KAILUA-KONA — Right now, millions of people around the world are glued to their screens watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfold across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The electricity around soccer is about as high as it gets.

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KAILUA-KONA — Right now, millions of people around the world are glued to their screens watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfold across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The electricity around soccer is about as high as it gets.

For most kids, watching these matches are pure fantasy fuel and a chance to imagine what it might feel like to one day play at that level. But for one West Hawaii soccer athlete, the dream isn’t just a fantasy anymore.

Koa Kreps, a 14-year-old from Kailua-Kona, signed a multi-year contract in 2025 with the San Diego FC (Football Club) Right to Dream Academy, one of the most respected youth development programs connected to Major League Soccer (MLS). For those of us who’ve watched Koa grow up around the pitch, know his family, seen him put in the work year after year, the news felt a little surreal.

Koa’s journey started where a lot of local kids start, right on the soccer fields at Pualani Park and the Old Airport. He began at a young age with the Kona Crush Academy until two years ago, when Kona Crush became part of the City SC (Soccer Club) network and rebranded as City SC Hawaii. That affiliation turned out to be a game changer as it opened doors that simply didn’t exist before for players coming up through a West Hawaii soccer club.

Through City SC’s MLS NEXT program, Koa got the opportunity to travel to Carlsbad and train with City SC San Diego. By all accounts it was a humbling, eye-opening experience with the speed of play, the competition level, and the daily grind of training in a professional environment. But Koa held his own, got noticed by the right people, and eventually found his way into conversations with the San Diego FC Right to Dream Academy. He officially signed with the program in 2025.

“I’m feeling super excited,” Koa said in a prior interview. “When I first found out, I thought it was a dream. I worked so hard for this opportunity that I couldn’t believe it finally came true.”

Koa couldn’t remember how old he was when he first began playing soccer but instinctively knew it was the sport for him. He immediately fell in love with it.

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“I like the fast pace of the game and how quick it is,” Koa said of playing soccer. “But the aspect of the game I enjoy most is finding space in the mid-field and playing through the thirds. This means playing through the defense, the mid-field and the forward. When I’m playing, I have to see everything. I’m always checking my shoulder to see what space I’m in so that I can see all of the field, know where the defenders are, and see if there are opportunities to score.”

Thomas Croke, the director of coaching of City SC Hawaii, has watched Koa’s journey unfold and understands what it means for a local kid living on the Big Island with limited opportunities.

“We’ve been a part of the City SC group for the past two years, and it’s been fantastic for us,” Croke said in an interview with City SC San Diego. “We’re a club that’s isolated in the middle of the Pacific, and being part of the City SC Network has given our players a great opportunity to compete at a higher level. They’ve experienced MLS NEXT, ECNL (Elite Club National League), and Girls Academy environments, and we’ve had some tremendous success within our own club. He’s really put City SC Hawaii on the map and shown what’s possible for an academy system developing players from our island.”

So, while the whole world is watching Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo light up stadiums this summer, there’s a Big Island kid who is quietly building toward something real of his own. The World Cup has a way of reminding us why soccer matters: the passion, the possibility, the idea that greatness can come from anywhere.

Koa Kreps is proof that “anywhere” includes Kona, Hawaii. The Kreps family, including his dad Ryan, mom Rose, and sisters Hana and Makale‘a, have put in the early mornings and the long drives to and from practices, training sessions, and games for years, and now the road ahead leads somewhere a whole lot further.

When asked what he feels thankful for and advice he would give to other kids with similar dreams, Koa didn’t hesitate.

“I thank my family who helped to make my dream possible. And advice I would give to others is, keep dreaming and keep pushing.”

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