Time to Move On

David Kawada – Hawaii Digital Sports
dkawada@digitalsports.com

The first time I interviewed Coach Tengan was during his first game as head coach of the St Louis Crusaders football team, taking over for the legendary Cal Lee.  It was only my second year working the radio broadcasts for ILH football.  I think I was much more nervous than the coach.  He, after all, was a seasoned veteran in the coaching ranks serving almost 20 years under Coach Lee and was basically the person of choice to take over the reins of the most powerfull football program in the state.

His promotion made headline news on the evening sports reports!  The announcement of the new radio sideline reporter for high school football was a much quiter affair.

I approached him during the pre-game warm ups, held out my hand, and politely asked if he could spare just the briefest of moments for a very short interview, which in no way was to inconvenience his pre-game routine and last minute strategizing about the opponent prior to kickoff.

“Oh, sure, sure.” 

He actually made me feel like HE was honored that I asked him for an interview.  Now that’s class.

The following year I worked with the Coach in the broadcast booth in 2003.  He probably prepared for each broadcast the same way he would prepare for Kamehameha.  Starters were identified, coaches were interviewed, and tendancies were analyzed.  Pages of notes were at his reach with stats, player backgrounds, and other information that only a coach would tell another coach.

When Delbert went back to the sidelines the following year, it was like de ja vu.

“Hey Delbert, could you spare a few minutes for an interview?”

“Oh, sure, sure.  Anytime.”

Because the football job got most of the publicity, many people were unaware that he was the head basketbal coach for a longer period (10 years) than the football head man (5 years).  Now how does someone serve as  head coach for 2 of the highest visible programs in high school team sports, whose seasons run consecutively and overlap (can’t help it if the football team is always playing in the State Championship Game)?

Dedication. Perserverence. Preparation. Good assistants. Delegation.  Time management.
Organization.  And working 12-14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, from late July to February.

I would always comment on a couple of things when I would run into him.  One was that he had the neatest office of any coach I had ever seen.  No smelly socks laying around, balls here and there, desk piled up with papers, clipboards, and a whistle.

Another was that he never seemed to perspire.  It could be the muggiest evening at Aloha Stadium or at McCabe Gym and he always looked fresh, not a hair out of place.

And Coach has an arm.  Watching him warm up the running backs, he always zipped those passes in a tight spiral right in the numbers.  Delbert joked that his limit was 10 yards.

In what turned out to be his final season last year, I noticed that he had new shoes on. 

“I get a new pair every year.  Gotta start out fresh.”

During the spring break, Coach Tengan would go on his own to the mainland to watch a college program during their spring drills.  He was always learning and why not learn from some of the best at the next level.

The start of the high school football season is just over a month away.  Seems like other schools are calling to gauge his interest in coaching  football or basketball.  The radio broadcast booth is always open for him as well.  It just goes to show that if you are a good person and successful, people will be knocking at your door.

Time to get a new pair of shoes.