Senior Nainoa Silva signed his National Letter of Intent to play soccer for Colorado State University-Pueblo this morning in the Charles Reed Bishop Learning Center.

“I’m happy for him and his family because that’s an opportunity for him to move on,” athletic counselor Mr. Ulima Afoa said.

Silva will be playing soccer for the Wolfies, who are a division two team and a part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

He said that he is excited to go to CSU Pueblo because of the weather and the programs that they offer to help students with academics.

“It was snowing when I went, so it was pretty exciting,” he said, “and they have tutors for a lot of different subjects who are available in the library.”

Silva made the most of his recent college visit there by keeping in touch with the soccer coach.

“I told the coach I was planning on visiting the college, and he told me I could practice with them,” Silva said.

Shortly after the practice, he was offered a partial tuition scholarship to play for the Wolfies. Tuition at Colorado State University-Pueblo is $16,765 for out of state students; however, being that the school is a part of the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), tuition is $12,111 according to the Wiche website on WUE.

“There’s nothing like getting in front of a school and then basically showing them what your talents are,” Coach Afoa said.

Silva has played soccer since he was little. He’s played varsity soccer for Kamehameha Maui for all four years, football for his freshman and sophomore years and, this year, baseball.

“I’m happy for Kamehameha because that’s another student that will represent Kamehameha,” Coach Afoa said.

Mr. Afoa reminds every student that signs to college that “the idea is to not only get there but come home with a piece of paper [a diploma]” and especially for the athletes, to “make the athletic experience count.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

Photo by Quinn Williams

Nainoa with brother, Bryce Silva, and parents, Tanya and Jeff Silva.