For Moanalua’s Matautia, it was never about the hair

If you’ve seen high-soaring, hard-spiking, 6-foot-4-and-change Austin Matautia play the game long enough, there might be this question.

What happened to the hair?

Back when he was a freshman for the rising Moanalua Na Menehune program, he was roughly 6 feet tall, a gangly smasher of volleyballs. The hair was long, well below the shoulders, always braided neatly. On his face, sometimes a look of serenity, more often a look of ferocity. For the phenom, and especially his mom, Shelly, that hair practically took on a life of its own.

“To me, it was just everybody loved him and his hair. It was his persona,” Shelly said on Sunday, a long two years since her only son and the locks parted ways. “The guys who are calling the game on TV, they would talk about Austin and his hair, like it was his trademark.”

Austin let go of the hair, the maintenance, and all the delays at the airport as TSA checked his bottles of conditioner. It got on his nerves.

“It was his idea (to cut the hair) after he came home at the end of back-to-back volleyball trips. I thought he meant he just wanted to trim it,” Shelly Matautia said. “I didn’t want him to cut it. He said, ‘Don’t worry, Mom. I want to cut it short.’ ”

It was, without saying much else in words, a step toward growing up for Austin, the baby of sorts of his family.

“I was tired of taking care of it, so I told my mom to take me to the hair stylist to cut it. After I cut it, I actually felt like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said.

And short it has been since — without the Samson effect. Three Star-Advertiser All-State Fab 15 selections in his first three seasons: No. 8 as a freshman, No. 4 as a sophomore and No. 3 as a junior.

“He’s a very introverted guy, so a lot of his teammates look at his actions, the way he carries himself,” Moanalua coach Alan Cabanting said.

Na Menehune are ranked No. 2 in the state after splitting matches with eternal dynastic powerhouse Punahou during the Hawaii Invitational over the weekend. Moanalua became the first local program in years to beat Punahou.

The week before, Na Menehune placed ninth out of more than 160 teams at the elite Best of the West tourney in Poway, Calif. So much of it reflects the growth of a teenager who has become a man on his way to play volleyball for the University of Hawaii next season.

“When he was in ninth grade, he would pout about sets being too low or too hard. Whatever you could complain about. Now, his teammates are still confident that if the pass or set isn’t there, or if there’s a mistake, they’re OK with it because Austin is OK with it,” Cabanting said. “All the hard work he’s put in, if it’s a low or high set, or the timing is off, he has a lot of things he can do (to adjust). So the kids know it doesn’t have to be perfect. There’s a sense of calm that the team has.”

Punahou coach Rick Tune has gotten to know Matautia over the years.

“I know him a little bit. He plays club ball with a lot of our players. He always goes out of his way to say, ‘Hi’ and talk story. I have a lot of respect for him,” Tune said. “He’s one of those kids coaches always want to coach. He’s incredibly skilled and humble. He’s a complete package for any athlete or any young man. He’s a cornerstone piece who will set a really positive culture for a program. UH is very lucky to get a young man like him.”

Matautia was raised by Shelly and Martin, both former U.S. Army volleyball players. His sister, former All-State Fab 15 selection Gabriella (Moanalua, Temple University) is on the boys coaching staff. The Matautia ohana did the rounds like many military families and spent about seven years in South Korea before being transferred to Hawaii. Discipline has always been a way of life, but learning to handle adversity may be one of Matautia’s greatest victories.

“It took me awhile, to be honest,” he said. “A lot of people can say they don’t enjoy playing with me because I’m very serious when it comes to competition. My family would constantly be critiquing my play and what I’m doing wrong even if I had a good match.

Fun and work together — it was a lesson well learned for Matautia.

“I feel after meeting Luu Vailu‘u (Moanalua/North Greenville University) and Victor Zamudio (Moanalua/University of Mount Olive), they helped me relax and learn to play for each other, and not for myself. They helped me realize I can have fun at practices while competing at a high level,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. I still hold a high expectation for our team and when I have to be honest about our play, I am, only because I know our full potential.”

The High School Top 10

Voted on by coaches and media statewide. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, etc.

_____
BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Also receiving votes: King Kekaulike 9, Waiakea 2, Kalani 1.

_____
BASEBALL

Also receiving votes: Kamehameha-Hawaii 4, ‘Iolani 3, Moanalua 2.

_____
SOFTBALL

Also receiving votes: Pearl City 16, Kailua 15, Lahainaluna 12, Roosevelt 12, Pac-Five 11, Kamehameha-Hawaii 9, Baldwin 3, Aiea 3, Maui 2, Mid-Pacific 2, Leilehua 1.