‘A dream come true for all of us’: Hawaii Pacific welcomes first flag football coach

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Kanda Korver is still pinching herself after being named the inaugural head coach of Hawaii Pacific University’s women’s flag football team.

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Korver comes from a diverse coaching and leadership background, growing up in California before moving to Hawaii to be with family.

A former collegiate volleyball player, Korver was an assistant coach for the Kamehameha Kapalama flag program in its first two seasons.

“It’s going to be a learning experience for everyone all around,” Korver told Hawaii News Now. “I think as the sport grows … it’s going to be fun.”

Korver is also the director of operations at Keiki Coders and the founder of Kore Vibration, an organization that develops athletes through mental training and other workshops.

Korver says she plans to emphasize that same mental training within her Sharks program.

“I think the immediate goal is to really build a strong foundation,” Korver said. “So this is the inaugural season. It’s an honor to be part of this, but everything that we’re building towards is for elevating all local athletes here on the island.”

HPU is the first college in the state to offer flag football, giving local athletes the chance to continue playing the sport at home.

“Just giving the opportunity increases equity for more wahine athletes to play sports at any collegiate level,” Korver said. “So allowing athletes to have that vision, that hope, that dream that if they want to stay home, there’s a place for them.”

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While Korver is in the process of building this team, long-term, she feels that HPU can be the premier program in this emerging sport.

“Because there is just so much talent on this island, we should be making Hawaii an international hub for flag football,” Korver said.

Collegiate flag football is on a path to becoming an NCAA championship sport and will make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.

Korver hopes HPU is at the center of that rapid expansion.

“With the overall momentum of female sports in general, it makes sense right?” Korver said. “The timing is here, the place is now, so why not make it here in Hawaii.”

This is HPU’s 11th women’s sport in their catalog, helping perpetuate former Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink’s landmark Title IX law.

“It’s just a special time,” Korver said. “I really think that Patsy Mink is smiling from above, knowing that our girls have the right to call football fields their home too.”

Korver and HPU are still looking for potential student-athletes; for additional information, click here or reach out to Coach Korver at [email protected].

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