Punahou's Seyddrick Lakalaka, who signed a national letter of intent to play for San Diego State University, runs the 40-yard dash in the 2016 combine. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Football student athletes looking to boost their chances on playing at the next level will have an opportunity to test their athletic skills at the 16th annual Hawaii Football Combine next month.

The combine will be held at Saint Louis School's Field on Saturday, May 20 and will cost $25 to participate. Any athlete that wants to know more or want to register for the event can visit www.pattonsportsperformance.com.

Athletic Sports Fitness Trainer Kenny Patton is leading the combine for the second straight year after taking over the reins from Doris Sullivan and the Pacific Island Athletic Alliance, a non-profit organization that helped local student athletes get into college that shut down in February 2016.

"It is truly a pleasure to continue the legacy of PIAA in providing a high quality combine for local players so they don't have to travel across the Pacific Ocean to get assessed," said Patton, a former University of Hawaii defensive back.

"It is crucial to have accurate and reliable results for our Hawaii athletes to not only provide to college coaches, but also allows them to assess what they need to work on from an athletic standpoint to their position-specific skill set."

Participants in the combine will be tested using the same technology that the NFL uses for its combine, said Patton. For drills like the 40-yard dash, using a laser timer to track movement will be more reliable than a hand-timed test.

"The benefits of accurate testing are two-fold," said Patton. "Athletes get a reliable assessment that can measure long term athletic development. If testing is inaccurate, the athletes have no way of measuring their progress.

"Athletes can also provide combined results to perspective colleges to see if their physical attributes are a good fit with the level of competition they are interested in."

The combine will be split up into four different one hour sessions that athletes can sign up for. Instead of having all participants come at one time and waiting for their turn, athletes will be able to do their drills quicker for optimal performance.

"Athletes are allowed to achieve peak performance by not being on the field for too long, and can remain focused on the four tests," said Patton.

The individual drills that the athletes will partake in include the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, broad jump and vertical jump, which provides data on linear speed, power, change of direction and overall athleticism.

While a good combine score can boost a player's chances at playing collegiately, Patton stresses that it is just one piece of the puzzle.

"It is important to remember that these participants are student athletes. To get into college there are components that help illustrate a student's merit. Some of those components are grades, SAT and ACT scores, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, community service. As a football athlete you have to have game film, coach's recommendation and other things.

"Combines are part of the process and help gauge an athlete's ability. In both criteria, student athletes have to fit the profile of the school and football program to be successful."