Most young Hawaii sports fans and some older ones knew him just as Timmy’s dad.
But there was much more to the man who, through coaching future coaches, impacted college football perhaps as much as his NCAA-record-breaking quarterback son.
Levi Chang was a basketball coach, football official and public school administrator. The longtime Aiea resident born-and-raised in Hawaii died last month at age 70 of natural causes.
As the head JV coach and varsity assistant under Jim Alegre at Radford High School in the 1980s, his players included Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo and Tulsa co-defensive coordinator Brian Norwood.
"Probably not just as a coach, but as far as an educator, he’s one of the most influential guys in my life growing up in Hawaii," Niumatalolo said. "I was a little bit of a know-it-all high school kid, and I wanted to know ‘why’ about things, and with Coach Alegre you just did what he said. Coach Chang took me aside and talked to me about things. I had a bad attitude, but he would explain things and I’d get it. Sometimes I do that now, I take a kid aside and explain. I think his patience and his love of people impacted me."
Norwood was a military dependent whose first coach in Hawaii was Chang. The fact that Chang had served in the Air Force like Norwood’s father helped them bond.
"He was a very, very good basketball coach," Norwood said. "Our JV team that year never lost a game and a lot of us didn’t even know each other before. He did a great job of bringing the young guys together, and he let us play an up-and-down style.
"I try to tell folks about that whole Radford experience, (football) Coach (John) Velasco and his passing away (during Radford’s Prep Bowl championship season. I think that would be a great movie, Radford was so unique. (Track) Coach
Most young Hawaii sports fans and some older ones knew him just as Timmy’s dad.
But there was much more to the man who, through coaching future coaches, impacted college football perhaps as much as his NCAA-record-breaking quarterback son.
Levi Chang was a basketball coach, football official and public school administrator. The longtime Aiea resident born-and-raised in Hawaii died last month at age 70 of natural causes.
As the head JV coach and varsity assistant under Jim Alegre at Radford High School in the 1980s, his players included Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo and Tulsa co-defensive coordinator Brian Norwood.
"Probably not just as a coach, but as far as an educator, he’s one of the most influential guys in my life growing up in Hawaii," Niumatalolo said. "I was a little bit of a know-it-all high school kid, and I wanted to know ‘why’ about things, and with Coach Alegre you just did what he said. Coach Chang took me aside and talked to me about things. I had a bad attitude, but he would explain things and I’d get it. Sometimes I do that now, I take a kid aside and explain. I think his patience and his love of people impacted me."
Norwood was a military dependent whose first coach in Hawaii was Chang. The fact that Chang had served in the Air Force like Norwood’s father helped them bond.
"He was a very, very good basketball coach," Norwood said. "Our JV team that year never lost a game and a lot of us didn’t even know each other before. He did a great job of bringing the young guys together, and he let us play an up-and-down style.
"I try to tell folks about that whole Radford experience, (football) Coach (John) Velasco and his passing away (during Radford’s Prep Bowl championship season. I think that would be a great movie, Radford was so unique. (Track) Coach (Al) Bader, Coach Alegre, Coach Chang. They all made you want to become a coach."
Timmy Chang was a ballboy, along with current Radford football coach Fred Salanoa.
"I grew up at that gym, and football, waterboying at Radford. I guess I had the calling (to coach)," said Chang, who is now offensive coordinator at Jackson State (Miss.) He was able to attend his father’s memorial services because the Tigers had a bye.
"I told my mom right after. ‘You know, Mom, if you want to see Dad, you can see him through me.’ As a kid I remember following him around as he went to officiate games at Aloha Stadium. But I love basketball more than football, I think because that was his game," he said. "He taught me so many things I use today. He was a grinder. I remember him saying things to me, about mental toughness. I told my team that my dad emphasized mental toughness. He taught me it’s not about X’s and O’s as much as it is about the people."
Levi Chang was on the field at Aloha Stadium as the play clock official when his son, playing for the University of Hawaii, threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jason Rivers in the first quarter of a game against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 6, 2004.
It was Chang’s 95th touchdown pass in five seasons at UH, but this one was special. It broke Ty Detmer’s career NCAA record for yardage. He ran to his father, and later gave him the ball.
"We never knew he was going to do that," said Mary Ann Chang, their wife and mother.
Said the son: "It was a way to thank him for believing in me. It’s up there with all the great moments, part of being home and playing in front of family. It was all special."
Like his son, Levi Chang went to Saint Louis School, graduating in 1963. He played basketball under legendary coach Walter Wong.
He served in the Vietnam War and worked at Pan Am before becoming principal at Kaaawa Elementary School and later retiring as principal at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School in 2007. He is also survived by daughters Leigh Ann Siaosi and Mary Elizabeth "Kalei" Peneueta and eight grandchildren.
"He loved all sports and especially watching football together, spending time with family," said Mary Ann Chang. "He loved his players like family, and they gave him a lot of credit. He always told them all to reach for the best."
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads
