Surrounded by University of Hawaii football teammates chanting his name, short-snapper Brodie Nakama jumped for joy.
“It was a great experience,” said Nakama, recalling last Friday’s pool day that changed his life.
After an exhaustive practice, the Rainbow Warriors headed to Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex, where they found the 10-meter diving platform to be off limits that day. Coach Nick Rolovich convinced the poolkeeper to allow the players to use the platform. Rolovich had one condition: He could pick the first diver. Rolovich chose Nakama, a senior walk-on.
“I kind of played it cool at first,” said Nakama, who began climbing the ladder. “I made it halfway, and I started freaking out a little bit. When you make your way up there, it’s pretty high.”
As he walked on the platform, he noticed a large envelope with his name on it and instructions to open it. Inside was a letter that started: “Due to your dedication to the football team, we’ve awarded you a full scholarship …”
“They told me to read it out loud,” Nakama said. “I read it super fast. After that, I couldn’t say anything. I was so shocked and excited and emotional all at the same time.”
He thought of his parents in San Jose, who paid for his out-of-state tuition, and his grandparents, who provided a home in East Honolulu. “My parents sacrificed so much for me, and my grandparents have been great,” Nakama said.
He then placed the letter and envelope on the platform — he was not sure if it was the actual scholarship document — and jumped into the water.
“I didn’t really want to jump, but at that moment, it was something I had to do,” Nakama said. “I hit the water, and then I heard my teammates jumping into the water and rushing me. It made it even more special.”
Nakama, who was a long-snapper and offensive lineman in high school, felt special-team work was his only avenue to playing college football. At 5 feet 9 and 225 pounds, Nakama said, “I’m not the tallest guy in the world.”
Nakama has not had an errant snap on field-goal and point-after attempts in three UH seasons. But he also knew that there were limited scholarships for specialists. The Warriors already had two kicker/punters and a long-snapper on scholarship. “If it was something that wasn’t going to happen, I would have been OK,” Nakama said. “I would have worked just as hard.”
But Rolovich had planned for six months to award a scholarship to Nakama. Rolovich figured tying the announcement with the pool day “would be a great time.”
Rolovich added: “Brodie’s earned it. All he’s done is what’s right. He’s a great teammate and a valued part of our success. We’re happy for him. It was great to see how special he is to the rest of the team, and how heartfelt their congratulations were to him.”
