New Coach Anae Is On Familiar Turf At BYUH
By Jack Danilewicz
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BYUH head women’s basketball coach Wendy Anae is right
at home in her new job (shown here at practice), following
stints in Utah and at Kahuku High School. Photo from Scott
Lowe.
Wendy Anae is used to making a smooth transition. After a highly successful three-year run as the Kahuku girls basketball coach, she had easily settled in at Utah’s Timpview High School last winter where she led a team dominated by underclassmen to the Final Four of Utah’s state tournament in her first year with the school.
With her entire Timpview team returning for the 2006-07 season, she was already making plans for a productive summer with her team when word came that Brigham Young-Hawaii was adding women’s basketball.
“I was in a comfortable situation (in Utah),“said Anae, who was named Brigham Young-Hawaii’s head women’s coach last May. “It (the addition of women’s college basketball at BYUH) totally caught me by surprise.
“The thought had crossed my mind a long time ago. I thought if they ever had a women’s basketball team, it would be great to coach there, but I never thought it would happen.
“It’s the ideal job for me,” added Anae, who led Kahuku to a pair of second-place finishes in the Hawaii state tournaments in 2003 and 2004.“I’m loving it. I get to be at home, and I get to coach collegiately. The people here are wonderful. It’s been a real nice transition. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I’m very excited. It’s nice to walk out your back door and have a college basketball team to coach, and it’s great for the local kids.”
The Seasiders held their first practice Oct. 14 in the 4,500-seat Cannon Activities Center in Laie. Some familiar faces can be found on the Seasiders roster, including former Kahuku standouts Anny Soliai as well as sisters Artevia and Latoya Wily. Latoya Wily is a transfer from Division I-Alcorn State. She has two years of college eligibility remaining. Artevia Wily is a freshman at BYUH. Shayna Siliga, who played for Chico Furtado at Kalaheo, will also join the team in time for the 2007-08 season, while current BYUH volleyball players Michelle Peters and Lesina Funaki could be in the fold this year once the volleyball season ends, according to Anae. Both played for Anae at Kahuku.
Asked what the biggest adjustment has been between running a college program and a high school program, Anae said, “Making sure I’m in compliance with the NCAA. There are a lot of rules to make sure we’re following.”
Before becoming Kahuku’s head girls coach in 2003,Anae spent four seasons coaching the Red Raiders’ junior varsity teams. She had also coached and played on the Samoan National Women’s team that won the gold medal in the South Pacific games in 2003, and spent three years on the coaching staff at nationally acclaimed Peninsula High School in Palos Verdes, Calif., prior to arriving back at Kahuku.
Anae’s staff at BYUH also includes assistant coaches Suzanne Bowser and Teisa Auva’a.
The Seasiders begin their season Nov. 18 at home against Oakland City College of Indiana.
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