By ELLEN ENDO, RAFU SHIMPO CONTRIBUTOR
The first thing you notice about Miye Kodama is her humility. As a dual-sport athlete who led both the Louisville High School soccer and basketball teams to California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section titles in an 18-hour span, she has earned to right to be cocky.
What makes her achievement unique is the fact that both sports are played in the same season.
Kodama’s 41 goals set a school record and earned her the CIF-SS Division 4 title.as player of the year. On March 29, she was also named the Los Angeles Daily News girl soccer player of the year.
“To play at that level at both sports, she’s the kind of athlete you dream about,” her Louisville basketball coach Monica Hernandez told KCAL News in an interview following the CIF championship games.
The season’s final soccer game was sold out, drawing a crowd of approximately 1,000, an indication of the support from students, parents, and faculty at Louisville, an all-girls school in Woodland Hills. “It’s been great to be in that environment,” Kodama adds.
Kodama first started playing soccer with a recreation center league at the age of three followed by basketball at the age of four.
“I went to a summer camp (at the San Fernando Japanese Community Center) that my grandma got me, my cousin, and my brother into. We were just playing around during one of the free times because they had a gym. My brother and I were just playing, and they came up to my dad and said, ‘We have these teams, and we play in this league.’ Miye’s dad, Rob Kodama, agreed to allow them to join the league.
“So, I left the rec team and have been playing (at SFJCC) ever since,” says Miye.
As a youngster, she played soccer on her brother’s team and during middle school was the only girl on the flag football team.
Kodama, who also happens to be the senior class president, is quick to give credit to her teammates, friends, and family for the success she has attained. Outside of sports, she enjoys getting involved in planning school activities, playing guitar, and hanging out with friends.
In addition to being supportive of her athletic ambitions, Miye’s mother and father are both athletes in their own right. Miye’s mother played soccer in college, and her father is a soccer coach. Her grandfather, Bob Kodama, who coached baseball, was recognized when West Hills High School named their baseball field in his honor.
She wants to play soccer in college and currently has an offer from a school that wants her to play both soccer and basketball. “But that’s up in the air,” she notes. “If I could play after college, that would be in-credible, but we’ll see how it goes.”
She feels that progress is being made in women’s professional sports in general. “Obviously, (women’s sports) don’t get the same attention as men’s sports right now, but they are making good advancements.”
As for her own experience as an athlete, she states, “I have had so many amazing coaches…believing in me to do the multiple-athlete thing. Before that, definitely the coaches for my community center team. They still follow me to this day. We still talk. Their names are Kevin, Kelly, and Tang. They’re just the best. They helped make me what I am today. If it weren’t for them when I was younger, I don’t know if I would still be playing basketball.”
Kodama mentions that she is also still friends with her SFVJCC teammates.
“Being involved with the community center as I was a big part of becoming who I am and learning about my culture, although my grandmother, Sharon Kodama, really taught me a great deal. I feel like it was the drive to keep going because I feel Asian Americans, not just Japanese Americans, are under-represented in athletics.
“I grew up not seeing a lot of girls, even boys, who looked like me who were famous or in the pros or even college level. I always wanted to be someone that younger girls could look up to.”