THE University of Hawaii athletic department's resident computer whiz had more in common with Brent Gates than Bill Gates as a kid. It was more hard ball than hard disk for the second baseman at Waiakea High. Yamamoto weaves
nifty Web for UH"I had thoughts of walking on (to baseball) at UH, but I never did, and I regret it," says Troy Yamamoto, 24. He was on the Colt World Series championship team in 1988, and his high school double play partner was former Rainbow shortstop Jaime Ahu.
Although Yamamoto didn't play college sports, he has become a player in college sports -- and a bit of a pioneer.
Yamamoto is UH sports' first Internet specialist. And school officials think he may be the first fulltime Web guru at any athletic department.
Associate athletics director Jim Donovan says he's pretty sure Yamamoto is unique.
"He's definitely the only one in the WAC," says Lois Manin, Director of Media Relations.
Now, before you say the Rainbows should have bought more weights to lift with the money they're using to pay this hacker, check out his work. If you don't have Internet access, go to a friend's house or a library and visit (the address is http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu).
Looks pretty good, yeah? And unlike a lot of fancy Web sites, there's substance to go with the style, and a logical layout.
Part of the reason the site is so user-friendly is that Yamamoto isn't a computer geek who only knows technical stuff.
"I jumped around from major to major," the 1996 psychology graduate says with a laugh. "I actually learned my programming in my psych classes."
And as a former athlete and still a sports junkie, Yamamoto thinks like a fan. He knows what they want.
OK, it's a good Web site, but we still haven't answered how it helps UH.
Well, the obvious answer is that it stimulates fan interest. Manin says the site received 38,000 "hits" in one week recently. That's a lot of people getting information about Rainbow sports -- especially for a relatively new site.
The other thing to remember is that those 38,000 people are not just in Hawaii. They are all over the world -- and some of them are looking for a college to go to and play a sport at next year.
"Right now a great defensive back in L.A., or an outstanding tennis player in India might be looking at the site," says Donovan.
Last spring, football recruiting coordinator Don Dillon told Manin he'd received positive feedback from potential players about the Web site.
"It's a great recruiting tool," says Assistant Media Relations Director Markus Owens. "Most high school students have computer access. And it saves time and money."
DONOVAN says the athletic department's Web site project kicked off in May of 1996 with an outlay of $8,000 and about double that amount in donated resources from Starrtech, a division of P.R. firm Starr Seigle McCombs.
Donovan's assistant Liz Donahue helped coordinate it the first six months, and Yamamoto began working on it as a student. Manin handles planning.
Those plans include audio and video. In fact, you can already catch some UH broadcasts on the Internet via "Real Audio."
A knock against Hawaii has always been its distance from the major sports action, and therefore, lack of media exposure.
But the World Wide in World Wide Web means great rewards for a school ahead of the information technology curve; more ranking points for deserving teams, and more recognition -- and pro opportunities -- for its athletes.
So, if Anthony Carter is All-American next spring, he may have the Internet partly to thank -- and a would-be walk-on second baseman.
Dave Reardon is a magazine editor and freelance
writer who has covered Hawaii sports since 1977.
He can be reached via the Star-Bulletin or
by email at dreardon@hmsa.com.
