New Kahuku coach highly regarded

Vavae Tata was welcomed as the new Kahuku football coach on Tuesday.

In the morning, he was busy finishing off his paperwork with the Department of Education and being interviewed by reporters at the school.

Athletic director Gillian Yamagata said Tata is likely to meet with the Red Raiders players for the first time Wednesday.

Yamagata said she is ecstatic about the choice of Tata, who beat out four other finalists and left his job as an assistant at Vanderbilt to accept the post Monday.

"I am excited for him," Yamagata said. "I really think he’s going to do wonderful things for the program and especially for the student-athletes. He is respectful of the customs and the people in the community. His college (coaching) experience is huge, and it will be a huge plus for the players."

Yamagata said the hiring process, which started when Lee Leslie resigned in March after one year on the job, was long and difficult.

"He (Tata) is an exceptional role model, honest, organized, articulate and he has a great vision for Kahuku football," she added.

Yamagata declined comment on Tata’s two DUI arrests, including one last year for which he served jail time.

Tata was an All-State defensive end at Saint Louis School in 1992 and ’93, and he was a standout at UCLA from 1994 to ’98. He has also coached at Stanford and UCLA.

The new Red Raiders coach told reporters that it was a "no-brainer" to come back to the islands and give back to the community and that he is in the process of forming his staff of assistants.

"Kahuku is a gold mine for football with a rich tradition and I am grateful to be part of it," he said while giving a radio interview.

On Tuesday, Tata stopped by to see Kahuku alumnus Junior Ah You, an admired resident of the North Shore community who has kept close ties with the Red Raiders throughout the years.

"He came by to tell me that he was the new coach," Ah You said. "He wanted to come and introduce himself and reach out to the community. I don’t know him, but he said ‘Hi Uncle’ and that was very commendable.

"I am great, great friends with Cal and Ron Lee at Saint Louis and so I know that (Tata) was taught well. I told him that if he was taught by Cal and Ron Lee, then he is going to be a great coach."

Under Leslie, the Red Raiders went 9-3 and made it to the state semifinals, where they lost 13-10 to Punahou.

After learning of Tata’s hire, Rod York, coach of state Division I champion Mililani, said, "We’ve got to up our game."

York’s Trojans beat Kahuku in the OIA title game last season.

Mililani running back Vavae Malepeai, a two-time All-State pick, is Tata’s nephew. He was named after the new Kahuku coach.

Cal Lee, the Saint Louis coach, recalls Tata during his playing career with the Crusaders.

"He is a prime example of someone who played with passion," Lee said Tuesday. "That was our trademark and he fit right in with that. You can’t just play the game. You have to play it with passion."

Tata has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA.