champions. The alumni were: Mark Miller (’76 FE champ), Bobby Masuyama (’78), Robert Vasconcellos (’82 FE champ), Raymond Wong (’85), Yukei Kihara (’91 FE champ), Eddie Ayala (’97 FE champ & outstanding FE wrestler), Mitsunobu Aoyama (’97 FE champ), Kelly Langley (’11 FE silver), Soma Yoshida (’11 FE champ; class of ’12), and Kevin Miller (’13).

It was also an opportunity for the Coach Harlow, MS coach, and assistant coaches for this season, Will Dunaway, Soma Yoshida, Kelly Langley, and Kevin Miller to meet with the parents and alumni.

Participants had a lot of fun and it was a definitely the right way to kick off the exciting season for this year.