Track Coach Ochi Stepping Down

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Marshall Ochi took the Mililani boys track and field head coaching job in 2006 with the idea that it was one of the best coaching opportunities around.

When he left his post recently, his sentiments remained the same.

“It’s tough to find a better place,” said Ochi, who resigned to spend more time with family. “Even though it’s a big undertaking to be the head track coach at Mililani, one of the biggest benefits you get is being able to work with some of the best athletes in the state and, track aside, there are a lot of really good kids whom I appreciated there. The most gratifying thing is having the ability to affect the lives of so many kids in a lot of different ways.

“It was a very, very tough decision,” added Ochi, whose wife, Amy, is expecting the couple’s first child later this year, “but for the sake of my family, I thought it was time to take a step back. I don’t know how it will be as a first-time dad.”

Ochi had announced he would resign at the end of the 2007 season, but with no successor in place the following winter, and the season ready to begin, he returned to coach the boys. He also oversaw the girls program after Dane Matsunaga departed, but relied heavily on his assistants for both the boys and girls programs last season.

“Our intention was to have a coaching-by-committee situation,” said Ochi, who works as a CT technician at Pali Momi hospital. “Each of us would do a little bit more. I took the job as a ‘point person’ for both. I wanted to keep the program going in the direction it had been moving in.”

On that note, both Trojan teams enjoyed stellar seasons this spring. The Trojan girls won their 23rd straight Oahu Interscholastic Association West title, while the boys put together a strong finish to end up as the league’s runner-up to Radford.

“From a track standpoint, it was a very rewarding year,” Ochi said.

Ochi is open to staying with the program as an assistant, if his schedule allows.

“Right now, I’m leaving the door open,” he said. “I’m not making any commitments until I know what kind of time I’ll have.”

Ochi succeeded his former high school and college teammate Chad Miyamoto, who had led the Trojan boys to an OIA title in 2005. The pair were first teammates at Aiea High before taking their talents to Whitworth College in Spokane.

While no successor has been named yet for either the boys or girls coaching positions at Mililani, Ochi is confident the program will continue to thrive. He mentioned assistant Donte East, a Houston native who joined Mililani’s staff last season, and former Pearl City head track coach Nathan Aragaki, another recent addition to the Trojans’ program, as able replacements.

“We have some young coaches who can keep the tradition going,” Ochi said.