HONOLULU, Hawaii - Being a student athlete at Hawai‘i Pacific University goes beyond the classroom, court or field - it often extends into the community.

Teaming up with Coca-Cola for the second time, the Sea Warrior softball team spent a Saturday morning helping to clean up Sand Island Beach Park as part of the Ocean Conservancy's 27th Annual International Coastal Cleanup.

This year's theme was “Live Positively” which hoped to build on an effort that collected over nine million pounds of trash from beaches around the world in 2011.

Together with other members of the community, the softball team removed cigarettes, plastic bags, cans and other trash polluting the beach.

“We are always pleased to help out in the community, especially for such a great cause," HPU Head Coach Bryan Nakasone said about his team's participation in the project. "The ocean is such a big part of life in Hawai‘i, we are happy to help preserve it.”