With the highest respect and admiration, US Lacrosse-Hawaii Chapter awards the 2006 Don Gladstone Award to Yasuhiko "Yas" Hayakawa of the Japan Lacrosse Association (JLA).

Yas has made a remarkable contribution to the growth of lacrosse in his home country of Japan, in Hawaii, and in the greater Asia-Pacific region. In 1986, the then 18 year-old student at Keio University developed a passion for lacrosse, and helped establish the first Japanese lacrosse team. A year later, he co-founded the Japanese Lacrosse Association. Fast forward 20 years, and he is still dedicating his life professionally and personally to the growth of lacrosse, leading the JLA as its Executive Director.

Yas is well-known as the Japanese Ambassador of Lacrosse. He represents Japan at the International Lacrosse Federation and the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations. He is currently the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union where he works to spread lacrosse in the greater Asian Pacific Region. He has tirelessly promoted the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Tournament which had its first tournament in 2005 in Osaka, Japan, and will be held in New Zealand this spring.

Since its inception, the JLA has enjoyed enormous success, growing like wildfire. Starting with Yas's first team in 1986, the JLA includes membership of 171 Men's teams, 248 Women's teams, and 26 affiliate high school teams. Its membership continues to grow considerably every year.

The JLA's mission is at all times, to strive to promote and improve the competition level of the sport of lacrosse in Japan, and continue the appeal of the game through its social values. To meet that mission, JLA takes great pride in playing lacrosse and always works to lift the value of the sport. They recognize the lacrosse culture, the spirit and teamwork it takes to perform in its spontaneous environment on and off the field. Finally, they cherish the friendships that they make through the sport of lacrosse both at home and abroad. These are all values that Yas clearly embodies.

In 1991, Yas brought the Nihon University Lacrosse team to the inaugural Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational. Every tournament since then has enjoyed the participation of JLA teams thanks to Yas. Most team coordinators understand how difficult it is to get a single team to travel to any tournament. Yas has coordinated about 50 teams to come to the 16 Hawaii tournaments, with as many as 8 teams in a single tournament.

The JLA teams that participate in the Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational continuously improve every year. Without question, they are the best-conditioned, best-organized teams to compete in the tournament. But the spirit and the sportsmanship that the JLA teams exhibit in every game is what makes them stand out from every other team.

While the men's teams grow more competitive every year, the women's teams have already captured two of the tournament championships over the last 6 years. In 2000, JLA East All-stars Women's team captured the first women's championship in a one-point victory over Williamstown, Australia. In 2002, the Keio University Women's team chalked up a second championship for the JLA with a victory over the heavily-favored New York Athletic Club team. We expect the JLA to return to the women's podium again in the future, and with the improvement we've seen, we believe it's only a matter of time before the men reach the finals.

In 2003, on behalf of the JLA, Yas presented a large monetary donation to the fledgling youth lacrosse programs of Hawaii (now under the umbrella of US Lacrosse-Hawaii Chapter). This generosity from an international lacrosse association was unprecedented. This gift was integral to the creation of the Aloha Youth Lacrosse Association, an ever growing lacrosse league that has expanded from 5 teams to close to 20 youth and high school teams in as many years.

The Japan Lacrosse Association, and Yas's leadership of that organization are the models which the US Lacrosse- Hawaii Chapter will strive to emulate.

This award was long overdue. It is with great pleasure that we recognize and celebrate the contributions of Yasuhiko Hayakawa and the Japan Lacrosse Association! Mahalo nui loa!!!