Walter Young bleeds navy blue and red.
Aside from his journey to Whitworth University in Washington from 1998 to ’03, his football life has been all about Waianae and the dream of playing — and coaching — for the high school.
When Seariders athletic director Glenn Tokunaga announced the hiring of Young as the program’s new head coach, it was both intriguing and fitting for longtime fans. For the rest of the world, Young is a bit of a mystery, at least until he shares his vision.
Then he sounds like an old-school Searider to the core.
Hard work.
Discipline.
Academics.
Those are Young’s keys.
"This is where I grew up, so it’s real nice to give back to the community," said Young, who played on Waianae’s 1997 OIA championship team. "I appreciate it. I feel we’ll keep the traditions the same. This generation’s a little different, but we can still use the same things we believed then right now."
Young has been a math teacher and assistant football coach at Waianae since 2003. He is head of the math department while teaching an Algebra I class.
Young was an assistant to Daniel Matsumoto, who resigned last week. He was head JV coach the past two seasons.
"I’m old-fashioned. When we ran the JV program, we took it back," Young said. "Black shoes. White socks. Any tape on your body is white. A lot of these kids understand that if you look like a team, you play as a team."
Ambitions and expectations for the Searider program remain lofty and complex. Over the years, long after Nanakuli-area kids aimed to transfer and play for the Seariders, the talent pool was siphoned off to an extent. The opening of Kapolei High led to less imported talent and some defections from Waianae.
Today, there are players doing a musical-chairs routine among Campbell, Kapolei and other Leeward and Central Oahu schools. Two of Waianae’s running backs transferred to Kapolei before their senior year.
With all the scrutiny and pressure that comes with the post — Tokunaga had conversations with some prominent Waianae alums about their interest, but none were seriously interested — Young says he doesn’t concern himself with all the white noise.
"We believe in Waianae that we need to get these kids not just ready for football, but for life," he said. "If we instill these values into them, they’ll come along. That’s why I took the job. We can build positive role models and productive members of society through this job, even though you will be viewed under a microscope. It’s not about me. It’s about these kids, and it’s about what goes on beyond high school."
