Your first season here was very special, helping lead HPA to the BIIF Championship game. What made it memorable for you?
It’s just hard to place it on one thing, you know. It’s a special bonus having the kids believe. Bringing back players who used to play here, moved on, and now they’re coaches with me is special all the way around. Like I said, the other part was just just having the kids believe in us as a coaching staff. They made sure that they understood what our goals were both as coaches and players and doing it and learning together.
What’s your favorite part about being here at HPA?
It’s working with the kids. HPA is not known as a “football” school. But the kids that we do have here are very athletic — sometimes they just don’t know it yet and bringing that out of them and watching them grow, learn and blossom is unbelievable. We are always looking for the best of the best.
Can you give us a backstory on how you became a coach for HPA’s football team?
When I came back from college in 1994, I was going around and I got my first job coaching high school football at Honoka’a — where I graduated from — and they had a very good record. HPA’s coaching staff was there scouting the varsity team. I was coaching JV at the time and one of the coaches on the staff was my cousin, Joey Purdy, and he asked me what I was doing the next year. That was in 1999. So, in 2000 I joined Tom Goodspeed’s coaching staff and have been here ever since.
What should someone expect when they’re joining HPA football?
You have to be dedicated. This is not a sport for leisure and you’re gonna be pushed a lot. Working hard, knowing your muscles are gonna be hurt, and you’re gonna learn things that will benefit yourself. The other part is that you have to work hard and believe in yourself.
What are some core values that you’ve instilled in your coaching to help your players improve over time?
It’s all about belief. You have to believe in your teammates. You have to build on that and not let fear tear you down. Everybody’s gonna win, lose, and make mistakes. Players don’t need to point the finger at others, just pick others up, dust them off, and move forward.
You have a personal connection to the team, with your sons playing for HPA — Gabe Kalama ’22, who graduated, and Hayden, who is currently the quarterback for Ka Makani. What has that dynamic been like for you as a coach?
A little backstory about Hayden, he’s my youngest son. So my oldest son is a mama’s boy, Gabe Kalama, and my youngest son is a daddy’s boy. Hayden’s first year was a surprise for everybody. Nobody knew him at all. He stepped in when a player got hurt and did great. He finished off the season, then people started to recognize him. There were some ups and downs this year. Being so young and put in the spotlight is a hard spot. There’s a lot of learning, and a lot of things to clean up on. He’s right there doing it on his own and he’s mentally getting tougher and physically getting stronger. So it’s perfect. The future looks bright.
How does HPA football set itself apart from other teams on this island?
HPA football is truly unique. We play against guys who might be bigger than us or stronger than us on paper. But we really make the most of what we have. There are undersized kids who haven’t played football at all. We even have players and English is not their first language. But we put it all together and make things work to try and succeed every single year. So it’s a special place to be here. For coaches who want to come in here, they must have an understanding that these kids still have to learn how to walk before they can run. It’s unique.
Who do you draw inspiration from as a coach and as a leader of this team?
My dad was my first inspiration. Always pushing me to my limits. He gave me a good foundation to start something and to always finish it. Also, I had a great connection with coach Goodspeed when he was here in 2000. I learned a lot from him. But one of the biggest inspirations was my cousin, Joey. He was the next head coach after Tom Goodspeed. I drew a lot of inspiration from him. Especially the way he motivated the kids to get them ready for games.
What’s your favorite football team outside of HPA?
UDUB (University of Washington) baby! We had an offensive line coach who was an eight-year NFL pro, Bern Brostek who played there. We used to take a lot of trips to the University of Washington, especially when some of our former students were playing for UDUB. My second favorite is Oregon because of Max Unger. The two guys who were Bern’s pupils were Daniel Teo-Neshiem, who played at Washington, and Max Unger. When they went to college, they both played on different sides. Those games were just so much fun back then.