Kailua’s Milca Finishes Stellar UH Play

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Kailua High alumna Tanisha Milca wears her Rainbow Wahine uniform well. Photo courtesy of University of Hawaii Sports Media Relations.

When she arrived at University of Hawaii on a softball scholarship in 2005, Tanisha Milca was all too familiar with the theory that freshmen wait their turn. In fact, she had too much time to ponder the issue, having seen her entire senior season at Kailua High School wiped out by a broken foot bone.

“I think it made me more hungry and gave me the drive to work (to make the starting lineup as a first-year player),” said Milca, who recently wrapped up a stellar career at UH, where she was a four-time all-WAC selection. “Sitting out my whole senior year made me humble when I came to college. That made me more prepared.

“When I came in, I told myself I was going to play without any regrets. I always thought this is the furthest I’ll get (in softball), so if I’m going to do it, I’m going to go out with a bang.”

On that note, Milca’s senior year couldn’t have been scripted better as she batted .349 in addition to posting career highs in runs scored (43), doubles (11) and RBI (36). Her 33 home runs over her career leave her tied with former All-American Tyleen Tausaga for the all-time lead at UH.

At season’s end, Milca also was picked for the 2009 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-West Region Team.

While her work ethic explains a lot of her success, Milca’s diligence came from a love of the game. “It’s something I wanted to do since I was a kid - to be able to play (college ball) before my family and friends,” she said. “It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but UH has a great system in place to help you get your degree and play a sport that you love.”

Milca had other scholarship offers coming out of Kailua, but chose UH because “it was the right fit.”

“There was such an ‘ohana that I had a connection there when it came down to choosing a school” she said.

Although she has completed her eligibility at UH, Milca plans to remain with the program next season (along with two other team-mates) as a graduate assistant coach, while she finishes up a degree in sociology. GA jobs have been known to lead to paid assistant positions in the college coaching fraternity, but Milca expects her coaching career to be put on hold to pursue a career in the Navy.

“I’ll be talking with recruiters over the summer, and I’ll join in 2010,” said Milca, whose father, Angel, is in the Navy.“I’m also interested in law enforcement - I’ve been taking a lot of criminology courses - and I’d like to maybe work with teenagers or troubled kids to see if I could steer them on the right path.

“I would love to coach at the college level if the opportunity was there,” she admitted. “But for me, right now, I’m focused on moving on with my career. Softball is done for me, at least playing-wise.”

While a fierce competitor on the field, Milca is known for her affable personality off of the field.“Being a military kid and having to bounce around turned me into a people person,” she explained.

At Kailua, Milca was a three-year starter and a key player on the Surfriders’ state championship team in 2003 as a left-fielder. Her days as a Surfrider remain vivid in her mind, she said.

“It was an awesome experience, especially with the reputation they had,” she said. “It was an honor to play for coach Bernard (Victor).”