Coach Tengen A Student First

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Delbert Tengan has always remained a student of the game in all the sports he coached. Lately, the former head Saint Louis basketball and football coach has been a student, period.

Tengan, a Kaneohe resident, is currently finishing up work on a master’s degree, but has remained around the prep sports scene since giving up both the basketball and football jobs at Saint Louis, working as a color analyst with play-by-play man Lad Panis on Starcomm Sports high school broadcasts the last two seasons. The pair expect to team up again in December to broadcast the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Tournament.

As the Crusaders’ head football coach, Tengan led Saint Louis to three Interscholastic League of Honolulu titles as well as the 2002 state championship. In nine years as the Crusaders’ head basketball coach, his teams made five state tournament appearances and reached the title game twice.

Tengan, who also teaches full time at Saint Louis School, recently took some time away from his schedule to catch up with MidWeek.

What’s your earliest sports-related memory?

I grew up with a bunch of guys who liked to hang out at Kailua District Park and play sports. The seasons seemed to overlap. We would play football, basketball, baseball, and in the summer we would hang out at the beach. That was the routine. There were no video games or computer games or Internet then. My entertainment was all at the park.

Who’s had the biggest impact on your life?

My dad (Sakaye) had a great interest in sports and, looking back at it, he really put in the time with me. He was willing to sign me up for basketball, baseball . . . And he was never too tired to play catch with me in the yard.”

Who were your coaching mentors when you decided to go that route yourself?

“As far as organizing a team, your offense and your defense, and how you handle your players, my biggest mentors are coaches Cal and Ron Lee. I worked with Cal for 14 years as an assistant, and Ron was there for 10 of those years.”

What’s it been like since moving to the broadcast booth?

“It’s an interesting and unique position to be in. You see it from a different perspective. When I was the defensive coordinator (at Saint Louis), I did my coaching from the press box, so it isn’t different in that way, but I know what parents go through and I know the other side of it (as a coach). Sometimes as a coach you don’t make the best choices, but you have to make those choices and you have to live with them.

What motivates you as a coach?

As a coach, you love challenges. It’s part of my makeup. Each sport offers different challenges, but I like them equally.

Do you miss coaching, or has broadcasting games removed a void?

I definitely miss coaching. I miss the interaction with the kids every day, seeing them grow and develop, and I miss the interaction with the coaching staff and my colleagues in the league. I made a lot of great friends (through football). Growing up, (former Waianae coach) Larry Ginoza and (former Leilehua coach) Hugh Yoshida were guys I looked up to. Being able to talk football with them as a young coach (later on) was special.

Will we see you in coaching again?

It’s definitely possible. Anything is possible. I’ve had inquiries, but the opportunity to go back to school to get my master’s on a federal grant (free tuition and books) was a great opportunity. I’ll be done in December, and then we’ll see what happens. Right now, my focus is on teaching at Saint Louis and taking care of school (at UH).

Hopefully, I’ll have an opportunity to coach again, but even if I don’t, I can say I’ve had a career that a lot of people would be satisfied with.

How does the time spent preparing for a broadcast measure up to the time you put in as a head coach getting ready for an upcoming opponent?

Not as much time as when a head coach, but I definitely put in a lot more time at it than I thought I would. When you look at other teams from a coach’s perspective, you’re looking at X’s and O’s and personnel. As a broadcaster, you have to know the players’ names and know some background and be able to give credit to the right people. A lot of these kids toil anonymously most of the time, so you want to give them credit (when they make a play). Parents of the players appreciate your pronouncing the names correctly, too.