Donahue had to keep these rules in mind not just for his own team, but also while monitoring what the other team was doing with its lineup. He also had to make last-minute adjustments due to injuries and game situations, in addition to planning an off-field schedule as the players were housed together away from their parents throughout a 26-day Mainland trip.

"The coaching aspect was so important," said Lenny Fabro, the Waipi'o Little League president. "Timo is such an excellent coach, and he did a really good job."

RELAXED APPROACH

Waipi'o Little League has five teams, and Donahue's "Silver Dawgs" team was the regular season champion. That meant he was the traditional nominee to coach the all-star team selected by all five coaches.

Seven of the Silver Dawgs made the all-star team, with the other six all-stars coming from the other four teams. Two of the six "non-Dawgs" played with the Waipi'o all-star team coached by Donahue last year, so nine of the 13 players had made the Mainland trip to the West Regionals in 2007.

As for the four new players, Donahue said the main adjustment was "they had to learn our lingo, and the way we run the bases."

Once the team won the state tournament on Kaua'i and advanced to the West Regionals in San Bernardino, Calif., Donahue said he changed the off-field and pregame routine from the previous year.

"We took a more relaxed approach this time," Donahue said. "Last time there was no swimming at all, we just wanted to get 'em ready for the game. This time, we let them swim."

Donahue said last year the team would take batting practice right before the game, but this year, Waipi'o would take its BP in the morning not long after waking up.

"We'd do it early in the day, and then the kids would shower and eat, then they would play their video games or watch TV or whatever," Donahue said. "There was no rush before the game, and so the boys were really, really relaxed. It worked."

COMING THROUGH

Once the game started, Donahue tried to get everyone their required playing time right away, so he wouldn't have to worry about forced substitutions in tight late-game situations.

"Our defense is pretty good, so it didn't matter much who we had out there," Donahue said. "There's not much to lose defensively, and everybody came through."

The defense remained steady despite an early setback, when starting catcher Iolana Akau suffered a hairline fracture in his upper left arm after being hit by a pitch in the Aug. 15 opener against Shelton, Conn.

Outfielder Keelen Obedoza took over the catching duties from then on, without much dropoff.

"Keelen stepped up, he did a great job back there," Donahue said.

Pitchingwise, Donahue had hoped starters Khade Paris and Caleb Duhay could take Waipi'o into the late innings when called upon. Duhay pitched a complete game against Connecticut, but Paris felt some tenderness in his left (pitching) arm during the Aug. 17 victory over Tampa, Fla.

Fortunately for Waipi'o, it had already clinched a spot in the United States semifinal with that win, so Donahue was able to use a "pitch by committee" approach in the Aug. 18 victory over Rapid City, S.D.

Primary relievers Tanner Tokunaga, Christian "C-boy" Donahue and Trevor Ling stayed under the 20-pitch limit, making them available for the Aug. 20 semifinal against Mill Creek, Wash.

"Tanner and Christian were our main relievers, so we tried to keep those guys at 20," Donahue said. "And we always knew we had Trevor."

RELIEF, EXHAUSTION

Paris returned to throw three strong innings in the U.S. Championship game Aug. 23 against Lake Charles, La., and Ling was able to shut the door after Waipi'o rallied with six runs in the top of the sixth inning for a 7-5 lead.

"Trevor stepped up as well; he came up huge," Donahue said.

Donahue and Fabro also credited pitching coach Gregg Tsugawa for calling the pitches from the dugout.

"Gregg was a big help," Fabro said. "A lot of people don't realize, you can have a good pitcher but you have to know when to throw the right pitch at the right time."

Donahue said first base coach Kiha Akau did a great job of keeping the boys focused.

"He's the loud voice when we need their attention," Donahue said. "We've been together a while, and he's a good guy to work with, a total team guy."

In the end, all the pieces came together, and all the right buttons were pushed. When it was finally over, with a convincing 12-3 overall championship victory over Mexico in the books and the players posing for pictures, Tsugawa and Kiha Akau collapsed to the infield grass and laid on their backs in relief and exhaustion.

"I would have done that too, but I didn't want my shirt to get dirty," Donahue said. "If you were to put odds on us at the beginning a month ago, it probably would have been about 700 to 1. So to win it all ... it's very gratifying."