Football Players Learn Life Skills

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Waipahu quarterbacks Jace Kaopua (with ball) and Troy Matautia (squatting) play in a summer league scrimmage against Moanalua, while players and coaches watch. Photo by Byron Lee, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Sean Saturnio has experienced both ends of the athletic spectrum during his tenure as Waipahu’s head football coach.

Last fall,his team rebounded from the depths of a 1-7 season in 2005 to win the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II championship. Despite the drastic change in on-field fortunes, Saturnio’s holistic approach to coaching has never wavered.

“First and foremost, we’re always asking how we can use football to get them to where they’d like to go in life,” he said. With that in mind, he added “Life Skills” classes to his off-season conditioning and weight training program.

“They were well attended,” said Saturnio of the classes, which were held each Friday,either during lunch recess or in the evening.“We’re basically trying to give them extra tools for life. We focus in on things like respect,responsibility ...it’s all about trying to take them to a place they can’t take themselves.”

The Marauders are preparing for the official start of fall camp on Monday, having completed a series of 7-on-7 (non-contact pass-league style) scrimmages in recent weeks. Hopes are high after the breakthrough season of last fall, and interest in the program was no more evident than in the increase in players taking part in Waipahu’s spring practices. After suiting up 38 players last season, Saturnio will begin camp Monday with 58 varsity players.

Although a handful of starters return on both sides of the ball, the Marauders will be “a brand new team,varsity-experience-wise.There will probably be some growing pains, but we have faith that we can get to the point of being extremely competitive.”

The Marauders are sure to get every opponent’s best effort this time around. A home date with California powerhouse Westlake High School on Aug. 31 highlights the early part of Waipahu’s schedule. Westlake is coming off a 12-1 season in 2006, with their lone loss having come to Division I California state champion Canyon High School.

Finding a replacement for quarterback Gil Fernandez was high on Waipahu’s priority list entering spring practice, and Saturnio believes he’s found the answer in converted fullback Troy Matautia.

“He’s our version of (former University of Hawaii quarterback) Michael Carter. He’s built the same way.He has the ability to throw a nice ball, and he basically gives you a running back at the quarterback position.”

Last fall the Marauders “were probably 95 percent run versus 5 percent pass,“he added,“but we have some kids who can catch the ball and a guy who can throw the ball.”

Defensively, the Marauders’ relentlessness paid dividends by season’s end in 2006.

“We made tremendous strides as a defense - we were really playing well toward the end of the season - and we’re looking forward to building on that.”

As in past years,Waipahu will play a 3-4 defense. The scheme, which was brought in by defensive coordinator (and former Oregon State player) Paki Ena, is ideally suited to the Marauders’ personnel, in Saturnio’s view.

“There’s a misconception that you need a huge nose guard to play a 3-4, but we do a lot of stunting and slanting,” said Saturnio, whose roster always includes its share of agile linebackers.“If size isn’t your forte, you can still have a good defense with the 3-4.”

High school football programs are in the midst of a “dead period” this week which prohibits formal practices. Players will work out on their own in the days leading up to the official Aug. 31 starting date. After a workmanlike off-season, Saturnio expects his players to return in top shape for fall camp.

“The kids have been working extremely hard,“he said of the spring and summer workouts. “They’ve had a chance to grow a little closer.They’re on a slow and steady pace, but each day we get a little better.”